actual press
Metro
"Charming and irresistible...a quick, lovable read."
Presentense
Losers is quintessentially an American story, a tale of immigration and acculturation, of generational differences and of coming to terms with one’s “baggage” — be it social,cultural, or religious.
Helium
"More than a little crazy....There are universal life truths in here in this short and unputdownable book."
More Bullies in More Books by C.J. Bott
Um, yay? Jupiter and Bates were mentioned in this book: "Jupiter Glazer and his parents left Russia seven years ago and now live in an empty warehouse outside Philadelphia. Now in junior high, Jupiter wants to avoid the insane bully Bates and find a way to fit in. For him, the first step is to lose his accent."
Teen Book Review
"It rocks. It’s hilarious. It’s more than a little crazy, yet manages to ring true. There are universal life truths in here among Jupiter’s escapades, and you’ll find yourself rooting for Jupiter wholeheartedly. And the writing! Even funnier. Descriptive and gritty and captivating. Matthue Roth can write."
Bookami
"As the volumes of YA novels published each year continue to grow, it's going to be less and less about what happens, and more about how you say it, and I think Matthue Roth knows how to say it."
Forward
They like me ("charming," "idiosyncratic") but most of the review is spent discussing how I'm not like Philip Roth. Which, duh -- I could've told you that.
JVibe
"The book manages without a lot of plot or adventure to keep readers glued...What defines being a 'loser' isn't an environment, but an attitude."
YA New York
"What’s amazing about Matthue’s book is that it’s not only funny, but also a pretty decent breakdown of high school cliques. Of how the people in them are maybe not so evil. Of how everyone, even the bullies, are just trying to find a place for themselves."
The Bloody Snow
"Losers...shows that not all kids want or like to be popular, that some strive for something more meaningful, and that awkwardness is an art form. The resulting product is a story of not only meaning, but also hilarity."
interviews / guest appearances
YA New York
"I always wanted to live in a factory. I actually really wanted to move into the basement, which was a big area that had a few couches and a lot of pillows and some seventies furniture that no one had used for years. I thought the wall would be filled with books and the floors would be filled with gigantic Lego sculptures. I spent a lot of time alone as a kid."
Middler Books and More "[Losers] rang true to me...a sensitive and broad exploration of the post-immigrant experience, socio-economic labeling, and the normal emergence of male sexuality (no pun intended) without any graphic sex or promiscuity."
Oy!Chicago
"Over the course of the book, [Jupiter] learns and makes connections with people. That’s religion to me, this process of discovery where you never actually discover anything –the process is where the love is."
Jewlicious: The Losers interview
Shemspeed: Are you aware that people are going to now be making Loser jokes to/with you from now till you are 120?
Matthue: Are you kidding? I’m the one who started most of them. Good thing the sequel is called “#1 Hottest Rock Star On the Planet.”
Primal Scream Therapy
A five-part series between me and Marty Beckerman, the author of Dumbocracy, in which we alternately pat each other on the back and rip each other to shreds.
"In one of the first chapters, this girl teaches him how to flirt by teaching him how to lose his accent, and it's a scene I'm hugely proud of -- not because it's masterful or well-structured or anything, but because, well, Jupiter is so overwhelmingly bad at whatever he does."
Daylife
This is the blog of Alex DiFiori, photographer and Philly punk. "Okay, I'm NOT jealous of Alex getting to grow up on the single hottest block of Center City Philadelphia. I just think it's something about each other that we can't totally relate to. Like being black (him, not me). Or having fashion sense (him, not me). Or knowing how to shoot amazing....okay, you get the point.
