JL Markham, 15 years old, has her whole life in front of her. But these first 15 have not always been easy. Her once unbreakable friendship with Aubrey has fallen apart, her father has been in California for work for way longer than he was supposed to, and her mom is suffering from a sometimes debilitating mental illness in his absence. The bright spot in her life is Max Gordon, her nineteen-year-old boyfriend. A senior at 19, Max is often misjudged, but JL feels like she knows the real Max, a kindhearted, smart, and well-read kid. But Max is graduating and he is leaving for California. JL now has to decide if she is going with him. With her dad already there, her mom spiraling deeper into her illness, and no real relationship with Aubrey, what does she have keeping her home? JL must figure out who she is and what she wants out of this life. And in the end she may discover she isn't as fragile as she once believed she was.
Gae Polisner has given us a beautiful coming of age story about friendship, love, self-discovery, and probably most important, resilience. In JL's character, we have a young girl who is trying to navigate a world where she has lost her closest friend, but has also fallen in love for the first time. A girl trying to find a balance between her boyfriend and her crumbling family. A girl who discovers the strength that has been hiding deep inside. We see a character who eventually realizes that she can withstand much more than she ever thought possible. I think this is a story that will stick with the reader long after the last page has been turned.
From Amazon:
"Jack Kerouac is Dead to Me
is an absolutely real, raw and emotional read, and it's a book that
touched my heart with every page." - Katie McGarry, critically acclaimed
author of Only a Breath Apart
Fifteen-year-old JL Markham’s life used to be filled with carnival nights and hot summer days spent giggling with her forever best friend Aubrey about their families and boys. Together, they were unstoppable. But they aren’t the friends they once were.
With JL’s father gone on long term business, and her mother suffering from dissociative disorder, JL takes solace in the tropical butterflies she raises, and in her new, older boyfriend, Max Gordon. Max may be rough on the outside, but he has the soul of a poet (something Aubrey will never understand). Only, Max is about to graduate, and he's going to hit the road - with or without JL.
JL can't bear being left behind again. But what if devoting herself to Max not only means betraying her parents, but permanently losing the love of her best friend? What becomes of loyalty, when no one is loyal to you?
Gae Polisner’s Jack Kerouac is Dead to Me is a story about the fragility of female friendship, of falling in love and wondering if you are ready for more, and of the glimmers of hope we find by taking stock in ourselves.
Fifteen-year-old JL Markham’s life used to be filled with carnival nights and hot summer days spent giggling with her forever best friend Aubrey about their families and boys. Together, they were unstoppable. But they aren’t the friends they once were.
With JL’s father gone on long term business, and her mother suffering from dissociative disorder, JL takes solace in the tropical butterflies she raises, and in her new, older boyfriend, Max Gordon. Max may be rough on the outside, but he has the soul of a poet (something Aubrey will never understand). Only, Max is about to graduate, and he's going to hit the road - with or without JL.
JL can't bear being left behind again. But what if devoting herself to Max not only means betraying her parents, but permanently losing the love of her best friend? What becomes of loyalty, when no one is loyal to you?
Gae Polisner’s Jack Kerouac is Dead to Me is a story about the fragility of female friendship, of falling in love and wondering if you are ready for more, and of the glimmers of hope we find by taking stock in ourselves.
No comments:
Post a Comment