Forsooth

Description:

Thirteen-year-old Calvin knows he's destined to be a star. . . if he can just stop making embarrassing mistakes onstage, like getting stuck on a single line--"Forsooth!"--and then falling off the stage during the school play.

The summer after seventh grade, he's hoping for a fresh start. All he has to do is prove himself as an actor and fix the awkwardness with his friends that started after the play.

But nothing's going according to plan. His parents don't get his love of performing. His best friend is moving on without him. And he might have a crush that could change everything.

Surrounded by drama on all sides, Calvin will have to go off script if he's going to be a real friend and be true to himself.

Brief description: Jimmy Matejek-Morris was born and raised in New Jersey, the middle of five children. He earned undergraduate degrees in Film and English at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. After graduating, Jimmy moved to Boston, Massachusetts, where he earned an MA in Children's Literature and an MFA in Writing for Children from Simmons College (now University). He currently lives in Massachusetts with his husband Scott and their very well-dressed poodle-Pomeranian named Rudy. His first novel, My Ex-Imaginary Friend, was named a Best Children's Book of the Year by the Children's Book Committee at Bank Street College.

Review Quotes:

"Calvin's panicky narration is easy to empathize with, giving the reader a front-row seat to his anxiety. Heavier themes are balanced with lightheartedness and references that will delight any theater kid. The topic of religion, in particular--Catholicism and Judaism, as experienced via a friend's bar mitzvah--is approached with both humor and thoughtfulness. Calvin's first attempts at romance and sometimes toxic friendships result in a lot of drama, but his showstopping antics are a joy throughout." --The Horn Book Magazine