Jonathan LaPoma is an award-winning, best-selling novelist, optioned screenwriter, songwriter, and poet from Buffalo, NY. In 2005, he received a BA in history and a secondary education credential from the State University of New York at Geneseo, and he traveled extensively throughout the United States and Mexico after graduating. These experiences have become the inspiration for much of his writing, which often explores themes of alienation and misery as human constructions that can be overcome through self-understanding and the acceptance of suffering. LaPoma has written three novels, ten screenplays, and hundreds of songs and poems. His screenplays have won over 140 awards/honors at various international screenwriting competitions, and his black comedy script HARM FOR THE HOLIDAYS was optioned by Warren Zide along with Wexlfish Pictures (AMERICAN PIE, FINAL DESTINATION, THE BIG HIT). LaPoma's novel DEVELOPING MINDS: AN AMERICAN GHOST STORY is an Amazon Best Seller ("Satire" and "Urban Life" Kindle categories), and it won the 2015 Stargazer Literary Prizes (Visionary and Metaphysical Fiction category) and won the bronze medal in the 2016 Florida Authors and Publishers Association President's Awards (Adult eBook category). His novel UNDERSTANDING THE ALACRAN won the silver medal in the 2017 FAPA President's Awards (Contemporary/Literary category). He lives in San Diego and teaches at a public secondary school.
"A slender, fast-paced, fever-dreamed excursion . . . undeniably addictive."-Kirkus Reviews, Recommended Review "Like a bad trip--filthy in all sorts of ways, yet weirdly endearing."-Yuliya Geikhman, US Review of Books "Unique . . . extraordinary . . . a pot-smoking, paradigm-changing journey that brings readers along for a wild ride, offering a high-octane blend of psychological revelations and cultural observation . . . especially recommended for readers who appreciate coming-of-age stories beyond the usual teenage angst focus."-Diane Donovan, Midwest Book Review "Not a light read . . . LaPoma paints a gritty picture of struggling young adults, living moment to moment, overwhelmed by adulthood. Dan's demons are present on every page and readers that suffer from anxiety or depression are likely to connect with his struggle for belonging and self-acceptance . . . Dan's inner voice speaks loudly to the difficulty many face on life's winding road."-Red City Review "I couldn't help but recall my first impressions of Journey to the End of the Night by Louis-Ferdinand Celine . . . We see past the golden sunlight to the street kids with their broken dreams, to the panhandling in the Haight and the ghost of Kurt Cobain haunting the streets of Seattle . . . Danny's odyssey, his metaphorical Summer of Love, is both marred and enhanced by the reality of his physical condition and that of the world. At once unworldly and preternaturally wise, he sees past the trappings into a reality that is not entirely unexpected considering his life up to that point . . . the reader can't help but hope he will survive all he's experiencing . . . most highly recommended."-Jack Magnus, Readers' Favorite, 5 Stars "A classic story destined to find its home in reading groups across the nation."-Lisa McCombs, Readers' Favorite, 5 Stars "Definitely weird, but enjoyably so . . . A daring piece of work."-Marjorie H, Books & Tea Cups "Though The Summer of Crud is short, MAN is it deep! This narrative is chock full of harsh observances of human nature and insecurity . . . One of those books that is so full of incredible quotes that rather than sharing a few I might as well just give anyone a copy of the book and say "Here, read this; I really love it . . . like The Perks of Being a Wallflower's grungy older brother."-Audrey L, Netgalley Reviewer "Disturbingly deep, hypnotizing. I couldn't stop reading it even if I wanted."-Atiqah M, Bookmarks & Blue Light "Takes adventure and art to a whole other level . . . packed with life, lessons and realism. He gets into some deep shit and it will hit you . . . Even though it's from a man's pov, as a woman I completely understand and am sympathetic from a different aspect . . . it really reached a part of my soul that's hard to get to . . . You have to read this . . . There will be at least one chapter in here that will make you think . . . why is this so me?"-Ash the Bookworm "Twisted enough to be intriguing, but not so much that it's a turnoff . . . A deep, unique, extremely well-presented narrative of self-awareness while declining into mental illness."-Book Bangs
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