Jack

Jack is in his fifteenth year, an only child and a keen basketball player, when his father, who separated from his mother s few years ago, takes him out on a lake in a boat to announce to Jack that he is gay. Jack's immediate reaction, aside from revulsion, is to grab himself the first girl he can, and so prove that he is not like his father. But that is just the beginnings of Jack's troubles that will plague him up to his sixteenth birthday. Jack relates his own account, and he tells his storey not sparing himself himself in the process. Within the first page one is already won over to Jack, he is a thoroughly likeable young man, and very funny too in his narration. The relatively few characters are well drawn, notable is Jack's long standing friend Max, the complete opposite to Jack, insensitive and something of a glutton, but their friendship is built on solid ground. This is a delightful story, and frequently very funny, but there are moments of drama too. As the story draws to its conclusion with Jack's sixteenth birthday he has figured a few things out, and seems well set for the future. "Jack" is a most enjoyable and positive read.

I am a big fan of Homes and this first book by her does not disappoint. Jack is a 15 year old guy, pretty average, whose father suddenly announces he is gay. The story focuses around the few months following the announcement and how Jack deals with it. The tone is just right and Homes tackles the story beautifully, making Jack a totally credible character. Recommended - like any of Homes' books.

Jack, a work of fiction by A. M. Homes, is a remarkable story in which Jack must make his way through high school with more than just the usual pressures and awkwardness of growing up because his father is gay. It is hard to believe that this is Homes's first novel because the Sarah Lawrence graduate has won several awards such as a James Michener Fellowship, a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship, and a Henfield Transatlantic Review Award. Although Jack has a cornucopia of themes the most constant theme is that what ever happens your family is always your family, no matter how strange they are. In the story Jack lives with his mother and her boyfriend Michael sometime in the 1980's or 1990's. He is an only child and is fifteen, when the novel begins, attending public high school where his best friend is Max and his girlfriend is Maggie. Even though Jack thought he knew his father pretty well it turns out that he knew less than he thought, because he reviles on a boat one afternoon to Jack that he is a homosexual. Unfortunately, the novel takes place in the years before homosexuals were excepted because people were afraid they would "get AIDS from them or something" (pg. 40). However strange and uncomfortable Jack feels, after much difficulty he realizes that he can't just shut his father out of his life because he is his son and he knows that he is just going to have to get used to his fathers sexuality. Clearly Jack's life much more complicated than that of the average high schooler. Homes's novel is full of numerous interesting and real characters. Jack is what I think of as a typical teenager; he plays on the basketball team, has a best friend and a girlfriend, despite his bumpy home life, he is fairly normal. Sadly the same can not be said for his best friend "stupid Max," who also experiences trouble at home (Pg. 38). Max's trouble becomes much more serious than Jack's though when his father beats his mother so badly that she kicks him out of the house. Maggie, Jack's girlfriend, whom he describes as one of the "ultra cool crowd, the kids who never, ever, talk to anyone but themselves" which was why he was so surprised when she started to like him (pg. 54). Jack's father lives in an apartment complex with Bob, and is slowly regaining Jack's friendship. Michael, Jack's mother's boyfriend, is a little strange. Jack calls him "Old Mr. Zen" because he is constantly pouring out somewhat hippie-like and wishy washy advice that is only applicable to the situation half the time, maybe more if you really search fro the meaning in his words (pg. 29). However weird these people may seem, at the end of the day they are Jack's family. Jack by A. M. Homes is an addictive story. Homes has a great writing style because she uses a lot of both indirect and direct characterization. In my opinion that is the best way to hook the reader because it makes me feel as though I know the characters. Also, because Jack was such a believabl

My teenage angst seems insignificant now. This book is moving, charming and funny on every page.

I loved this book from page one...I picked it up after reading" End of Alice" while i was at work (in a bookstore of course) and thumbed through the first couple of pages and was hesitant in putting it back...i'm glad i didn't....this book was funny and emotional and i recommend it to anyone who was confused as hell growing up.