You Can’t Win at Everything with J.E. Thomas

J.E. Thomas, author of Control Freaks (Levine Querido), talks about loving your characters exactly as they show up in your story.

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About the book: Control Freaks by J.E. Thomas. Published by Levine Querido.

BEST OF THE BEST, BLACK CAUCUS OF THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION

One week. One prize. Seven really weird challenges.

The kids at Benjamin Banneker College Prep are a little... competitive. Okay. They're a LOT competitive.

The minute Principal Yee announces an epic competition for the golden B-B trophy, seventh-grader Frederick Douglass Zezzmer knows he has to win.

But it won't be easy. The competition doesn't just include science, technology, engineering and math. It also has arts and sports. Not Doug's best subjects.

Even worse, it's a TEAM competition. Instead of being in a superstar group, Doug gets paired with four middle school misfits no one else wants.

Worst of all, Doug's dad has a horrible backup plan. If Doug doesn't win, he has to forget about becoming The World's Greatest Inventor and spend the summer in sports camp, with his scary stepbrother.

With only a week to go, Doug launches a quest to turn his team of outcasts into winners... and maybe even friends.

Transcript:

For a full transcript, episode takeaways, quotes, and more, visit https://deepcast.fm/episode/you-cant-win-at-everything-with-je-thomas