¿ A BOOKLIFE REVIEWS EDITOR'S PICK ¿ A KIRKUS REVIEWS "GET IT" ¿ READERS' FAVORITE FIVE-STARS

A modern-day Holden Caulfield meets Harold and Maude & On the Road with Jennifer Niven & Jandy Nelson flair.

Witty, Defiant Oscar Tells a Heartbreakingly Relatable, Often Hilarious Story About a Misunderstood, Mistake-Riddled Boy Looking for Love & Purpose in Modern America. It's Dark Humor, Raw Emotions, and a Teenage Existential Crisis Rolled into One Unforgettable On-the-Road Adventure.

Oscar Danielsson isn't ready for the real world-yet. But he's 18 now, and everyone's got expectations. Why not? With his sharp wit and melancholy good looks, his future's as promising as anybody's. Lie. He's not like anybody. He'll take his bedroom over hanging out. Self-medication over whatever his shrink prescribes for his ADHD. And it's hard enough to get out of bed in the morning, let alone write a stupid paper in time to graduate from high school. If it wasn't for his old spaniel, Enzo, he's not sure he'd even want to stick around. Just when he meets Bette, the weirdest cute girl on the planet, a scrape with the law Oscar's too out of it to remember sends him blasting down America's highways with his eccentric Grammy. Leaving Bette, Enzo, and all his vices behind is torture but if they make good time, he can repay his debts to his boss, snag his diploma, and slip back into bed like nothing ever happened. Another lie.

If you fell for Charlie Kelmeckis in The Perks of Being a Wallflower or Sutter Keely in The Spectacular Now or Theodore Finch in All the Bright Places, Promising Young Man's Oscar Danielsson will melt, break, and then repair your heart.

"A raw and witty coming-of-age road trip, bursting with life." - BookLife Reviews (Editor's Pick)

"... favorably recalls the feel of classic 1970s road films" - Kirkus Reviews ("Get it")

"Books like Promising Young Man should be on school curricula" - Readers' Favorite (Five Stars)

"I love this book." - Jill Wine-Banks, author, The Watergate Girl; MSNBC legal analyst; co-host, Webby-winning #SistersinLaw Podcast

"Axel is a natural... writes with a flow and energy that is absolutely compelling." - Chris Canaan, Emmy Award-winning writer; co-creator Walker, Texas Ranger (starring Chuck Norris); screenplay, No Good Deed (starring Samuel L. Jackson & Stellan Skarsgård)

"At times funny, at times raw, at times so poignant you'll find yourself tearing up..." - Maggie Smith, award-winning author of Truth and Other Lies and Blindspot

"...deeply moving, sharply observed... truly enjoyable." - Sarah C. Maza, Sarah C. Maza, Member American Academy of Arts & Sciences, Professor of History Emerita Northwestern University

"... a damn good read." - Dr. David George, Ph.D., Professor of Modern Languages Emeritus, Lake Forest College

"... the kind of book that sticks with you..." - Hollie Smurthwaite, Author, The Psychic Color Series