Meet Jack Rothman. He’s seventeen and loves partying, makeup and boys – sometimes all at the same time.
His sex life makes him the hot topic for the high school gossip machine. But who cares? Like Jack always says, ‘it could be worse’.
He doesn’t actually expect that to come true.
But after Jack starts writing an online sex advice column, the mysterious love letters he’s been getting take a turn for the creepy.
Jack’s secret admirer knows everything: where he’s hanging out, who he’s sleeping with, who his mum is dating. They claim they love Jack, but not his unashamedly queer lifestyle. They want him to curb his sexuality, or they’ll force him.
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***I was sent a copy of this book for review. Everything in this review is my own honest opinions.***
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I was so lucky to have an early copy of Jack of Hearts (And Other Parts) sent to me to me for review and I couldn’t wait to get started. Even though I got this book a few months early there was still a real buzz surrounding the book and and awful lot of positives reviews. I had very high hopes going into this book and I do have a soft spot for gay coming of age stories, so my expectations were sky high. Thankfully Jack of Hearts lived up to the hype and surpassed my expectations because it was absolutely brilliant.
Jack of Hearts (And Other Parts) is about a seventeen year old boy who is an out and proud gay teenager. He lives his life as he sees fit, he doesn’t care what people think about him. He is a very honest person even when it comes to personal topics such as his sex life. But things start to turn sour when someone starts leaving him notes in his locker telling him to not behave in certain ways and they don’t like how he is behaving. At first Jack shrugs it off but when the notes become threatening and start appearing at his home he knows he has to take it more seriously and find out who has a problem with him.
One of the reasons why I really liked this book so much was the writing because it felt so real and honest. Sometimes you find that the author doesn’t really know what to write when it comes to teenagers and you find yourself thinking they wouldn’t really say something like that, or they wouldn’t act like that in real life. But for me the author did an excellent job in creating a character that readers can easily connect with and really relate too.
Another reason why Jack of Hearts is such an interesting and engaging read is because of the way it touches and deals with issues that other books are maybe too scared to cover. Such as the advice columns, they ask and answer questions that some reader may want to know about but are a little too scared to ask or can’t find out themselves. Instead of dealing with issues in a preach way the book manages to weave all the information into the story and it makes it a lot more engaging with some really funny moments.
I read this book in just a couple of sittings, I found myself unable to put it down once I picked it up. I thought the story was well paced and I really liked the mystery side of the story as well as Jack’s day to day life. Jack is such an easy character to get along with and read about his life because it so freeing and fun, but when the notes do start to get to him you start to really his terror and insecurities, which made it so hard to leave the book unread.
Jack of Hearts is a book that has no boundaries and an unfiltered look on a life of a gay teenager. There is a lot to like about this book because it feels so fresh and original. This book tells you how it is without covering up the difficulties or problems that’s some people experience in their day to day lives. Once you start reading you will find it very hard to but down because you will become so obsessed with Jack. If you loved Simon Vs the Homosapien Agenda but wanted something a little more grown up then Jack of Hearts is the book for you.
I rate this book 5/5 stars
Mike Reads 