In the side-splitting, soul-searching debut novel Burn It All Down, Nicolas DiDomizio shares the coming-of-age story of a teen boy hiding out from the law with his partner-in-crime: his mom.
When 18-year-old Joey Rossi's first serious boyfriend cheats on him, he's heartbroken but not surprised. Gia, his 34-year-old mother and best friend, is furious on his behalf, because "emotions aren't something Mom and I are capable of experiencing separately." Gia herself has a history of getting cheated on by toxic men. When Gia's boyfriend jilts her for his wife, Joey drunkenly suggests a mother-son revenge binge. Sadly, their plan for garden-variety tire-slashing and dish-smashing goes horribly wrong when they accidentally burn down an entire house. Panicked, the duo makes a run for it, ending up at the remote home of Marco, Gia's ex and the only man ever to treat her right. While waiting for the other shoe to drop, Joey strikes up a clumsy romance with a cute, privileged neighbor boy and learns a truth about his mother that calls the dynamics of their entire relationship into question.
Told in Joey's smart-mouthed, aspiring standup comic voice, this surprising, touching story of a dysfunctional, codependent and ironically lovable parent-child team has heart, laughs and YA-crossover potential. A steady stream of one-liners grounds Joey and Gia's over-the-top actions in levity and wry honesty. Out-of-control but utterly human, these "felons without a plan" face their demons in their own inimitable style. --Jaclyn Fulwood, blogger at Infinite Reads