Jerome

You know you are in the company of a great writer when the very first page of a book wrenches your heart. With such an auspicious start, William Taylor begins his moving account of teenage Marco coming to terms with the loss of his life-long friend, Jerome, in an apparent hunting accident. He writes to Jerome's former 'girlfriend' Kate and their correspondence comprises most of this little book. He deals with his great loss, his loneliness, drinking, and the realization that Kate is gay. Then Marco must deal with Jerome's true nature and, finally, his feelings for his lost friend. There are many heart-rending moments in the unfolding of his wonderful tale, and Mr. Taylor leaves us with hope for these wonderful kids, with their gaining of healing knowledge, and humanity.

This short novella explores the reactions of two friends (Marco and Kate) to the apparent suicide of another friend (Jerome). Through an exchange of letters and e-mails, the truth of their respective relationship with the deceased (Jerome of the title) becomes clear.Slowly, Marco and Kate reveal their own personalities anf this proves to be a very shocking for Marco.The book is very well put together, the story is moving and thought provoking. It's not a long read; I managed it in under an hour, but it IS a deep read.

When Jerome dies, his two best friends, Marco and Katie, try to commiserate each other. To do so they have to fall back on the Internet, since one of them is in the US and the other in NZ. As the email messages fly back and forth half way around the world, the two unlikely friends find out more and more about each other and about themselves.If Jerome hadn't died, however, Marco might never have found a way to come to terms with himself and honor his friend in the process. In this, the book reflects real life. The list is long of people who have had to die before their friends and family came to grow into reason. And still, parents turns their sons onto the streets, or one-time pals harrass and abuse former friends.Still, this book is does not sink into self-indulgence. The dialogue carried on between the two survivors leads them out of sorrow into the light of self-awareness. For this reason, it is a valuable resource for any young person. It shows a way to reach understanding without throwing in the towel. It can prepare young people and adults to face the unimaginable together.Jerome can speak to us all.

This book is told via emails, IMs, letters, and phone conversations between two people. Very unique and wonderful because we learn about the story piece by piece and then are left to put the pieces together. Very fun to read.The theme of this book is the reaction that two teenagers have when they find out that their friend dies by suicide. The end is very sweet and uplifting. The relationship that forms between these two living characters is wonderful and shows us that good can come out of any bad situation.This book also talks about the pain that gay youth must endure. In this case, Jerome became another statistic of young gays that kill themselves to deal with the homophobia of society.I havne't given anything away about the book. You learn that Jerome dies within the first 2 pages. The book is very short and a joy to read. Takes only a few minutes to get into the flow of the narration, but one you go with it you're carried away.

Read this one in just a couple of hours, but it certainly was enjoyable! Its message of acceptance, honesty with others and with yourself is appropriate for all, not just "Young Adult" readers. It's a "coming of age" story with a huge "What if...?" that I think probably everyone can relate to. (Don't want to say more!) I recommend this book.