Teen angst gets real gritty (and real nerdy) in new YA novel 'Down and Across'

In the '90s, Forrest Gump famously opined "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get."

Now that musing is getting a much nerdier update with Arvin Armadi's new novel Down and Across: life is like constructing a crossword puzzle.

Down and Across follows Scott Ferdowsi, a lost and aimless 16 year old living in Philadelphia. Determined to find his passion, Scott runs away to D.C. in an attempt to talk to Professor Mallard, a psychologist who claims to know the secret to success: grit. But after meeting Fiora, a tenacious college student obsessed with crossword puzzles, what Scott planned to be a quick two-day trip turns into a summer long adventure of discovering his passions, discovering himself, and getting gritty. Read more...