There are a few great things to be said about Justin Lookadoo’s latest book 97 Random Thoughts About Life, Love & Relationships, releasing nationally February 1st from Revell.

97 of them in fact. That’s the number of chapters that were committed to paper from the seemingly madcap, ministry brain of the 6’7” Lookadoo. Since the release of his best-selling book Dateable in 2003, he has rapidly established himself on the national scene as a hip and respected ‘life coach’ to teens, both as a best-selling author and in demand national speaker.

With the release of 97, readers can strap in for the wild ride with an all-access backstage pass to the wonderfully unique universe that is 'Lookadoo.' In short, easy-to-navigate vignette style chapters filled with an assortment of cool graphics, devotional quality lessons on life, love and relationships are learned from characters as seemingly unlikely as 'Lounger the Cat.' Throughout the book, Lookadoo leads a pied piper’s charge towards making God and biblical principals culturally relevant to a generation of instant text messengers.

Lookadoo's genius is in the way his intensely personal style of speaking attracts teens. While he admits to being among the fellowship of those with ADD, what might have been a disability as a rocket scientist, turns out to be brilliance as a writer, allowing him to zoom to the core of rubber-meets-the road real life issues and pull out strands of ‘text message’ wisdom with eternal value.

Justin Lookadoo has personally earned his stripes as an expert in the world of youth challenges. Much of the last seventeen years of his adult life have been spent as a Juvenile Probation Officer and Crime & Drug Prevention Specialist in his native Texas. “I saw so many totally whacked out kids whose complex problems boiled down to the same three missing ingredients in their lives -- love, purpose, and direction. All of my books attempt to nail these elements in a cool way I hope will reach the kids.”

The chord of inspiration and instruction that is woven through each chapter of 97 is ‘dig deeper, grow bigger, live life with no regrets.’ It’s a very personal message to the author from the author—a bit of wisdom born out of a moment of personal tragedy in his own youthful life, as revealed in chapter 97—which opens the book.

“97 is my number,” notes Justin. "I keep it everywhere. That way when I think I need to call someone, talk with someone, or send them an e-mail, and I want to be lazy and blow it off until later…97. When I see something happening that I know is wrong and I can do something about it, but it would be so much easier to sit back and not get involved…97. When I don’t want to get out of bed because I’m bummed out about life…97.”

“Step up. Make a difference. Reach out. Go see your grandparents. Give a dollar to the dude. Don’t let anything get in your way of what needs to be done,” notes the author.

Yes…that’s a ‘97.’