Allen Zadoff's Blog, page 5

Boy Nobody cover sneak-peek!

Boy Nobody. 
He is nothing. The mission is everything.

They needed the perfect soldier: one who could function in every situation without fear, sympathy or anger; who could assassinate strangers and then walk away emotionally unscathed. So they made Boy Nobody-a teen with no name or history. The perfect soldier.

Boy Nobody is the perennial new kid in school, the one few notice and nobody thinks much about. He shows up in a new high school, in a new town, under a new name, makes few friends and doesn't stay long. Just long enough for someone in his new friend's family to die — of "natural causes." Mission accomplished, Boy Nobody disappears, and moves on to the next target.

But when he's assigned to the mayor of New York City, things change. The daughter seems so much like him; the mayor smells like his father. And when memories and questions surface, the Program is watching. Because somewhere, deep inside Boy Nobody, is somebody: the kid he once was, the teen who wants normal things like a real home and parents, a young man who wants out. And who just might want those things badly enough to sabotage The Program's mission.
Coming June 2013. Preorder now from:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

Allen Zadoff tells the story of California's new Jewish family

Teenage Hero Is a Distinctly West Coast Jew
by Amy Klein, Jewish Daily Forward

Since you Left Me
By Allen Zadoff
Egmont USA, 320 pages, $16

Has any Jewish teenager in recent American literature felt as much antipathy toward attending Hebrew school as Sanskrit Aaron Zuckerman? The 17-year-old narrator of Allen Zadoff’s new bildungsroman, “Since You Left Me,” has just cause, though.

Zadoff, the author of “Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can’t Have,” manages the rare trick of showing the Modern Orthodox world without mocking it. Though this is a YA novel, it’s a humorous and introspective read for any age — Sanskrit is also trying to find love, real parents, and his place in the world.

Read the full review here.

Review Roundup:Since You Left Me by Allen Zadoff

"Not many YA books dare to tackle the issues of faith and religion, but Since You Left Me is a rare gift. It grapples honestly and thoughtfully with these topics, and it cares enough about its subject matter not to make light of it, but not to take it too seriously, either. The result is a story that's hilarious and hopeful--and one you should definitely add to your reading list."
--Pick of the Week, 60SecondRecap

"...it isn't the plotline that makes Allen Zadoff's Since You Left Me special: it's Sanskrit's voice. As he lies and lies and lies, as he works through his heartache, deals with his family and comes to terms with his feelings about religion and responsibility, his voice is so snarkily hilarious that you'll laugh through all of the painful moments."
--Kirkus Reviews

"Allen Zadoff tells the story of California's new Jewish family...a humorous and introspective read for any age."
 --The Jewish Daily Forward  

“Dear YA readers, bloggers, contemporary afficionados, 
HURRY UP and discover Allen Zadoff. Seriously, Zadoff’s books are not buzzed or reviewed enough which makes me feel dismayed. I’m pretty sure a lot of you enjoy witty contemps with awkward, realistic male main characters. If so, you NEED to read Zadoff’s works. His latest, Since You Left Me totally does not disappoint on the humor front.”
--Good Books and Good Wine Blog

"I love this book. It’s about every one of our experiences. Where does God or a greater-than-life entity fit into our lives?  We’re all figuring it out, and the book captures that universal process with humor, grace, dignity and a surprising amount of laughter. I know it’s supposed to be for teen readers, but I feel like it's for everybody."
-Rabbi Sherre Hirsch, author of We Plan, God Laughs

"No matter where teens are in their journeys of faith, they can find a kindred spirit in Sanskrit."  
-Secrets and Sharing Soda blog

Allen Zadoff appearances for Los Angeles Teen Read Week October 17, 20

October 17 at the Exposition Park Library Branch. YAy for YA!  October 20 at the Los Angeles Public Library

Hungry e-book by Allen Zadoff on Amazon's bestseller list!

The free Kindle edition of HUNGRY has risen to number 3 on the Amazon bestseller list! This is the memoir the LA Times called "gentle, funny, uncommonly appealing" and Publishers Weekly called "valuable, encouraging reading for problem eaters of all kinds and those trying to help them."
It's a really gratifying thing for me, as I wrote the book as a resource to those struggling with food and weight issues from the perspective of someone who's been there.  
Click on the pic below to order your free download now!

See Allen Zadoff live at YA Rising Stars! (9/22/12 in Glendale, CA)

Since You Left Me (5-start blog review, marjoleinbookblog)

"Sanskrit Aaron Zuckerman has a problem: his mother didn't show up to an important parent-professor conference. Because he is a student at the very strict Brentwoord Jewish Academy...he comes up with a lie--"

Read more at the MarjolineBookBlog.

Since You Left Me (blog review, Good Books and Wine)

"Dear YA readers, bloggers, contemporary afficionados, 

HURRY UP and discover Allen Zadoff. Seriously, Zadoff’s books are not buzzed or reviewed enough which makes me feel dismayed. I’m pretty sure a lot of you enjoy witty contemps with awkward, realistic male main characters. If so, you NEED to read Zadoff’s works. His latest, Since You Left Me totally does not disappoint on the humor front..."

Read more at the Good Books and Wine blog.

Since You Left Me (blog review, A Good Addiction)

"Hilarious yet with a great depth to it, Since You Left Me blends religion, coming of age, family in a fabulous way. Sanskrit is an awesome character, with an honesty to him that makes him so relatable. With some rougher scenes mixed into an overall funny story, this is one of those books about just generally figuring things out that had me hooked."

Read the rest of the review at A Good Addiction Blog.

Binge Eating Among Men Steps Out of the Shadows (NY Times)

Men struggle with food, too. That's the takeaway from this recent article in the NY TImes, and it's a message that's very important to me. It's one I never heard during the years I battled food addiction--alone and ashamed.

The Times says "an estimated eight million men and women in the United States... suffer from binge-eating disorders." It goes on to cite one study that says as many as "11% of women and 7.5% of men acknowledged some degree of binge eating."
There's a chapter in my book Hungry called "Real Men Eat Nachos" where I talk about the kinds of attitudes I was raised with.  Real men are supposed to be hungry, that's what I thought, and they're supposed to have a big appetite. As I say in the book, "Real men don't have eating disorders. They have Super Bowl parties."
This kind of thinking kept me eating secretly for years. My journey to recovery began when I found the courage to talk honestly about my overeating and ask for help.
If you want to read more about the subject, check out the new Hungry e-book or Frank Bruni's excellent memoir, Born Round.