If Jack's in Love

This was a book club pick and I'm glad because I wouldn't have read it otherwise.

This novel left me unsatisfied - the story was too depressingly real to life. People relegated to class, rejected out of hand, not to mention the minor fact of the pyschopath brother. I wanted to like this, but in the end I just didn't.

If Jack's In Love is a suspenseful coming-of-age story about a 12-year-old boy named Jack, taking place in 1967. Jack has had the fortune to be born a Witcher, the town's least favorite family. His dad is unemployed and his brother is a stoner. No matter how well Jack does in school or behaves himself people only think of him as low-class.Jack makes an unlikely friend in Mr. Gladstein who has his own label: Jew. Mr. Gladstein relives his own youth as Jack tries to make Myra his girlfriend. Jack desperately wishes Myra could forget which house he lives in and see him for the person he is. The odds are against Jack since his brother has an ongoing grudge match with Myra's brother, which only worsens when her brother goes missing. I love a good coming-of-age story and this book did not disappoint. It had a pleasing proportion of mystery, young love, drama, humor, heartbreak, and suspense, with a pinch of magic. This is Stephen Wetta's first novel and I hope he writes more!

A powerful story of a bright, Southern 13-year-old boy dealing with the burdens of being a member of the pariah family in a middle-class Virginian town in the late 1960s. The story is well written, although a little slow in pacing, as young Jack pines over a girl who’s a member of one of the upper-crust families, while having to deal with both his unemployed dad, who wants to rob the jewelry store of a man who’s befriended Jack and with his violent older brother, who abuses and threatens the older brother of young Jack’s crush. Jack pines over Myra, who returns his affection because he is the only one in their class at school who is as smart as she is, and that connection enables her to look past his family’s lower social standing. But when her older brother, Gaylord, goes missing, the whole town suspects if was Jack’s brother who did something to him, and that dooms young Jack’s relationship. The novel offers a wonderful portrait of the dilemmas of being an outcast and the perils of feeling threatened by one’s own family members. If you enjoy this book, I strongly recommend Dallas Hudgens’ Drive Like Hell, which offers a similar portrait of a young teenage boy coping with the challenges of being in a white trash family, although in a more comic vein.

Read from September 11 to 19, 2011Great coming-of-age story with a little mystery tossed in. I loved Jack, but toward the end it got a little draggy. Solid debut from Wetta...it was even a little reminiscent of To Kill a Mockingbird and Cold Sassy Tree.

If Jack's in Love is another winner from Amy Einhorn. This publisher has a knack for finding quirky, unique voices that are engaging and thought-provoking. This debut novel is an easy read, but addresses issues of family loyalty, being an outsider, and love. In addition to all that, there is an element of mystery, which I always love. I would definitely recommend this book.

Amy Einhorn Books excels at finding debut novelists with unique voices- Eleanor Brown's The Weird Sisters, Alex George's The Good American and most famously, Kathryn Stockett's The Help. All of these books draw the reader into another world with strong characters and writing.Add to that list Stephen Wetta with his debut novel If Jack's In Love. Set in a Virginia suburb in 1967, Jack Witcher is a twelve-year-old boy with a gifted intellect and a difficult home life. His mother is a kind woman burdened with a husband who cannot hold a job, fights with the neighbors and holds his intelligent son in disdain. Jack's older brother Stan follows in their father's violent footsteps, drinking, smoking pot, fighting and getting in trouble with the law. Needless to say, the Witcher family is not a popular one in the neighborhood.Jack has a crush on beautiful Myra who responds to Jack's sweetness. But when Myra's brother, the high school football hero, goes missing, Stan is the prime suspect after having a fight with the boy. Once again, Jack's family has hurt him.Mr. Gladstein is the owner of a local jewelry store and Jack's only friend. The man tries to help Jack woo Myra, and he is one of the few people in town who show Jack's plain mother any type of kindness or interest. Jack's father comes up with a plan to rob Mr. Gladstein, and Jack must thwart the plot without his father finding out.Jack is a wonderful character, and watching him try to survive and thrive in a home where his intellect is stifled and mocked is difficult. His poor beaten-down mother does her best, but she is no match for her physically powerful husband and other son.The book grabs you from the opening line:"I'll never know for sure whether I'd have fought my brother or not. Maybe I might have killed him. The day came and I made the decision. But I will never know."How can you resist reading on?The author's take on the complexities of love and family intrigued me. Jack's mom explains why she married his dad this way:"I knew he'd never get it in his head he was too good for me. He has an inferiority complex a mile wide. Most people can't see that, but I saw it right away." Jack "went to (his) room and meditated on the mysteries of women, deeper that all the philosophies of humankind put together."On families, Jack thinks:"Families live on loyalty more than love, and it wasn't fear that made me keep my mouth shut. I could never forget that Stan bled for me. And yet I was terrified of him."If Jack's In Love is a book written for adults, but there is much here for teens to appreciate. Jack is an outsider, torn between his love for his mother, and yes even his father and brother, and his desire to have a different, better life. His feelings are no doubt shared by many adolescents, and this book would be a great one for high school English classes.

A Young Adult book for all ages.It is a book about so many things: boy coming of age, bullying, family dysfunction, murder, etc.I found it a brilliant, perceptive, engaging, unable to put down in one reading.

I received this book as early reviewer and tried several times to push past the first twenty-five pages so that I could give an honest review. In the end, I couldn't manage it. The book was just not for me. I didn't enjoy the style and the story just didn't manage to hook me.

I like this book and was surprised at some of the lukewarm response from the "semi-pro" reviewersJack Witcher,the 13 year old narrator, going through his first "love", is the younger son in a family considered "trash" by Southern small town neighbors. His dad's an out of work hard ass schemer, his brother Stan a semi-deliquent that all the neighborhood kids fear. Look at Stan wrong and you get beat up. And his mom is always there for all them, Along with the family is a black handyman pal of his dad and a mysterious Jewish jeweler who helps with Jack's quest in winning Myra his sought after girlfriend.Set in 1967, The story centers around a possible murder with suspects in his family- maybe. A who-done-it gradually emerges when Stan's rich kid enemy goes missing. A savvy town cop keeps showing up trying to get Jack to give away family secrets. That's enough plot...If you like this book you might like "Water Dogs" by Lewis Robinson. Both books evoke a deep sense of the inevitable ever binding like-it-or-not sense of family loyalty.

I found that "If Jack's In Love" was a well written book and I really enjoyed the the idea of the coming-of-age novel. I am also a fan of southern based fiction and I enjoyed the setting and time-frame of this novel. I wish I was able to become more emotionally attached to the characters but I found the book was worth the time to read.

Twelve-year old Jack has the misfortune of belonging to the Witcher family – the lowest family on the totem pole in the small Virginia town where he lives. His father is frequently out of work, leaving his overworked mother to provide for the family. Jack’s older brother Stan is the town bully.Jack’s world gets even worse when his brother is the primary suspect in the disappearance of the son of one of the pillars of the community. Jack happens to be in love with the missing boy’s younger sister, Myra, who is not allowed to be seen with Jack. Jack enlists the help of his only friend, Mr. Goldstein, the town’s Jewish jeweler, to win Myra’s heart. Can Jack overcome all the obstacles stacked against him?This novel is another great offering from Amy Einhorn Books. Jack is such a realistic and authentic character that I instantly connected with him. I was rooting for him throughout the whole book. Wetta’s writing is wonderful; he was able to incorporate scenes with humor, suspense and heartbreak equally well. If Jack’s In Love is a gripping, moving coming-of-age story that I thoroughly enjoyed.

This was a somewhat more difficult book than I anticipated. It seems that it is being marketed partially as a young adult novel, but while it is indeed about a young person, but I don't think this is necessarily best read or understood by young adults. It is incredibly well-written, as everyone else has said, I must say, I enjoy most books about eccentric families and precocious children.

This was an extremely enjoyable book that read very quickly. The Witcher family was very different from the family I grew up with and yet there was the ability to understand Jack's character and sympathize with him. Although this book may not make top lists for the year, it's very hard to deny a well-written story that engages you throughout. I can honestly say that I read this faster than I do other books because I truly wanted to know what was going to come of Jack and his family. Kudos to an excellent story!

Okay, this book had me at the author's biography. A man sober against his will with a Ph.D. and jailed for tax evasion who wrote his first novel. That's my kind of author; he must have some real world insight that seeps into his writing...If Jack's In Love was a great read. I loved hearing the voice of the story from a 12 year-old boy's perspective. He was real and honest in his perception of an utterly disfunctional family. And I mean disfunctional with a capital D. Dad watches soap operas all day while Mom works her arse off (while keeping her boss away from said arse). Brother is a total pothead who incidentally may have murdered the neighborhood's All American Golden Boy who happens to be the sibling of Jack's love interest. The neighbors do not hold back in expressing just what they think of the Witcher family. Oh, and his only true friend in the world in a Jewish jeweler. The cards sure seem stacked up against our young Jack.My only beef with this novel is the final chapter. The first 43 chapters were written with the same voice and tone, then I felt as if another author stepped in to wrap everything up. That being said, I really did enjoy Mr. Wetta's first novel. It was genuine, interesting, and sweet in its own way. Jack is a character that any one of us would want to take in as our own. The plot held my interest and was written in a believable manner. Keep an eye on Stephen Wetta; he is sure to be a successful novelist.

Jack Witcher's family is the black sheep of the neighborhood - poor, living in a tattered house with a lazy father, overwhelmed mother and hellraising brother. In If Jack's In Love, Jack narrates this coming of age tale where we learn about his evolution from a Witcher boy to a young man with a mind of his own.Jack is in love with Myra Joiner - a girl from the other side of the track (the right side, per se), whose brother, Gaylord, disappears one August night. The Joiner family smells foul play, and immediately Jack's older brother, Stan, is a suspect. Stan and Gaylord have a history of not getting along, and with Stan's quick temper, Jack's not sure if his brother didn't kill Gaylord. What he does know is that he loves Myra, despite the tragedies that have affected both families.If Jack's in Love is the debut effort by Stephen Wetta, and unfortunately, I think Wetta's rookiness as a writer showed through. The pacing of the novel was a bit off, and I think the story would have been strengthened by dual narrators - Jack and his mother. Jack's mom was an interesting character - a woman who married the wrong guy and whose life didn't end up like she hoped. She would have added the right blend to this tale of family loyalty.If you like coming of age tales, If Jack's in Love is one to add to your wish list. Jack's narrative was enough to carry the book through, despite some writing flaws. The ending wrapped everything up, and I was glad Jack's story resolved because he's a kid most readers can root for. I know I did.

I just didn't enjoy it at all. Jack is in a terrible situation, and I should at least be able to muster up some pity for him, but I can't even do that. He's too flat, too boring, too whiny.The best I can say about the book is that it successfully made me uncomfortable at points where I think that was the goal. There's no mystery. There's almost no suspense. It's just a grim slog.Oh, and the tone was much more "To Kill a Mockingbird" meets "The Wasp Factory" than any hint of "About a Boy"

Finally, a book I didn't want to put down.! The Witcher's are from the wrong side of the tracks, outcasts, white trash by some folks standards. Jack is the smart one and his brother and father are violent and dishonest. Jack's poor Mother just never quite knows what to do especially after her son Stan is accused of murdering the town's golden boy...Jack is in love with the murdered boy's sister Myra and it doesn't do their young relationship any good that her brother may have been murdered by his brother....this book is a good read and it's easy to root for Jack throughout....

The book If Jack's In Love was a great read. I read the whole book in just under three hours and literally did not put it down from the time I started it to the time I finished it. The title character, Jack, weaves a narrative that is at times hilarious and at times heartbreaking. I truly would recommend it.

A surprisingly good first novel, a traditional coming-of-age story. Jack is thirteen, and the youngest son of the white-trash Witcher family. As is usual in coming-of-age novels, he begins to see his parents and brother as they really are, makes friends with an adult (a Jewish jeweler) outside the family, and has his first girlfriend and kiss. His brother is also implicated in the murder of his girlfriend’s brother.It’s told throughout from Jack’s viewpoint, which does wear thin part way through, but the suspense of the mystery pulls us through the rough spots. The ending is satisfying if not unexpected. Overall an excellent novel.

Jack, the main character, guides the reader through this thought-provoking novel. He is sincerely sweet and only 12 years old. He thinks he is in love with Myra, a girl whose brother disappears-Jack's brother is the main suspect. Jack doesn't really know what to make of this. He handles it in a mature way for a 12 year old. No one in their small town has a particularly high opinion of Jack's family as it is, making it all the harder on Jack.This novel is fast-paced, the events are surprising and enlightening. Written in a difficult time-the 1960's-this novel is intriguing and touches on quite a few hard subjects. The ending is bittersweet as well as decidedly perfect for this novel. This novel is recommended for young adult/adult readers.

I have reading friends who often talk about the "voice" of a novel. Well, Jack Witcher's voice is one of most heart breaking I've "heard" in a long time. He's 12 going on 13 and in love with Myra Joyner. When Myra's brother goes missing and Jack's older brother Stan becomes the leading suspect in the disappearance, Jack's world starts to unravel. Not that he ever had it very good: his father is unemployed and hangs around the house watching soap operas; his brother is a pot smoking "hippie freak" with a terrible temper; and his mother is trying to understand why her family is the laughing stock of the town. Stephen Wetta has written a coming of age novel that is so much more than that. Jack is an amazing kid and his "voice" grabs you at the start of the novel and won't let go. Wetta also gives us a powerful note from the author at the end of the book about a kid he knew who was much like Jack. Wetta says, "I've thought about him many times over the years and even suffered for his memory. To tell the truth, this book was written, if anything, as a kind of homage to him. Still, I've never bothered to ask anyone what happened to him. I'm sure no one would know."