Publishers Weekly
10/13/2014
In an autobiographical account that’s equal parts hilarious and cringe-inducing, Sundquist—a Paralympic ski racer, cancer survivor, and motivational speaker—uses scientific methodology, complete with hypotheses and graphs, to analyze his not-so-successful history with women. Having an amputated leg never stopped Josh from attempting to date girls while he was growing up, but his insecurities and misinterpretations led to some awkward (and funny) moments. For example, there was the time he fell down on a golf date and ended up with his artificial foot pointing the wrong way (“You can’t imagine the horror on the faces of the other golfers as they stared at a leg apparently so severely fractured that the foot was now capable of rotating 180 degrees”). From Josh’s first “relationship” in middle school (which lasted 23 hours) to later ones in college, romance never had time to blossom. While his recent interviews and meetings with the girls from his past are often just as uncomfortable as their dates were, they also lead to answers as genuine as his narrative. Ages 12–up. Agent: Lucy Carson, Friedrich Agency. (Dec.)
From the Publisher
An Amazon.ca Best Book for Children and Teens SelectionA YALSA Teens Top Ten Nominee
"You should read this book sometime. I loved it so much."—Justine Ezarik, New York Times bestselling author of I, Justine: An Analog Memoir
"Often hilarious, occasionally awkward, and always hopeful, Josh's quest for love will have readers rooting for him all the way."—Jennifer E. Smith, author of The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight and The Geography of You and Me
"Josh Sundquist has written a sharp, funny memoir without an ounce of self-pity about how the fear of rejection can be far more crippling than any disease. A hilarious, heartfelt reminder that finding the courage to accept love is an inside job."—Aaron Hartzler, author of Rapture Practice
"Sundquist is a storyteller-flawed, wry, laid-back and sympathetic. Anyone who's felt awkward will alternately (or simultaneously) wince and burst out laughing at his earnest misadventures with stalkers, "Close Fast Dancing" and flow charts... but above all, they'll be rooting for Sundquist to hang out with a girl. Funny, sympathetic and poignant, Sundquist's memoir has a high probability of success."—Kirkus Reviews
"An autobiographical account that's equal parts hilarious and cringe-inducing...While his recent interviews and meetings with the girls from his past are often just as uncomfortable as their dates were, they also lead to answers as genuine as his narrative."—Publishers Weekly
"[A] laugh-out-loud memoir...This is a unique, earnest, and funny coming-of-age story about Sundquist's experiences. Readers will appreciate the humorous and often embarrassingly accurate tales depicted in the pages of this book."—SLJ
"Josh's voice is engaging and conversational, and readers will relate as they laugh along at his misadventures. From a disastrous putt-putt date to just general, suffusing awkwardness, Josh (who grew up to be a Paralympic ski racer) discovers that revisiting the past can be both embarrassing and enlightening. Irresistible fun."—Booklist
"[Sundquist's] findings are illuminating for anyone who has experienced social awkwardness in the field of attraction...and his gift for encouragement shines forcefully from his final chapters, where he assesses what went wrong and relates how he has used his new self-awareness to find love. Readers familiar with Sundquist's website and YouTube channel will be a natural audience for this."—The Bulletin
"Sundquist has written a compelling memoir, to which teens will be able to relate, as it probes the universal insecurities of teen dating."—School Library Connection
School Library Journal
10/01/2014
Gr 9 Up—Sundquist, a motivational speaker, author, and Paralympic ski racer (he lost his left leg to Ewing's sarcoma at age nine), has had terrible luck with the ladies. In this laugh-out-loud memoir, he attempts to figure out why he can't catch a break, exploring the matter scientifically by analyzing and hypothesizing about each of his failed relationships, starting with his first girlfriend in the eighth grade. Sundquist tracks down the various women he's dated and interviews them to test his hypotheses. Each section of the book is dedicated to a different girlfriend and time period in Josh's life. His various theories are often illustrated through hilarious charts and graphs, adding to the lab report feel of the book. This is a unique, earnest, and funny coming-of-age story about Sundquist's experiences as a cancer survivor, amputee, Paralympic ski racer, and motivational speaker. Readers will appreciate the humorous and often embarrassingly accurate tales depicted in the pages of this book.—Annalise Ammer, City of Rochester Public Libraries, NY
Kirkus Reviews
2014-10-01
A fondness for math plus a self-deprecating sense of humor equals Sundquist's memoir of dating and self-acceptance. Who says you won't use math and science later in life? Reflecting on spending 25 years without a girlfriend, Paralympic skier Sundquist quirkily applies the scientific method to his attempts at dating from eighth grade to college. Was he rejected because he studied SAT words for fun? Or maybe because he accidentally chopped down a tree with his prosthesis? To test his hypotheses, he interviews each girl and reaches a startling, surprisingly emotional conclusion that gives new meaning to the phrase "It's not you, it's me." This is no dry dissection, however; as Sundquist notes, "fighting emotion with logic is like bringing a calculator to a knife fight." Nor does it fall into an overtly inspirational, relentlessly cheerful tone. Sundquist is a storyteller—flawed, wry, laid-back and sympathetic. Anyone who's felt awkward will alternately (or simultaneously) wince and burst out laughing at his earnest misadventures with stalkers, "Close Fast Dancing" and flow charts. Readers will learn about love, self-esteem and even Venn diagrams thanks to tongue-in-cheek visual aids ribbing everything from Sundquist's limb count to bad pickup lines, but above all, they'll be rooting for Sundquist to hang out with a girl. Funny, sympathetic and poignant, Sundquist's memoir has a high probability of success. (Memoir. 13 & up)
