As a teenager pretty much left to raise herself while her parents struggle to do the same, Lucy Diamond is a narrator with a radiant yet guarded heart. As she races at breakneck speed toward womanhood, everything is at stake for her, producing an urgency and dread that she holds at bay with humor and grace. But, while Lucy charges ahead, her mother’s youth is fading, providing juxtaposition steeped with tension and love. Simultaneously embracing and resisting their similarities, Pete Fromm's AS COOL AS I AM reveals both women’s emotional vulnerabilities and their deep need for each other. Conveyed through dialogue that is both laugh-aloud funny and true, Lucy’s character will stand out in the canon of contemporary literature for her large heart and inimitable grit.