Just Jack.

Just Jack.

shaun powell.

Publisher :Shaun Powell

Publication Date:January 2,2014

Genre:YA Drama| Romance

Format|Pages:E Book|271

Source: Goodreads|Owned

☆☆☆☆☆

SUMMARY
“Anorexia. When you hear it, when you say that word, you think of a girl, right?" 

Mirror on the wall, who is the skinniest of them all? Jack Thorne has lost everything. Still struggling with inescapable guilt and grief from his father’s death, old emotions and demons from the past resurface when his best friend suddenly vanishes. He had nothing - until he met her. Emily Gray, a mysterious yet inviting girl that, unbeknownst to Jack, is connected to him forever. 

Just Jack chronicles the life of a teenage boy, on the brink of becoming a man, who develops anorexia after the sudden death of his best friend. Join him on his journey to recovery and on the rocky roller coaster of a new found love. 

 
Heartbreaking, engaging, realistic, inspirational. Those are the few words that would describe this novel. It was one of most realistic, saddest novels that I read in while. Yet the moment that I picked it up, I found myself hooked. I couldn’t put it down, no I didn’t want to put it down. I needed to know how it would end. It felt like I needed to know that Jack was going be okay, that he wouldn’t go downhill yet. If it happened to him twice, there was a chance that it could happen again. I was observed in the story, in Jack’s life. All through the book, I hoped for happy ending for him, especially with everything that he gone through. 


Powell‘s descriptions,, emotion were amazing. It felt so real and a lot of time, it felt like I was feeling what Jack was. It’s not often you hear or read books that deals with anorexia with guy as main character. Most of time when you hear anorexia, you instantly assume a girl. That was one of things that made this story so unique; it was unlike any book that I read before. I learned so much about anorexia that I wasn’t aware of before. I felt so bad for Jack too, it didn’t seem like anything was going well for him. I wished that I could pulled him into hug. But he pulled through, and that takes a lot. I don’t think I would able to, if I was in his situation. 


Jack & Chris: At first I thought that maybe, there was more than typical best friend friendship there. At least it felt like it to me. Mostly because of how Jack reacted when Chris disappeared, and how he acted when he came back too. There was a connection there, that went beyond best friends. I wasn’t too happy that he faked his death, but once I read why, I understood. I wish he could at least warn Jack. I was glad that he came back though. Even if Jack didn’t feel same about Chris as he did, I got feeling that there was still something there, some sort of feelings that he might have denied. 


Jack & Emily: Their relationship was different, unique. That was one of things that I loved about it. I could tell that Jack was attracted, connected to her right away. How he acted, how he thought about her gave me that feeling. It was different, cause he was anorexic and she was bipolar, unlike any relationship I read before. All through the book, it would make reader wonder, how far the two of them would make it. Emily always seemed to appear everywhere, when Jack needed her. That was one thing that I couldn’t figure out how she did it. When she left, I felt sad just like Jack. I wondered if that truly was end of the relationship. I was glad it wasn't. 


Just Jack is one of most inspirational books. Once I finished reading it, I found myself thinking about it afterwards. It will make you cry, but it will always make you smile, hope and think. There isn’t a single scene, page that doesn’t keep you wondering. It’s a book that everyone should check out. Powell is an author that is going go a long way. I’m eager for his next book.