Down and Across by Arvin Ahmadi

Down and Across by Arvin Ahmadi
Published 02/06/2018

I received a free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

Saaket “Scott” Ferdowsi is winning at quitting. He has no ambition and as he is nearing his high school graduation this is becoming more evident. It is not through the lack of his parents trying to motivate him, it is not through the lack of exceptional opportunities that are provided to him. Scott just lacks grit.

As Scott realizes this character flaw in himself is leading him down roads he doesn’t want to go a very opportunistic set of events unfold. His parents leave for an entire month and he discovers a professor who talks about grit that is just a bus ride away. So Scott’s journey to get gritty starts. It of course would not be a YA book without the typical trope of meeting a pretty, but slightly quirky, girl.

Fiora Buchanan is…intense and slightly damaged. Scott of course immediately falls in love with her. She leads him through some self-discovery that will not allow him to give up the adventure before it truly begins. Of course though, it has to be a super small world and cast of characters so Scott meets several people in the first few hours in his adventure and they are all able to lead him through. All of these characters though seemed superficial though and did not add a ton of value.

This was not a bad book. I definitely found myself grinning at some parts. The pacing was not perfect though and I grew bored of the characters towards the end since no one seemed to develop. It was just all a little too unbelievable and seemed like things worked out just to keep the plot moving.

I did really enjoy the diversity presented in this book though. Scott is an Iranian-American which was a new view point for me to read from. The story touches on sensitive topics around race, sexual identity and mental disorders. If you take this book for what it is, a YA contemporary it is quirky and worth the read.