The Donut Prince of New York

by Allen Zadoff

Overview

In Allen Zadoff’s The Donut Prince of New York, a plus-sized kid finds acceptance once he joins the football team. That’s more fun than getting ready for a party by having to stretch out a sweater so it won’t seem so tight. And heck, the girl he likes likes him back. But he’d still rather indulge in his love for donuts and musical theater and get the girl anyway. Crazy, right?
—Parade

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823456635
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	11/05/2024
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 7.80(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Allen Zadoff is the author of nine novels and a memoir, including the thriller series The Unknown Assassin, which debuted to starred reviews and was a YALSA Top Ten Pick for Reluctant Readers. The series has been translated into over a dozen languages and is in active development at Sony Pictures. Allen's most recent middle-grade sci-fi action series, Wild & Chance, is available now. A former stage director, Zadoff is a graduate of Cornell University, the Harvard University Institute for Advanced Theater Training, and the Warner Bros. Writers Workshop.

Editorial Reviews

Readers need not be familiar with either the stage or the football field to enjoy this excellently crafted novel. A pitch-perfect journey of self-discovery.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

The story beats are classic for sports-themed YA and, in less adept hands, might have been stale. Thankfully, Zadoff’s gift for dialogue and knack for character rises above the plot. Though packed with hilarious zingers and witty one-liners, Eugene’s story—including his complex relationships with food, his plus-size body, and the social expectations of attractiveness—is one that will tug at readers’ emotions.
—Booklist

In Allen Zadoff’s The Donut Prince of New York, a plus-sized kid finds acceptance once he joins the football team. That’s more fun than getting ready for a party by having to stretch out a sweater so it won’t seem so tight. And heck, the girl he likes likes him back. But he’d still rather indulge in his love for donuts and musical theater and get the girl anyway. Crazy, right?
—Parade

From the Publisher

★ 2024-08-17
A plus-size playwright stars in his own high school drama.

Eugene Guterman, a fat Jewish high school junior living in New York City, aspires to be a famous playwright, but he just can’t seem to put pen to paper to write the drama club’s fall play as promised. Meanwhile, new student Daisy Luna has caught his eye, but he struggles to imagine a story in which the big guy gets the girl. When a misguided attempt to impress Daisy leads to his accidentally breaking the school quarterback’s wrist, Eugene joins the football team as an offensive lineman to make amends, even though he knows nothing about the game. Now, both popularity and Daisy’s affections are within reach, but as he continues to blow off both his playwriting duties and his friends, he must decide who he truly wants to be. Eugene is instantly lovable, with a nice balance of sincerity and snark, and his experiences as a fat kid ring true, from his mother’s unwanted comments about his weight to his reluctance to dance in public lest he become a meme. The secondary characters are well rounded; even quarterback Harry Habib and his cronies have depth to them, and Eugene’s best friends, Mia Kim and Ishaan Iyengar, are equally nuanced. Theater references sprinkled throughout add some fun for thespians, but readers need not be familiar with either the stage or the football field to enjoy this excellently crafted novel.

A pitch-perfect journey of self-discovery.(Fiction. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews