Perhaps because of all of his experience with picture books, James Proimos (Todd's TV) uses just 122 pages to pen a funny, poignant YA novel that takes place over two weeks.
Readers will know they're in for a treat when 16-year-old James "Hercules" Martino breaks the saintly spell at his father's funeral by calling the man as he saw him: "a complete and total ass." It does not help that his father was a bestselling self-help author. Hercules pretends to be upset when his mother sends him to his father's brother, Uncle Anthony, for the last two weeks of summer, but we quickly discover how well they get along--especially when his uncle gives Hercules the list of the "12 Things" referenced in the book's title. It's a mix of the sublime ("choose a mission") and the ridiculous ("clean out the garage"), but it accomplishes the goals of both uncle and nephew. Herc's goal, of course, is to find the "Strange Beautiful Unattainable Woman" he sat next to and who would not speak with him on the train from New York to Baltimore.
Even at his most macho, Herc shows a vulnerable side. In addition to his father's death, the novel probes some mature themes (e.g., in what we'll call the "mission accomplished" scene), but Proimos handles them with humor and a respect for his audience. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness