Jack Kerouac is Dead to Me by Gae Polisner is a book that explores coming of age with a parent who has mental health issues. The main character is interesting, although not very likeable. It is a story that has some intriguing aspects, but falls short with its flip-flopping timeline.
Title: Jack Kerouac is Dead to MeAuthor: Gae Polisner
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult Fiction
Publication Date: April 7, 2020
Rating:
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?
❃ I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. ❃
Review: Jack Kerouac is Dead to Me
At first glance, Jack Kerouac is Dead to Me seems like a book that will be enlightening and engaging. Mental illness is an important issue to explore in YA novels, however, if not presented properly, it becomes problematic. JL’s mom suffers from dissociative disorder and the way it is dealt with in the book is very vague. Her mom goes to therapy sessions, but her behaviour becomes more and more concerning as the novel progresses. None of the adult characters are supportive or helpful, which is shocking in a YA novel. JL is on her own and essentially has no adult that she can turn to for help.
❀ Not an enjoyable main character
JL is a really hard character to enjoy. She has quite an interesting hobby of raising rare butterflies that provides an entertaining and educational side to the book. However, she makes a lot of poor decisions that she rarely feels the consequences of. For instance, JL is so desperate to escape her home life that she steals thousands of dollars in cash to give her boyfriend. There are never any repercussions for JL from this behaviour, and as I have indicated earlier, it is hard to swallow in a novel for young adults.
❀ Timeline is all over the place
Also, while I enjoyed parts of the story, such as the theme of metamorphosis and the frequent allusions to Jack Kerouac, the timeline is all over the place. There is a constant flip from past to present that makes it hard to follow the story. It would have made more sense to confine the timeline to specific time periods instead of being all over the map.
❀ Hit or Miss for many readers
Jack Kerouac is Dead to Me by Gae Polisner is a book that has a compelling concept, but doesn’t seem to hit the mark. The theme of mental health is not explored in depth, the main character is hard to enjoy, and the writing is all over the place. This is one story that appears to be hit or miss for many readers so far on Goodreads, so I think it will be helpful for readers to take a look at some other opinions as well before deciding to read this one.
About Gae Polisner
GAE POLISNER is the award-winning author of In Sight of Stars, The Memory of Things, The Summer of Letting Go, The Pull of Gravity, and Jack Kerouac is Dead to Me. She lives on Long Island with her husband, two sons, and a suspiciously-fictional looking dog.
About Lori
Avid reader. Contributor to The Candid Cover. Educator.
Great review, Lori! I probably wouldn’t pick up this book myself because of the various issues you had with it. Sounds like it was promises but didn’t really deliver in the end.
Stephanie @ Bookfever recently posted…Review: Twice a Wish by Pepper Winters
Thanks, Stephanie! It is one that really fell flat for me, unfortunately.
Ha damn Lori! Sorry for the not so loveable character and the all over the place timeline!
Oh that timeline just drove me crazy!
Hi, loved the review! It sounded interesting plot wise but after reading your review it doesn’t seem like something I would enjoy.
Thanks so much for stopping by!
I’m skipping this one now for sure. Sorry it wasn’t more enjoyable. That main character thing would not be my favorite either.
Thanks, Deanna! I definitely had higher hopes for this one.
I went slightly higher than you (3.5) on this one. It wasn’t a bad reading experience, it was odd. I was compelled to keep reading it, but when I was finished, I wasn’t sure what the author’s goal was. I found I empathized with JL, because her parents were so darn useless, so I didn’t hate her, and I was ok with the time jumps, because they actually seemed to be building towards something, but still not sure what the end game was there.
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Yup. I can agree with you on that ending, for sure. 😉
Sounds interesting. I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy it as much as you hoped.
It does have a very interesting concept!
Well, it has a great title!
It sure does! 😉
Thanks for the honest review! It’s definitely hard to sit through a book when you don’t enjoy the main character!
It sure is! 😉
Sounds interesting but kind of annoying. I think I will pass on this one.
Thank you for the honest review. The story sounds very interesting, but if it didn’t deliver then that’s good to know. I don’t like alternating timelines for the most part so I would likely not choose this one anyway.