This ambitious debut touches on safer sex, death, self-worth, relationships, love and the meaning of it all. Jackson (Jax) has more than adolescent angst to contend with during his senior year: his best friend, Brady, runs away and leaves him feeling abandoned and betrayed; his mother remarries; his father, a freewheeling stagehand for rock groups, is almost killed in a fall; he meets Amanda, the girl of his dreams, during a vacation but falters in maintaining the romance. For much of the book, Shoup handles Jax's growing awareness of himself and others with grace and ease, even when many plot devices ring false. Amanda is unbelievably saintly, for example, and the marriage of Jax's father and Brady's mother seems a gratuitous touch while the suicide of Jax's ex-girlfriend on graduation day borders on soap opera. The ending, however, seems to belong to (or constitute) another novel: Jax is reunited with Brady (who has been following the Grateful Dead from concert to concert) and the two make a pilgrimage to Graceland, where they attend an candlelight memorial to Elvis. All of these experiences may have occurred in someone's life, but crowded into one book they seem disjointed and unreal. Ages 12-up. (Oct.)
Nobody has done more over the years to help Jackson Watt deal with his parents' divorce than his best friend, Brady. Whenever Jackson has felt confused and betrayed, Brady has shown him how to get in trouble in ways that will make his parents blame themselves for his behavior. But when Brady takes off just before the start of their senior year in high school, Jackson finds himself left alone to face some of the biggest changes in his life: like his mother's remarriage and an accident that nearly kills his father. As he struggles through a year where he's expected to be more "grown-up" than the adults surrounding him, Jackson experiences some of life's greatest joys and sorrows-and a final, unexpected lesson from Brady at the gates of Graceland. Award-winning author Barbara Shoup's honest, moving story captures the anger and despondency of growing up in a world where the rules are always changing. Johnny Heller's narration gives spirited voice to all the frustrations of youth.
"1000363555"
Wish You Were Here
Nobody has done more over the years to help Jackson Watt deal with his parents' divorce than his best friend, Brady. Whenever Jackson has felt confused and betrayed, Brady has shown him how to get in trouble in ways that will make his parents blame themselves for his behavior. But when Brady takes off just before the start of their senior year in high school, Jackson finds himself left alone to face some of the biggest changes in his life: like his mother's remarriage and an accident that nearly kills his father. As he struggles through a year where he's expected to be more "grown-up" than the adults surrounding him, Jackson experiences some of life's greatest joys and sorrows-and a final, unexpected lesson from Brady at the gates of Graceland. Award-winning author Barbara Shoup's honest, moving story captures the anger and despondency of growing up in a world where the rules are always changing. Johnny Heller's narration gives spirited voice to all the frustrations of youth.
19.99
In Stock
5
1
19.99
In Stock
Editorial Reviews
Product Details
BN ID: | 2940171114749 |
---|---|
Publisher: | Recorded Books, LLC |
Publication date: | 04/06/2012 |
Edition description: | Unabridged |
Videos
![](/static/img/products/pdp/default_vid_image.gif)
From the B&N Reads Blog