Books with author Lauren Allbright

Twelve-year-old Ross tries to discover the formula for being funny and getting his new classmates to like him in this laugh-out-loud MAX novel!Ross Stevens has changed schools twelve times in the last three years but when his beloved Pops becomes ill, Ross and his mom must plant roots—which means no more school moves. And no more moves mean no more school exits, and Ross has perfected the science of leaving a school with an epic prank. Worse, it means he will actually have to learn how to make friends and do a science project, two things he’s never had to do before. Then Ross hits on a hypothesis: if pranks are cool because they are funny then maybe he could discover the formula for funny! If his nerdy “peer review” partner doesn’t cramp his style and if the embarrassing notebook full of his “research” doesn’t get out, then maybe Ross can actually be happy staying in one place. But can he really figure out the formula for ultimate middle school happiness?

Twelve-year-old Ross tries to discover the formula for being funny and getting his new classmates to like him in this laugh-out-loud debut novel!Ross Stevens has changed schools twelve times in the last three years but when his beloved Pops becomes ill, Ross and his mom must plant roots—which means no more school moves. And no more moves mean no more school exits, and Ross has perfected the science of leaving a school with an epic prank. Worse, it means he will actually have to learn how to make friends and do a science project, two things he’s never had to do before. Then Ross hits on a hypothesis: if pranks are cool because they are funny then maybe he could discover the formula for funny! If his nerdy “peer review” partner doesn’t cramp his style and if the embarrassing notebook full of his “research” doesn’t get out, then maybe Ross can actually be happy staying in one place. But can he really figure out the formula for ultimate middle school happiness?

Twelve-year-old Ross tries to discover the formula for being funny and getting his new classmates to like him in this laugh-out-loud MAX novel!Ross Stevens has changed schools twelve times in the last three years but when his beloved Pops becomes ill, Ross and his mom must plant roots—which means no more school moves. And no more moves mean no more school exits, and Ross has perfected the science of leaving a school with an epic prank. Worse, it means he will actually have to learn how to make friends and do a science project, two things he’s never had to do before. Then Ross hits on a hypothesis: if pranks are cool because they are funny then maybe he could discover the formula for funny! If his nerdy “peer review” partner doesn’t cramp his style and if the embarrassing notebook full of his “research” doesn’t get out, then maybe Ross can actually be happy staying in one place. But can he really figure out the formula for ultimate middle school happiness?

"A winning new book about losing." --Chris Grabenstein, #1 New York Times bestselling authorModern Family meets The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl in this humorous and heartfelt story about a boy desperately trying to achieve a Guinness World Record and ultimately discovering what winning really means along the way.Twelve-year-old Milo Moss has been on a mission to achieve his family's lifelong goal: breaking a Guinness World Record. It's why he and his parents, along with thousands of others, are standing in the middle of a football stadium dressed as human-sized cockroaches.But when the record attempt doesn't exactly go as planned, Milo and his family are failures once again. Now more than ever, Milo needs support from his best friend, Jesse (who also happens to be his nephew -- don't ask, it's complicated). But when Jesse discovers the truth about Milo's record attempt, he pressures him to come clean to the whole school.Desperate to avoid public humiliation, Milo must team up with an unlikely ally to stop the record madness once and for all. Will Milo be able to leave behind his dream of breaking into Guinness? Or will he learn that sometimes there's more to life than winning?"Hilarious and bursting with hijinks from beginning to end." --Stacy McAnulty, author of The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl

"A winning new book about losing." --Chris Grabenstein, #1 New York Times bestselling authorModern Family meets The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl in this humorous and heartfelt story about a boy desperately trying to achieve a Guinness World Record and ultimately discovering what winning really means along the way.Twelve-year-old Milo Moss has been on a mission to achieve his family's lifelong goal: breaking a Guinness World Record. It's why he and his parents, along with thousands of others, are standing in the middle of a football stadium dressed as human-sized cockroaches.But when the record attempt doesn't exactly go as planned, Milo and his family are failures once again. Now more than ever, Milo needs support from his best friend, Jesse (who also happens to be his nephew -- don't ask, it's complicated). But when Jesse discovers the truth about Milo's record attempt, he pressures him to come clean to the whole school.Desperate to avoid public humiliation, Milo must team up with an unlikely ally to stop the record madness once and for all. Will Milo be able to leave behind his dream of breaking into Guinness? Or will he learn that sometimes there's more to life than winning?"Hilarious and bursting with hijinks from beginning to end." --Stacy McAnulty, author of The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl

When Emily Parker leaves her small hometown in the late 1980s for California West University, she thinks she has it all figured out. But when manipulation, vanity, and pleasure enter her life in the form of a whirlwind college romance, will she stay true to herself? Add the watchful eye of an older brother who also attends Cal West, friends who care too much, a strenuous class load and part-time job, and throw in a young, interested professor. Emily’s path into adulthood challenges her at every turn.

Are celebrity politics the spice of American public life or a pox on policy progress? This book identifies and measures the attributes of celebrities that make them well-equipped to win campaigns and yet poorly prepared to govern effectively. The framers of the U.S. Constitution worried about the propensity of an undereducated public to elect unqualified entertainers rather than fit characters to government positions. Celebrities have come to play an increasingly central role in the American political process as fundraisers, surrogates, and as candidates themselves, yet remain a sorely understudied topic in political science. Through a multimethod approach that includes qualitative analysis, novel public opinion surveys, and survey experiments, this book assesses whether Americans are more likely to vote for celebrities than well-known traditional politicians and the implications of these preferences for democracy in the U.S. Perfect for students, scholars, and interested citizens, Star Power looks at the contemporary American political landscape through new lenses of research as well as popular appeal.

After Emily’s world is destroyed by lying and cheating, she returns to her hometown seeking solace and clarity but encounters nothing of the sort, only to return to Los Angeles and find her troubles exactly where she left them. Embarking on a new internship, she’s poised and ready to go, but haunted by love and loss. Should she consider forgiveness? Or is there something better waiting on the other side of her grief?

When Emily Parker leaves her small hometown in the late 1980s for California West University, she thinks she has it all figured out. But when manipulation, vanity, and pleasure enter her life in the form of a whirlwind college romance, will she stay true to herself? Add the watchful eye of an older brother who also attends Cal West, friends who care too much, a strenuous class load and part-time job, and throw in a young, interested professor. Emily’s path into adulthood challenges her at every turn.

When Emily Parker returns to her hometown after several years, she’s reminded of the rolling hills and captivating quiet, the fond memories of growing up and one lost love. Years of relationships falling short behind her, she’s finally happy on her own. So why when she makes the turn into her hometown does she think of that one boy, that one relationship that only lasted the span of a summer but stayed on her mind over the years? Why have all other relationships paled in comparison?

After Emily’s world is destroyed by lying and cheating, she returns to her hometown seeking solace and clarity but encounters nothing of the sort, only to return to Los Angeles and find her troubles exactly where she left them. Embarking on a new internship, she’s poised and ready to go, but haunted by love and loss. Should she consider forgiveness? Or is there something better waiting on the other side of her grief?

When Emily graduates from Cal West University she discovers a career with great opportunity and status, the promise of something special with not one but two men, and friends and family at every turn. For Emily, things seldom stay the same for long…what challenges and choices will her career and relationships bring? Who’s a friend, who’s a lover? And will the watchful eyes and opinions of everyone who means anything to her get in the way? Out of college and into the “real world” tests Emily’s biggest choices so far.