Awards
Winner of a 2004 PNBA Book Award
Synopses & Reviews
NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING CLAIRE DANES, JAMES MARSDEN AND SARAH BOLGERPNBA Book of the Year
As a teenager pretty much left to raise herself while her parents struggle to do the same, Lucy Diamond is a narrator with a radiant yet guarded heart. As she races at breakneck speed toward womanhood, everything is at stake for her, producing an urgency and dread that she holds at bay with humor and grace. But, while Lucy charges ahead, her mothers youth is fading, providing juxtaposition steeped with tension and love. Simultaneously embracing and resisting their similarities, Pete Fromm's As Cool As I Am reveals both womens emotional vulnerabilities and their deep need for each other. Conveyed through dialogue that is both laugh-aloud funny and true, Lucys character will stand out in the canon of contemporary literature for her large heart and inimitable grit.
Review
"Vivid and sharp, written with a startling coolness that only serves to heighten the emotional forcefulness." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Pete Fromm is one of America's best-kept literary secrets." Thom Jones, author of Pugilist at Rest
Review
"Spirited and sharply intelligent, if sometimes farfetched....[T]he emotions Fromm plumbs are painfully, poignantly real." Publishers Weekly
Review
"Fromm explores the sexual evolution of a cynical teenage girl who has the spunk and wit to survive two flaky parents and the urges of unbridled adolescence." Booklist
Synopsis
As a teenager left to raise herself, Lucy Diamond is a narrator with a radiant yet guarded heart. As she races at breakneck pace toward womanhood, everything is at stake for her, producing an urgency and dread that she holds at bay with humor and grace. But while Lucy charges ahead, her mother's youth is fading, providing a juxtaposition steeped with tension and love. Simultaneously embracing and resisting their similarities, both women's emotional vulnerabilities and their deep need for each other are revealed. Conveyed through dialogue that is both laugh-aloud-funny and true, Lucy stands out in contemporary literature for her large heart and inimitable grit.
Synopsis
As a teenager left to raise herself, Lucy Diamond is a narrator with a radiant yet guarded heart. As she races at breakneck pace toward womanhood, everything is at stake for her, producing an urgency and dread that she holds at bay with humor and grace. But while Lucy charges ahead, her mother's youth is fading, providing a juxtaposition steeped with tension and love. Simultaneously embracing and resisting their similarities, both women's emotional vulnerabilities and their deep need for each other are revealed. Conveyed through dialogue that is both laugh-aloud-funny and true, Lucy stands out in contemporary literature for her large heart and inimitable grit.
About the Author
Pete Fromm's fiction and nonfiction have won the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association's Book of the Year award an impressive four times. His past works include Night Swimming, How All This Started, and Indian Creek Chronicles. He has also published more than 100 short stories, and is on the faculty of Pacific Universitys MFA writing program. He lives in Montana with his wife and two sons.