Saturday, June 9, 2018

Book Review: Down and Across

Title: Down and Across
Author: Arvin Ahmadi
Teen Reviewer: Se Choi
Rating: 4/5 Stars

Scott was running away from home to find a saving grace that he thought would change his pattern of giving up and getting tired of everything. A professor in Washington DC believed that grit was a way to succeed. His parents were going to travel to another country for two weeks, so Scott took a bus there to talk to the professor in person and decided to stay in DC for two days. On his way to DC, he befriended a girl named Fiora. She lent Scott a stolen bike that eventually led him to meeting Fiora’s friends that kept him company in a place Scott wasn’t familiar with. Scott’s first visit with the professor ended disastrously, so Fiora convinced Scott to to try again with the influence of a lesson on grit and an explanation through a crossword puzzle. After trying again two more times, Scott became involved in a project for the professor researching grit and people that used grit as a stepladder for success. Through friendship and crossword puzzles, their friendship grew. They overcame serious problems together and stood for one another until Scott had spent the whole two weeks in DC researching grit for the professor he only wanted to talk with and had made friends that he didn’t expect to have on the trip.From now-close friends and a professor that at first rejected him, he learned many great things about grit and friendship.

“Down and Across” invites its readers to connect and relate to the characters and situations they are put in. The novel also wants to learn something from Scott and the things he went through in the book, but at the same time feels as though it's a lighthearted read for only laughs and giggles.