• Down and Across

  • By: Arvin Ahmadi
  • Narrated by: Assaf Cohen
  • Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (33 ratings)

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Down and Across  By  cover art

Down and Across

By: Arvin Ahmadi
Narrated by: Assaf Cohen
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Publisher's summary

Discover the secret to success in this incisively funny debut, for fans of John Corey Whaley, David Arnold, and Ned Vizzini!

Scott Ferdowsi has a track record of quitting. Writing the Great American Novel? Three chapters. His summer internship? One week. His best friends know exactly what they want to do with the rest of their lives, but Scott can't commit to a breakfast cereal, let alone a passion. With college applications looming, Scott's parents pressure him to get serious about a career path like engineering or medicine. Desperate for help, he sneaks off to Washington, DC, to seek guidance from a famous professor who specializes in grit, the psychology of success.

He never expects an adventure to unfold out of what was supposed to be a one-day visit. But that's what Scott gets when he meets Fiora Buchanan, a ballsy college student whose life ambition is to write crossword puzzles. When the bicycle she lends him gets Scott into a high-speed chase, he knows he's in for the ride of his life. Soon, Scott finds himself sneaking into bars, attempting to pick up girls at the National Zoo, and even giving the crossword thing a try - all while opening his eyes to fundamental truths about who he is and who he wants to be.

©2018 Arvin Ahmadi (P)2018 Listening Library

Critic reviews

"John Green fans will appreciate this tale ... [Ahmadi] successfully fashions a universal story of discovering one's true self through the honest eyes of another." (USA Today)

"Witty, smart, and inspiring, the novel celebrates life’s big and little surprises and the connections made between people that lead to profound changes." (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

"Highly original ... An engaging debut novel about self-discovery." (Kirkus Reviews)

What listeners say about Down and Across

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Wish i bought the book.....

I bought this audio book because i received an audible email with reviews i just couldn’t pass up.

Clearly they were written by people who READ the book. I wish i had done the same. The narrator literally ruined this book for me. I couldn’t even finish it. Seriously. I can talk but this experience has burst every bucket list dream i ever had of being a closet audible narrator success: apparently there’s more to it. I cannot even talk about the book because i only made it to chapter 9. The voice just ... grated ...on ... me to the point i couldn’t keep track of what was going on. He wanted to be funny but that made me roll my eyes. He tried to modulate his speed but that only made him sound rushed or bored. His effort to sound like a girl and his “hickish” southern accent or Farsi that sounded German made me want to jab sharp instruments into my ears!!!! After i just couldn’t listen anymore i thought “who is this guy?” And read he’s an actor. A BLAZING HOT actor at that! Which makes this even harder to write but this all just sounded too forced to me. He’s probably an amazing actor and it may just be that acting and reading to no one into a microphone is kind of like talking and being an audible narrator: there’s more to it.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

True Grit

If you don't know what that is (outside of the movie reference) then read this book. It will not disappoint.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great YA Book

Enjoyed this book... and the romp through DC as well as through the mind of an adolescent male!

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