Friday Freebie: Kids These Days by Drew Perry

Congratulations to Carol Wong, winner of last week's Friday Freebie book bundle: The In-Between Hour by Barbara Claypole White, Outerborough Blues by Andrew Cotto, Reunion at Red Paint Bay by George Harrar and Lighthouse Island by Paulette Jiles.

This week's book giveaway is Kids These Days by Drew Perry which comes to us courtesy of the good folks at Algonquin Books.  A wild and wacky novel set in Florida, Kids These Days has drawn comparisons to Tim Dorsey, Nick Hornby, Dave Eggers, and Jonathan Tropper.  None other than Dave Barry himself calls the book “sweet, soulful, smart, and funny as hell.”  But I think my favorite blurb comes from Tom Franklin (Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter) who said: “This book is so funny and engaging that I was reading it and forgot to pick up my kids”--which is all the more telling when you know what the novel is about:

Walter and Alice are expecting their first baby, but their timing is a bit off: Walter, once a successful loan officer, has been unexpectedly downsized. They’ve had to relocate to Florida so that they can live rent-free--in Alice’s deceased aunt’s condo. When Alice’s brother-in-law Mid offers Walter a job, he literally can’t refuse. But what he doesn’t know--about the nature of the job, about the depth of Mid’s shady dealings, about what he’s really supposed to be doing--far outweighs what he does know. And soon enough, things escalate so out of control that Walter is riding shotgun with Mid in a bright yellow Camaro--chased by the police. Drew Perry paints a landscape of weird and beautiful Florida and its inhabitants--all wholly original and hilarious, and utterly believable. And at the center is a portrait of a father-to-be who is paralyzed by the idea of taking responsibility for another human life when he can’t seem to manage his own. Kids These Days takes perfect aim at the two sides of impending fatherhood--abject terror and unconditional love.

Opening Lines: “I’d agreed to it—the baby—because I’d decided that was what was owed. That if your wife, whom you loved beyond measure, wanted a child, you were supposed to think it was a fine and perfect plan.”

If you’d like a chance at winning a trade paperback copy of Kids These Days, simply email your name and mailing address to

thequiveringpen@gmail.com

Put FRIDAY FREEBIE in the e-mail subject line.  One entry per person, please.  Despite its name, the Friday Freebie runs all week long and remains open to entries until midnight on Feb. 6, at which time I’ll draw the winning name.  I’ll announce the lucky reader on Feb. 7.  If you’d like to join the mailing list for the once-a-week newsletter, simply add the words “Sign me up for the newsletter” in the body of your email.  Your email address and other personal information will never be sold or given to a third party (except in those instances where the publisher requires a mailing address for sending Friday Freebie winners copies of the book).

Want to double your odds of winning?  Get an extra entry in the contest by posting a link to this webpage on your blog, your Facebook wall or by tweeting it on Twitter.  Once you’ve done any of those things, send me an additional e-mail saying “I’ve shared” and I’ll put your name in the hat twice.