33 Minutes

Sam Lewis is going to get his butt kicked in exactly thirty-three minutes. He knows this because yesterday his former best friend Morgan Sturtz told him, to his face and with three witnesses nearby, “I am totally going to kick your butt tomorrow at recess.”

All that’s standing between Sam and this unfortunate butt-kicking is the last few minutes of social studies and his lunch period. But how did Sam and Morgan end up here? How did this happen just a few months after TAMADE (The Absolutely Most Amazing Day Ever), when they became the greatest Alien Wars video game team in the history of great Alien Wars teams? And once the clock ticks down, will Morgan actually act on his threat?

Told with equal parts laugh-out-loud humor and achingly real emotional truth, 33 Minutes shows how even the best of friendships can change forever.

Praise

“Todd Hasak-Lowy writes for kids and hits the mark . . . The weighty matters of losing a friend and learning how to define oneself without the stability of a longtime pal are front and center in 33 Minutes, but the book also has moments of whimsy.” — Chicago Tribune

“A realistic picture of early teen life . . . though the details are specific–and funny–the sad situation is not unusual.”  — Kirkus Review

 “An entertaining story about the shifting nature of friendship . . . Hasak-Lowy gives Sam an amusingly discursive narrative voice . . . through which he dissects the middle school experience and his loss of a friend.” — Publishers Weekly

“Very enjoyable and weirdly touching.” — Elizabeth Bird, School Library Journal

“The novel does an excellent job of traversing the wilds of middle school drama . . . a strong and refreshingly straightforward portrait of identity and shifting-friendship trials.” — Joanna Sondheim, School Library Journal

“Hasak-Lowy gives readers a . . . thoughtful examination of relationships between boys with a deft and compassionate hand, all while keeping the humor and tone squarely targeted at tween guys . . . Witty and wise, this will appeal to boys looking for both laughs and guidance.” — Bulletin for the Center of Children’s Books

“While the book may be for the middle-school crowd, Hasak-Lowy’s eye for character and the acute emotions of those years lends a funny book great depth.” — Time Out Chicago Kids

“Funny, fast-paced, and quite poignant, 33 Minutes beautifully captures one of the greatest heartbreaks of middle school: the end of a friendship.” –R.J. Palacio, New York Times bestselling author of Wonder

 “Readers will be rooting for Sam Lewis from minute one . . . Humorous and thoughtful, 33 Minutes will keep young readers turning pages right to the end.” –Ingrid Law, Newbery honor winning author of Savvy

Vermont’s Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award list, 2014-2015

An Illinois Reads title, 2015

Five-year license with Scholastic (through 2019)