Praise for How to Be Manly

"I have found a new hero in Matty Sullivan, and a new favorite writer in Maureen Wanket. How To Be Manly is more than a coming of age story--it's a gritty quest full of heart. Buy two copies of this book--one to read and one to give to someone you love. I couldn't put it down. Neither will you."
--Jodi Angel, author of You Only Get Letters From Jail (Tin House Books, 2013)

"How to be Manly is an amazing book, and I absolutely love it. It's smart and funny and Matt Sullivan is a wonderful character-totally believable and indelibly likeable. I would and will recommend it to anyone."
--Tricia Stirling, author of When My Heart Was Wicked (Scholastic Press, coming 2015)

"Readers of all ages will laugh and cry as Matt Sullivan learns How To Be Manly. Maureen O'Leary Wanket has written a beautiful and engaging first novel."
--Vanessa Diffenbaugh, author of The Language of Flowers (Ballantine Books, 2011)

When Fatty Matty Sullivan finds a self-help book by former football great Tad Manly at a yard sale, he secretly starts following the old pro's advice to get in shape and get the girl. Summer goals: lose the milkshake weight, join the football team, and turn himself into the kind of guy super hot Cassie Bale will love.

But between taking care of his grandfather, trying to pass remedial Algebra, and getting caught up in his friend Jester's half-baked weed-dealing schemes, Matty's summer isn't quite the game-changer he'd planned. When on top of it all his dad moves back in with his own plans to get rich quick, Matty suddenly has much bigger things to worry about than football and whether or not Cassie's going to call him back. And it turns out that there might be more to being manly than he thought.

Maureen O'Leary Wanket's debut is a sharp, comic novel about trying to do the right thing... even when you're not sure what that is.
About the Author: Maureen O'Leary Wanket is a writer and teacher living in Sacramento, California with her husband and two daughters. How to Be Manly was inspired by the humor and courage of the students she's met in her classrooms over the past twenty years. She loves high school football, but only when she happens to teach at least half of the players on the field. Her short stories have appeared in Esopus, Xenith, Fiction at Work, Blood and Thunder, Musings on the Art of Medicine and Prick of the Spindle. Maureen writes articles about issues in education for local and national publications. She also muses about inspirations for a writer's life at maureenoleary.wordpress.com. How to Be Manly is Maureen's first published novel. Follow her writing and publishing adventures on Twitter @maureenow.