New Releases by Josh Sundquist

Adapted for young readers from his adult memoir, Just Don''t Fall is the the hilarious true story about Josh Sundquist''s battle with childhood cancer and how he worked his way to making the United States paralympic ski team. The inspiration for the Apple TV show Best Foot Forward! When he was ten years old Josh Sundquist had his leg amputated to treat bone cancer. But this is not a sad story; on the contrary, this memoir is a story of resilience, heart, and most importantly: humor. Young Josh had a lot of adapting to do after he lost his leg. He had to learn how to walk again. He had to accept that he wouldn''t be able to try out for the travel soccer team. He knew his life would never be the same again. But when he sees a poster in the hospital elevator advertising skiing classes, he realized all might not be lost. Equal parts heartbreaking and hilarious, Just Don''t Fall is Josh''s story of surviving cancer with 50/50 odds, learning to be a professional skiier, and making his way to being a bestselling writer and motivational speaker. Inspirational and moving, Josh''s story is one that can be appreciated by readers of all ages.

In this "laugh-out-loud funny” book (Hank Green, New York Times bestselling author), social media star and comedian Josh Sundquist takes readers on his hilarious journey to the fringes of viral stardom to discover if it’s possible to be both very famous and very happy As a semi-famous internet creator, Josh Sundquist knows what it''s like to chase fame, but he also knows that more fame usually means more stress. So he set out on a pseudo-scientific investigation to find out if there is any way for fame and happiness to overlap. He attempts to define the word “fame”—hint: it''s harder than you''d think. He turns back time to identify the first facially-recognizable celebrity (you might know his former BFF Brutus). He digs into the numbers to debunk urban legends associated with stardom (ever heard of the 27 Club?). He talks to other semi-famous people (from K-pop sensations to former child stars) and asks them: Is this fame thing making you happy? If not, why are you doing it? If so, what''s your secret? All while recounting funny stories about his own cringy fame-seeking (like his many attempts, and failures, to get onto MTV). Packed with playful diagrams, fascinating insights from celebrities, and embarrassing truths from Josh’s experience with semi-fame, this is a must-read for anyone who has ever dreamed of becoming famous…or at least going viral on TikTok.

Stell dir vor du kannst zum ersten Mal im Leben sehen – und es war vorher schöner An seinem ersten Tag in der neuen Schule fasst der blinde, sechzehnjährige Will Porter einem Mädchen aus Versehen an die Brüste und setzt sich in der Kantine bei jemandem auf den Schoß. Von da an kann es nur bergauf gehen, oder? Während Will sich langsam eingewöhnt, verliebt er sich in die bezaubernde stille Cecily. Dann bietet sich ihm eine unvorhergesehene Möglichkeit: eine neuartige Operation, die es Will zum ersten Mal in seinem Leben ermöglichen könnte zu sehen. Doch das ist viel schwieriger als Will es sich jemals ausmalen konnte, und er lernt bald, dass diese sehende Welt ihm Geheimnisse vorenthalten hat. Es stellt sich heraus, dass Cecily nicht den traditionellen Vorstellungen von Schönheit entspricht – tatsächlich war alles, was er über ihr Aussehen gehört hatte, eine Lüge. Seine sogenannten Freunde haben sie sich ausgedacht, um die beiden zusammenzubringen. Ist es überhaupt entscheidend, wie Cecily aussieht? Eigentlich nicht. Aber warum fühlt sich Will dann so betrogen?

Will, pur essendo cieco dalla nascita, decide di frequentare un liceo pubblico, vincendo i timori della madre iperprotettiva. Inizia così un''esilarante tragicommedia: in mensa si siede sulle gambe di un compagno, una ragazza ha una crisi di nervi convinta che lui la stia fissando... Per riparare, Will si offrirà di aiutarla a scrivere un articolo su una mostra di Van Gogh: impresa difficilissima, perché a Will mancano totalmente il concetto di prospettiva, di colore, e Cecil deve spiegargli ciò che vede evitando qualsiasi metafora visiva. Quando a Will viene offerta la possibilità di affrontare un''operazione sperimentale che potrebbe ridargli la vista il padre, medico, cerca di dissuaderlo perché i casi di successo sono rarissimi e le ricadute psicologiche spesso pesantissime. Ma Will decide di rischiare e le conseguenze, seppur inaspettate e difficili da superare, gli rivoluzioneranno meravigliosamente la vita.

In his debut novel, YouTube personality and author of We Should Hang Out Sometime Josh Sundquist explores the nature of love, trust, and romantic attraction. On his first day at a new school, blind sixteen-year-old Will Porter accidentally groped a girl on the stairs, sat on another student in the cafeteria, and somehow drove a classmate to tears. High school can only go up from here, right? As Will starts to find his footing, he develops a crush on a charming, quiet girl named Cecily. Then an unprecedented opportunity arises: an experimental surgery that could give Will eyesight for the first time in his life. But learning to see is more difficult than Will ever imagined, and he soon discovers that the sighted world has been keeping secrets. It turns out Cecily doesn''t meet traditional definitions of beauty--in fact, everything he''d heard about her appearance was a lie engineered by their so-called friends to get the two of them together. Does it matter what Cecily looks like? No, not really. But then why does Will feel so betrayed? Told with humor and breathtaking poignancy, Love and First Sight is a story about how we relate to each other and the world around us.

When I was twenty-five years old, it came to my attention that I had never had a girlfriend. At the time, I was actually under the impression that I was in a relationship, so this bit of news came as something of a shock. Why was Josh still single? To find out, he tracked down each of the girls he had tried to date since middle school and asked them straight up: What went wrong? The results of Josh''s semiscientific investigation are in your hands. From a disastrous Putt-Putt date involving a backward prosthetic foot, to his introduction to CFD (Close Fast Dancing), and a misguided "grand gesture" at a Miss America pageant, this story is about looking for love-or at least a girlfriend-in all the wrong places. Poignant, relatable, and totally hilarious, this memoir is for anyone who has ever wondered, "Is there something wrong with me?" (Spoiler Alert: the answer is no.)

Read Josh Sundquist''s posts on the Penguin Blog. One moment Josh Sundquist was your typical energetic and inquisitive nine year- old boy. The next, his entire life changed when he was diagnosed with Ewing''s Sarcoma, a particularly virulent cancer strain that would eventually claim Josh''s left leg. Told in a wide-eyed, winning, heartbreaking voice, Just Don''t Fall is the story of the boy Josh was and of the young man he became. His story begins in a small, close-knit Southern town, where his father-an aspiring pastor questioning his faith, and his mother-- homeschooling an ever- growing brood of children-struggle to make ends meet. Josh journeys through a dizzying array of hospitals and eventually lands at a pivotal place: the nearby mountain, where he makes his first attempt to ski. It is on the slopes, and later, on the race course, that Josh''s world bursts wide open in a way no one could have ever anticipated. The inspiration to ski, however, and to become a champion, is not all that Josh has to contend with- there is adolescence to navigate, the transition from homeschool to public high school, and girls. There is an increasingly turbulent and difficult home life, with another cancer scare, a wayward brother, and dwindling finances to pay for training. Finally, there is the wild, bumpy road to the Paralympics in Turin, with a misanthropic coach, training in the Rockies, and a timeless friendship with a charismatic, imposing Brooklyn buddy named Ralph. Through it all, Josh is forced to question his abilities, his sanity, his will, his faith in himself, and his faith in God. Because of, not despite, these myriad obstacles in his path, Josh is able to achieve a genuine grace: the grace to risk failure and to succeed. It is the grace of a young boy becoming a man and of a champion realizing his greatest dream. Josh Sundquist shows us with charm, humility and remarkable strength that even if we fall, this inner grace can lift us up and carry us over the many mountains we all must face.

A collection of stories about growing up as an amputee, cancer survivor, and human being.