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A review by capyval
Jack by A.M. Homes
5.0
Centred in a teen boy who's dealing, in first place, with his parent's divorce, and then with learning that his father is a homosexual. At age 15, Jack discovers that many things are more complicated than they seemed to be, that even "perfect families" can have big issues; while at the same time he comes to terms with situations that looked so terrible at first, but were not a big deal after all. This book is a simple story where you follow Jack through feeling lost, angry and overall weird.
At first, Jack is a lot. You have to put up not only with his initial homophobia, but his angst, and his silly thoughts and acts that are a reaction of being a teen - a lost teen - with his life upside down. But Jack's also an interesting character who analyses and jokes with irony about all he sees and hears. The adults that surround Jack seem as lost as him sometimes, but they also show wisdom and sensibility; they all - including Jack - feel ultimately very human. I personally didn't find a logical explanation to some of Jack's thoughts and feelings, and I asked myself if maybe some of those were a bit forced, but I came to the conclusion that A.M. Homes was aiming to portray how easily our mood changes, especially when one is a teen; having a small existential crisis out of nowhere, getting overwhelmed and lost by things that are - after all - just how life is.
At first, Jack is a lot. You have to put up not only with his initial homophobia, but his angst, and his silly thoughts and acts that are a reaction of being a teen - a lost teen - with his life upside down. But Jack's also an interesting character who analyses and jokes with irony about all he sees and hears. The adults that surround Jack seem as lost as him sometimes, but they also show wisdom and sensibility; they all - including Jack - feel ultimately very human. I personally didn't find a logical explanation to some of Jack's thoughts and feelings, and I asked myself if maybe some of those were a bit forced, but I came to the conclusion that A.M. Homes was aiming to portray how easily our mood changes, especially when one is a teen; having a small existential crisis out of nowhere, getting overwhelmed and lost by things that are - after all - just how life is.