Firecracker
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4.5 • 11 Ratings
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
In this “hilarious and witty” (Seventeen) tragicomedy from New Girl and SNL writer David Iserson, a rebellious outcast seeks revenge after being strong-armed into attending public school.
“Not your everyday poor-little-rich-girl story.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“Thoroughly amusing. . . . Readers who enjoyed the pranks played in John Green’s Looking for Alaska will see the similarity and notice the universal fire of youth anew.”—VOYA
Being Astrid Krieger is absolutely all it’s cracked up to be. Astrid Krieger lives in a rocket ship in the backyard of her parents’ estate. She was kicked out the elite Bristol Academy and she’s intent on her own special kind of revenge to whoever betrayed her. She only loves her grandfather, an incredibly rich politician who makes his money building nuclear warheads.
But Astrid is a rather atypical spoiled-little-rich-girl.
Her beloved grandfather taught her early on that “forgiveness is for those too weak to hold a grudge,” and it’s a motto she swears by. Yet despite her acerbic exterior, Astrid’s no match for the monster that is public school. With the help of a guy named Noah, a girl named Summer Wonder, and Pierre-whose-real-name-is-Lucas, Astrid will receive a lesson in humility and discover that perhaps she doesn’t always know best, after all.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Film and TV writer Iserson debuts with the story of privileged, caustic 17-year-old Astrid Krieger, whose recent expulsion from preppy Bristol Academy has forced her to enroll in public school. Astrid will do anything to be readmitted to Bristol, and she hatches a deal with the school's therapist: if she successfully completes a series of selfless acts, the school might reconsider her suspension. For this chauffeur-driven master manipulator who's learned everything she knows from her ethically dubious ex-senator grandfather altruism is a foreign concept. As Astrid strikes up a friendship with a hair-chewing misfit and a modest boy who is intrigued by her, she begins to understand the source of her own isolation. Astrid's narrative vacillates between moments of wicked hilarity and details that shoot into bombastic territory (Astrid casually mentions that JFK once shot her grandfather during a game of Russian roulette and that she has robbed several convenience stores). Iserson doesn't ask readers to feel sorry for his spoiled and outlandish heroine, but urges them to trust that beneath her explosive tendencies is a kernel of compassion. Ages 12 up.
Customer Reviews
Awesome!
From the get go I was hooked with David's writing. The book made me laugh, and Astrid is a character that will inspire you in so many different ways. I highly recommend giving it a read. Pick it up, grab a drink and dive in.