Review: Painfully real and achingly moving account of a teenage boy
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 15, 2013
I read 'Jake' over the course of a week and, during that time, the character really got under my skin.  Throughout a lot of the book, nothing spectacular actually happens.  It's a fairly mundane account of a teenager growing up in family and school life.  This is not a negative, though.  The writing is beautiful and perfectly captures the thoughts of a teenage boy, his awkwardness around family, friends and his new girlfriend.  It feels very true to real life and, at times, it is painfully real.The ordinary day-to-day descriptions of Jake's life could be seen as being slightly repetitive, but for me it was a master-stroke and Jake's whole existence had an undercurrent of impending tragedy.  But, there are lots of small smiles to be raised in the book, especially in Jake's relationship with his brother, Ben, which is genuinely tender and achingly touching.  Jake's relationships with his family and friends are all too real and believable.  This is perhaps what makes the last quarter of the book all the more shocking and tragic.Be warned, this isn't an uplifting read, but it is written with real skill and feeling.  I was incredibly moved by Jake's story and it is well worth a look.