Trigger warnings: Jack of Hearts talks in great length and detail about sex. There is also mention of asexuality but, for the most part, this book still treats teenage sex like it's the norm so some asexual and aromantic people might not feel comfortable. If that isn't something you're okay with reading, then don't read this book. There are also homophobic slurs used, but they are used by the gay characters. Do whatever you want with that information.
Synopsis: Meet Jack Rothman. He's seventeen and loves partying, makeup and boys - sometimes all at the same time. His sex life makes him the hot topic for the high school gossip machine. But who cares? Like Jack always says, 'it could be worse'.
He doesn't actually expect that to come true.
But after Jack starts writing an online sex advice column, the mysterious love letters he's been getting take a turn for the creepy. Jack's secret admirer knows everything: where he's hanging out, who he's sleeping with, who his mum is dating. They claim they love Jack, but not his unashamedly queer lifestyle. They need him to curb his sexuality, or they'll force him.
As the pressure mounts, Jack must unmask his stalker before their obsession becomes genuinely dangerous...
Review: I wasn't initially interested in Jack of Hearts. There isn't a particular reason for that. I just don't reach for many contemporary stories. That being said, my friend recently read this and mentioned that the ending confused her, and I found myself with a free copy, so I read it. I really liked Jack as a character. As an aside, I know a happily gay man named Jack. This isn't why I liked Jack as a character, but it was just a funny coincidence. Still, I liked Jack and I loved how open he was with his sex life. It was never something he seemed to struggle with a lot, but he did have some moments of uncertainty when his stalker got aggressive. There isn't really much discussion about STD's which I found odd considering how much Jack enjoys having sex. It just doesn't seem to be a thing he is terribly concerned with.
I will say that while I loved Jack, I wasn't really sold on the story. If it was just Jack writing this column for a friend, then it would have been great. I just think the resolution at the end was too quick. A story that took 300+ pages shouldn't end in the last 10 pages. Others might disagree, but I would have liked a little bit more around the reveal, and/or another hundred or so pages at the end so we could see more of the fallout. What this book did really well was bring to light the idea that acting a certain way brings attention to you, and you should be punished for this. This entire book combats "asking for it" culture really well, until the end where we don't actually get to see the punishment for the stalker. My other major complaint is that, while I enjoyed reading Jack's responses for the column, I wish the questions and answers were closer together versus someone asks Jack a question and chapters later we see the response. The questions were fairly distinct, but I would sometimes have to stop and think about what question Jack was responding to.
My favorite part of this book was definitely reading Jack's responses to questions. They were very well thought out and you can tell Lev put a lot of care into answering the questions. They also came from a wide variety of backgrounds. There were straight people, gay people, virgins, people who wanted one night stands, and an asexual person. Some readers might be bothered that the asexual person feels "broken" as they state in their question, but I felt like Jack's response handled the situation delicately and I appreciated that.
Fun, quick read that highlights sex culture in teens, and does a lot to highlight safe sex and "asking for it" culture.
3 howls
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