Promising Young Man

? BookLife Reviews Editor's Pick ? Kirkus Reviews "Get It" ? Readers' Favorite Five Stars
? Winner 2025 Firebird Award ? Finalist 2025 IAN Book of the Year

Oscar Danielsson is eighteen, brilliantly ADHD, and about to ruin his life—again.

Oscar would rather hide in his room than face high school graduation. Between his spectacular mistakes, self-medicating for his ADHD, and an overwhelming case of existential dread, getting out of bed feels as hard as getting into Northwestern. His only real friend? His aging spaniel, Enzo. His biggest fear? Everyone finding out he's not nearly as promising as they expect.

Then, after one mistake too many, everything goes sideways.

A scrape with the law he can barely remember launches Oscar on a bumpy cross-country road trip with an unlikely chaperone: his late-70s, free-wheeling Grammy, who's secretly done with playing by the rules. Leaving behind the girl he's falling for ("adorkable" Bette), his beloved dog, and all his comforting vices, Oscar discovers that even a journey based on a lie can lead to the most honest destination.

A modern Holden Caulfield meets Harold and Maude with an ADHD twist.

Raw, darkly witty, and achingly real—Promising Young Man is a powerful exploration of belonging, societal expectations, and loss of innocence that doesn't shy away from the messy truth of growing up or growing older.

Perfect for readers who loved:

"a quiet masterpiece" — Samuel Durr, Learning Specialist, William C. Goudy Technology Academy (a 2025 Top Magnet School of Excellence)

"I love this book" — Jill Wine-Banks, author, The Watergate Girl, MS NOW legal analyst

"Beautiful read… Oscar's voice is unforgettable." — Doug Bolton, author, Untethered: Creating Connected Families, Schools, and Communities to Raise a Resilient Generation

"a damn good read" —Dr. David George, Ph.D. Professor of Modern Languages Emeritus, Lake Forest College

"a quiet masterpiece" — Samuel Durr, Learning Specialist, William C. Goudy Technology Academy (a 2025 Top Magnet School of Excellence)

"absorbing" — Sarah C. Maza, Member American Academy of Arts & Sciences, Professor of History Emerita Northwestern University

"a powerful story of survival, resilience, and hope" — Nathan Chung, Founder and Host #DisabilityDisrupted Podcast

"the kind of book that sticks with you" — Hollie Smurthwaite, author, The Psychic Colors Series

"Books like Promising Young Man should be on school curricula." — Readers' Favorite (Five Stars)

"Oscar is breathtakingly real and appealing..." — The BookLife Prize

Dark humor ? Road trip adventure ? Intergenerational friendship ? ADHD representation done right

Oscar will melt, break, and then repair your heart.