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Better Nate Than Ever

Cover of Better Nate Than Ever
Sample

Better Nate Than Ever

Better Nate Than Ever Series, Book 1
 

A New York Times Notable Book of the Year, a Publishers' Weekly Best Book of the Year, and a Slate Favorite Book of the Year. A small-town boy hops a bus to New York City to crash an audition for E.T.: The Musical.
Nate Foster has big dreams. His whole life, he's wanted to star in a Broadway show. (Heck, he'd settle for seeing a Broadway show.) But how is Nate supposed to make his dreams come true when he's stuck in Jankburg, Pennsylvania, where no one (except his best pal Libby) appreciates a good show tune? With Libby's help, Nate plans a daring overnight escape to New York. There's an open casting call for E.T.: The Musical, and Nate knows this could be the difference between small-town blues and big-time stardom.

Tim Federle's "hilarious and heartwarming debut novel" (Publishers Weekly) is full of broken curfews, second chances, and the adventure of growing up—because sometimes you have to get four hundred miles from your backyard to finally feel at home.

A New York Times Notable Book of the Year, a Publishers' Weekly Best Book of the Year, and a Slate Favorite Book of the Year. A small-town boy hops a bus to New York City to crash an audition for E.T.: The Musical.
Nate Foster has big dreams. His whole life, he's wanted to star in a Broadway show. (Heck, he'd settle for seeing a Broadway show.) But how is Nate supposed to make his dreams come true when he's stuck in Jankburg, Pennsylvania, where no one (except his best pal Libby) appreciates a good show tune? With Libby's help, Nate plans a daring overnight escape to New York. There's an open casting call for E.T.: The Musical, and Nate knows this could be the difference between small-town blues and big-time stardom.

Tim Federle's "hilarious and heartwarming debut novel" (Publishers Weekly) is full of broken curfews, second chances, and the adventure of growing up—because sometimes you have to get four hundred miles from your backyard to finally feel at home.

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Copies-
  • Available:
    0
  • Library copies:
    1
Levels-
  • ATOS:
    5.9
  • Lexile:
  • Interest Level:
    MG
  • Reading Level:
    4

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Awards-
Excerpts-

  • From the book

    Some Backstory

    I'd rather not start with any backstory.

    I'm too busy for that right now: planning the escape, stealing my older brother's fake ID (he's lying about his height, by the way), and strategizing high-protein snacks for an overnight voyage to the single most dangerous city on earth.

    So no backstory, not yet.

    Just . . . fill in the pieces. For instance, if I neglect to tell you that I'm four foot eight, feel free to picture me a few inches taller. If I also neglect to tell you that all the other boys in my grade are five foot four, and that James Madison (his actual name) is five foot nine and doesn't even have to mow the lawn for his allowance, you might as well just pretend I'm five foot nine too. Five foot nine with broad, slam-dunking hands and a girlfriend (in high school!) and a clear, unblemished face. Pretend I look like that, like James Madison.

    I do, except exactly opposite plus a little worse.

    By the way, despite our tremendous height gap, he and I weigh the same. The school nurse told me that once: "James Madison was just in, before you," she said, grinning like her news was a Christmas puppy, "and you weigh the exact same!" This is the one attribute at which I'm not below average: body heft.

    Oh, and I already knew that James Madison was in the nurse's office before me that day, because we'd just passed in the door frame, and he licked the Ritalin crumbs from his lips and lunged at me to make me scream a little.

    I screamed a little.

    Luckily, I picked a good key and turned the shriek into a melody, walking into the nurse's office humming a tune. Life hasn't always been easy (my first word was "Mama," and then "The other babies are teasing me"), but at least I'm singing my way through eighth grade, pretending my whole existence is underscored.

    There. There's your backstory. I was always singing.

    Not that there's any evidence. My parents weren't very good about documenting my childhood; my older brother got all the video footage, including his first seven poops. By the time I was born, disturbing the tranquility of Anthony's remarkable career as a three-year-old wonder-jock, the video cameras were fully trained on his every sprint, gasp, dive, and volley.

    Those are sports terms. Reportedly.

    So I always sang, not that there's any proof of it. No high-res shots of little Nate Foster scurrying around the Christmas tree, belting "Santa Baby" in a clarion, silver soprano.

    That's just my imagination of my voice. Again: Nobody ever recorded it.

    But I'm getting off track--you're distracting me--and there is a lot to do.

    "No pressure, but if you pull this off, you are going to be my hero forever." This is Libby, my best friend for as long as I can remember (two years and three months, specifically, but I hate when stories are hampered by math). Libby's standing in my backyard tonight, lit only by the moon. Although it might actually be the neighbor's motion-activated floodlight.

    "Bark! Bark!" That's their dog. Yes, she's definitely being lit by their floodlight.

    "Libby, if I don't pull this off and make it back home by tomorrow night, I'm dead. Like, my parents will never let me leave Western Pennsylvania again."

    I'm hugging my bookbag, which is stuffed with three pairs of underwear, one plastic water bottle (singers have to stay hydrated), deodorant (just in case I need it on the trip; so far I'm good, but I saw on the Internet that a teenager's body can begin stinking at any moment), and fifty dollars. Fifty dollars should be safe through at least Harrisburg, and once there, I'll take my mom's ATM card out and get some more cash.

    Oh, yeah. I borrowed...

About the Author-
  • Tim Federle is the award-winning author of the autobiographical novels Better Nate Than Ever and its sequel Five, Six, Seven, Nate!, which were named best books of the year by the New York Times and the American Booksellers Association, respectively, and called “one of the best new middle grade series” by School Library Journal. The Great American Whatever was inspired by an accident near Tim’s high school in Pittsburgh that changed the community forever. It is his first novel for young adults. Connect with the author on Instagram and Twitter at @TimFederle, and at TimFederle.com.
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    Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
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  • Copyright Protection (DRM) required by the Publisher may be applied to this title to limit or prohibit printing or copying. File sharing or redistribution is prohibited. Your rights to access this material expire at the end of the lending period. Please see Important Notice about Copyrighted Materials for terms applicable to this content.

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Better Nate Than Ever Series, Book 1
Tim Federle
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