About The Book Series
Ready For The World - Driver’s Education:
Fifteen-year-old Brandon Delacruz’s wants are simple. He wants to be popular, drives a cool car, and has the girl of his dreams on his arm. Instead, he’ll have to settle for being on the honor roll, riding his ten-speed bike, and having his best friends, Josh and Ally beside him as they learn the ins and outs of high school.
But as Brandon begins to discover feelings for Ally, a tragedy occurs that changes their lives. And now, he’ll spend the rest of the year sorting through his complicated feelings and his uncertain relationship with Ally...all while keeping his grades up. Because unlike getting a driver’s license, life doesn’t offer a practice test. Brandon will have to rise and meet the challenges of the real world, whether he’s ready for it not.
Ready For The World - Superstar:
He has the girl, the grades, and now, a
calling. Brandon Delacruz is going to write the next great novel and he isn’t
even sixteen yet. It looks like 1987 is going to be his best year ever.
But his best year quickly turns into his
most confusing. Because instead of one special girl in his life, there are two.
There’s Ally, his childhood friend, and first love who has turned into the
biggest enigma in his life. And then there’s Rachel, a brash and beautiful girl
that’s as good a photographer as she is a pool player.
Brandon will learn that life can’t be
easily rewritten or edited like a novel. But like mystery novels, things in
life aren’t always what they seem. Like comedic books, life is often funny and
hilarious. And like the best love stories, life has its share of twists and
turns, ups and downs, that are filled with beauty, grace, and sometimes
heartbreak.
Purchase Links
Ready For The World: Driver’s Education
Character Interview
Hi Brandon! How are you doing today?
I’m good! Just hanging out. Although, I could really use a
slice of pizza. Plain cheese with a shaker full of red pepper flakes right
beside my plate...
Dang, I gotta call Josh after this and go grab a bite. Just
talking about pizza is making my stomach growl.
Tell us 3 things about yourself that the readers do not know
about.
1. My parents are huge Elvis Presley fans so I grew up
listening to his music. I can even do a pretty good imitation of his singing
voice.
2. I always wished I was handier. My buddy Josh can build
a car from scratch and I can barely hammer a nail into a wall without bending
it.
3. Once when we were nine years old, Josh dared me and Ally
to kiss. But before our lips touched, I chickened out and she ended up kissing
me on the cheek. We lost the dare and had to buy Josh something from the ice
cream man. And Ally seemed really mad about it at the time. Although I’m not
sure why.
What are your future plans?
I know I wanna go to college after high school somewhere
great like Harvard or Stanford, but I don’t know if I’m good enough. I mean,
look at some of my friends like Ally or Amy or Rachel. Those guys are the real brains in our class.
But wherever I go, I think I wanna study English. I want to
be a writer. I know that much.
If you had a free day with no responsibilities and you are only the mission was to enjoy yourself, what would you do?
I’ve never really had to chance to travel much. Unless you
count all the times we drove to my Auntie Janet’s house in L.A., which I
don’t...
So I think I’d want to travel. Just get into my car and drive
for a while. There’s a lot of places I’ve never been just in California alone.
I’d love to drive out to the mountains and get a whiff of the fresh air. Or
maybe out to the desert to and see all the different colors of the sky.
But if there was one place I’d really like to visit, it would
be San Francisco. I love city life. I love that it’s always cool there but
not snowy. And there’s something about it that just speaks to me. It’s probably
the writer in me, but it feels that San Francisco always has a story to tell
and I wanna hear it. Maybe one day, I’ll be able to add mine to it.
And right now, both of their baseball teams are good, so
there’s that...
If you could spend the day with someone you admire (living or
dead or imaginary), who would you pick?
Wow. That’s a tough question. I can’t pick just one so I’ll
pick two.
I’d hang with Magic Johnson and have him give me basketball
lessons. I want to learn to see the game the way he does. It’s like he’s got
eyes in the back of his head out there!
And I’d love to meet Steven Spielberg and see how a great
storyteller tells his stories. His movies aren’t just movies, they’re
experiences.
And maybe Cindy Crawford because...well, she’s Cindy
Crawford...
What is your idea of perfect happiness? And, what is your current state of mind?
Besides Cindy Crawford, you mean? Sorry, just kidding...
I don’t know. I guess I’m okay. I mean, things aren’t too
bad. Things could always be better. Things could be more clear and less
confusing. She could be more clear and less
confusing...
I think a perfect day would be sharing a tub of popcorn with
someone special at a drive-in movie. We could huddle together with a nice
toasty blanket wrapped around us. And after that, we could drive out to the
mountains and look up at the stars.
Lastly, do you have any advice for today’s teenagers from your
experience?
Well, since I still am a teenager, I’m not sure what I can
offer. I mean, I’m still trying to figure it all out too, you know?
But someone once told me that I should never be afraid to
give my best effort. It doesn’t matter what it is, whether it’s school or
sports. Prepare, practice, and push forward. Sometimes things will work out and
sometimes they won’t, but at least you’ll learn what it takes to get to where
you wanna go.
About the Author
Charmeljun Gallardo is a former Radiologist and author. His first book is Ready for the World young adult book series. He graduated from San Francisco State University with a Creative Writing degree in 1996. He is a writer, photography enthusiast, sports fan, movie geek, stroke survivor, and an adventurous foodie. He lives in San Diego, California with his wife and son.
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