Jack Kerouac Is Dead to Me by Gae Polisner REVIEW

Jack Kerouac is Dead to Me

by Gae Polisner

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Synopsis:

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 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?

Purchase Links:

CA - https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/125031223X

US - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/125031223X

Review:

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Ok, so I've had a copy of this book for a few months now and I can't remember why I waited so long to read it. The synopsis really grabbed my attention when I first read it months ago and oh how I wish I had of read this sooner! This was such a raw, powerful and emotional read for me. Both the story and the characters were wonderfully written. JL was a perfect main character for this story. I absolutely adored her and my heart broke for her so many times. 

The story is mainly written in a letter to JL's best friend, Aubrey. Through this letter we get to know the girls as they were young friends and then watch them drift apart as they enter high school. JL gets a boyfriend, Aubrey gets new friends and all of a sudden they don't seem to fit into each others world anymore. I think this is something that a lot of people will relate to in the way that at least most of us have grown apart from a best friend and/or been betrayed by one. I thought their relationship was written so perfectly. It captured the essence of growing up in a very real way. There are other relationships addressed, such as with her mother, father, grandmother and boyfriend but I won't get into detail about those. All I'm going to say is they were all done fabulously as well.

Due to mature subject content and the type of issues presented in this book I'd recommend it to 14+. It was a good solid read for me.