about the book
When your dad is the world’s most competitive human, a famous ex-Chicago Bears football star and media sports analyst, and a athletic demi-god, it’s hard to live up to his reputation and his expectations. Kevin, a sarcastic twelve-year-old, has given up trying. He is a non- athletic pudgy couch potato in a family of svelte sport stars.
Dad is determined to get Kevin up and off the sofa. Convinced that all he needs is some motivation to become a “big screamin’ nuclear inferno of athletic dominance,” Dad signs Kevin up for football camp. Kevin has no intention of finding his athletic “spark” at camp. Madden NFL video gaming is enough action for him.
Then one day, Kevin flips to a TV channel featuring the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge. Cromwell, his lazy part-beagle mutt, is suddenly mesmerized. They both watch transfixed as the handlers lead the canines around the course, jumping through hoops, climbing seesaws, and weaving through poles. Outside, fat Cromwell waddles around the yard and tries to leap through a tire swing. He doesn’t make it, but Kevin gets the idea.
Dad doesn’t think dog agility competitions are a sport, so he won’t help Kevin and his dog participate. So Kevin finds a way to pay for Cromwell’s training all on his own. The gruff trainer sees something special in the clumsy dog and klutzy kid. Kevin keeps the agility training a secret, but how will Dad react when the bumbling Kevin and Cromwell actually compete?
about the author
Andy Behrens lives in Chicago with his wife and daughter. If you ask him to describe himself, he’ll say he is a freelance sports writer and an “avid, somewhat psychotic, Bears fan.” Andy pens sports-related features for such publications and web sites as Chicago Reader, Flak Magazine and ESPN.Com. Currently, he is working as an editor for Y!SportsRotoArcade.
Although he always dreamed of being a novelist, Andy just hadn’t written a book. Then a friend recommended Andy to an editor. The editor had an idea for a story and needed a writer to flesh out the plot and write it all down. The editor contacted Andy and asked if he was interested. Without thinking, Andy said he would do it. He got the go-ahead to write the entire novel after he submitted the first chapter. It took over a year of writing and editing before his first book was finished. All of a sudden, Andy had a new career! The book, All the Way, was even made into a movie.
So far, Andy has written three books for young adults. I’d be curious to see if Kevin and Cromwell end up in a sequel!
Sources:
Author page : Alloy Entertainment
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