Jamie is a twelve-year-old who has been labeled highly gifted. Good news, right? Except with it comes a cross-county car trip…with his ultra-obsessed dad…his annoying little sister…and a wacky educational consultant his dad has hired. Jamie could suggest better ways to spend his summer, and to live his life, if only someone would listen. But his dad, Doug, can’t hear above the loud voices demanding nothing but the best for his son. Doug will do anything to give Jamie the leg up he needs to compete in a vicious world and get into an Ivy League school. Michael Reilly’s hysterical road-trip in search of achievement is a wide-eyed satire about the pressures of modern parenthood. As they set out on the trip to San Francisco, where Jamie will attend a summer program for gifted youth, Doug’s enthusiasm and hyperkinetic desire to enrich Jamie at every turn leads to hilarious complications and enlightening predicaments. A riotous portrayal of a father desperate to have the promise of his youth fulfilled through the life of his son, Doug’s journey is not unlike that of many parents in modern-day America. With good grades, extracurricular activities, and solid SATs no longer the benchmark for entrance into top colleges, the pressure and stress of giving children the best opportunities for success can often lead to misplaced motivations. Accurately depicting the push-pull of parenthood and childhood and the need for adults to understand the voices of their children, Fresh Heir is a laugh-out-loud journey of self-discovery.
Fresh Heir
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
"If you like your books with a side of quirkiness, then this is a great book for you! You will read this book with a smile on your face, or laughing, most of the way through...I highly recommend it to all parents, as a warning and reminder of what is truly important to our kids!" - Bless Their Hearts Mom Book Review
"I thought this was an entertaining read and relished the hilarity found within the pages. The wit is sometimes dry but often leaves the reader chuckling as you follow the group across America...I think this would make a hilarious, comedic movie and often pictured the scenes in such a manner." - MadMooseMama Book Review
"I thought this was an entertaining read and relished the hilarity found within the pages. The wit is sometimes dry but often leaves the reader chuckling as you follow the group across America...I think this would make a hilarious, comedic movie and often pictured the scenes in such a manner." - MadMooseMama Book Review
About the Author
Michael Reilly earned an undergraduate degree from Yale University and a graduate degree from Columbia University. He currently lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, with his wife and four children.
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More About the Author
Michael Reilly is a writer and entrepreneur. He earned a bachelor's degree in history from Yale University and a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University. His first published novel, Fresh Heir, was released in May 2011. He is also founder and chief executive officer of FitDivs Inc, a company that promotes and rewards healthy living. Michael resides with his wife and four children in Charlottesville, VA.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Just a Mom
Format:Paperback
An amazing book by new author, Michael Reilly, Fresh Heir is full of surprising twists and laugh-out-loud moments. It's a satirical novel exploring the struggle between overachieving parents who only want their child to succeed, and the kid that just wants to enjoy life and have fun. Doug, the overambitious father wants his 12 and-a-half year old, genius son, Jamie, to get into an Ivy League college and to grow up rich and successful. To do this, Doug takes Jamie, Jamie's younger sister Frizzy, and Ashley, an educational counselor on a cross-country trip so that Jamie can go to ELEGY, an elite academic program in San Francisco. Mr. Reilly cleverly writes the novel from both Jamie and Doug's perspective which enables the reader to understand the feelings of both the father and son. Although it's clearly written by adults, it's still a great read for teenagers (including myself) because they can relate to the pressure that Jamie feels to succeed. Overall, Fresh Heir is a fast-paced, exciting novel about a family on a journey of self-discovery.
-By Just A Mom's Just A (Teen) Son
-By Just A Mom's Just A (Teen) Son
By H. Mccann
Format:Paperback
Once in a while I pick up a book that makes me laugh out loud and then takes me on an adventure I just can't forget. Fresh Heir is one of those books!!
I was hooked with the humorous style and then reeled in with the rare talent of Reilly's dialogue skills that simply jump the characters right off the page (really!) This was such a fun book to read- exploring paths and pathos of a family mile by mile, and chapter by chapter. As a reader, I felt like an extra passenger squeezed into the SUV filled with a family of mixed up members. Each character; young, middle aged and old, reveal inner personal crossroads as the outer antics of racing down highways, rest stop follies, long lost relatives and wrong exits, keep the pages turning rapidly!
Fresh Heir is a beautiful telling of a father's journey to reclaim his family's future by discovering that the joy and lessons are always in the journey, not the destination.
Reilly is a new voice for a generation always on the move...his wit is a clever disguise for a book filled with wisdom not often captured in our busy lives.
It reminds me of Little Miss Sunshine and Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Great read!!!!
I was hooked with the humorous style and then reeled in with the rare talent of Reilly's dialogue skills that simply jump the characters right off the page (really!) This was such a fun book to read- exploring paths and pathos of a family mile by mile, and chapter by chapter. As a reader, I felt like an extra passenger squeezed into the SUV filled with a family of mixed up members. Each character; young, middle aged and old, reveal inner personal crossroads as the outer antics of racing down highways, rest stop follies, long lost relatives and wrong exits, keep the pages turning rapidly!
Fresh Heir is a beautiful telling of a father's journey to reclaim his family's future by discovering that the joy and lessons are always in the journey, not the destination.
Reilly is a new voice for a generation always on the move...his wit is a clever disguise for a book filled with wisdom not often captured in our busy lives.
It reminds me of Little Miss Sunshine and Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Great read!!!!
Format:Paperback
Reviewed By~JoAnne
Review Copy Provided By~author
This was a hard book to get interested in. It was a story that went for a lot of pages without moving forward but finally improved yet still never seemed to reach its potential. The characters were all dysfunctional and wouldn't have had anything to do with each other if they weren't family or in the case of Ashley, the educational consultant, if she wasn't going along to "tutor" Jamie. Initially the road trip was torturous and never seemed to get them very far. Some of the descriptions of the places they were traveling through were vivid especially when they were in Colorado and in some of the National Parks. There were a few chuckles at their antics but for the most part they were each swearing, many times at each other, or you were driven nuts by Frizzy, the little sister, and her speech pattern - the Southern lisp. The father's driving left a lot to be desired and kept them all on edge as a result. He also seemed sex obsessed at various parts of the story. The one endearing character was Dale, the grandfather they visited in Florida and then he tagged along on the road trip with them. The last fifty pages were probably the best of the book and there actually was a nice ending to the story. Although this book had promise I don't feel it was ever achieved. I would give another book of the author's a try and hope that it was better than Fresh Heir.
Favorite Quote: And that's exactly what we do. We pull off into a parking area where some signs alert visitors to several hiking trails. Dawkins was right again when he told me you haven't lived until you stood at the foot of the Tetons. My dad steps out and looks up. "This keeps getting better and better," he says in awe. I assume he means that even breasts aren't this captivating.
Review Copy Provided By~author
This was a hard book to get interested in. It was a story that went for a lot of pages without moving forward but finally improved yet still never seemed to reach its potential. The characters were all dysfunctional and wouldn't have had anything to do with each other if they weren't family or in the case of Ashley, the educational consultant, if she wasn't going along to "tutor" Jamie. Initially the road trip was torturous and never seemed to get them very far. Some of the descriptions of the places they were traveling through were vivid especially when they were in Colorado and in some of the National Parks. There were a few chuckles at their antics but for the most part they were each swearing, many times at each other, or you were driven nuts by Frizzy, the little sister, and her speech pattern - the Southern lisp. The father's driving left a lot to be desired and kept them all on edge as a result. He also seemed sex obsessed at various parts of the story. The one endearing character was Dale, the grandfather they visited in Florida and then he tagged along on the road trip with them. The last fifty pages were probably the best of the book and there actually was a nice ending to the story. Although this book had promise I don't feel it was ever achieved. I would give another book of the author's a try and hope that it was better than Fresh Heir.
Favorite Quote: And that's exactly what we do. We pull off into a parking area where some signs alert visitors to several hiking trails. Dawkins was right again when he told me you haven't lived until you stood at the foot of the Tetons. My dad steps out and looks up. "This keeps getting better and better," he says in awe. I assume he means that even breasts aren't this captivating.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
One of those books that Turn Out To Be Pretty Good
Full, non-spoiler review courtesy at ~ Book & Movie Dimension (blog) ~
One of those books that is about introducing real life issues while trying to keep humor and a... Read more
One of those books that is about introducing real life issues while trying to keep humor and a... Read more
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I'd Rather Be At The Beach: Reviews
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This debut for first-time author Michael Reilly provides the perfect mix of humor, creativity and relevance. Mr. Read more
Published 20 months ago by One of Those Parents
