The Edumacation of Jay Baker by Jay Clark

The Edumacation of Jay Baker
Jay Clark
Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
Release Date: January 31, 2012
Pages: 240

Rating: 3.5 stars

Meet Jay Baker . . . or, as he is not-so-affectionately called by his opponent in the freshman class presidential election (and by members of the high school football team): Gay Baker.

A few important things to know about Jay:

1. He is in love with his best friend, cheerleading dynamo Cameo “Appearance” Parnell.

2. He is rocking an unfortunate case of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

3. He has the largest storehouse of pop culture references, jokes, and puns in the history of fifteen-year-olds.

4. He is about to uncover a horrifying family secret that will turn his world upside down.

Root for Jay as he faces off against his mortal enemy, gets awkward around his dream girl, loses himself in a Bermudan love triangle, watches his parents’ relationship implode in a series of Maury Povich-inspired events, and, finally, learns to get real and be himself.

The Edumacation of Jay Baker was a cute read. It had a slow beginning, but once the story picked up I really enjoyed it. The Edumacation of Jay Baker was a story that I could realistically see going on in high school and was a lot of fun to read.

The first of half of this one was very slow. It took me awhile to get into the story. Once it picked up in the second half, I really enjoyed the story more. This book was definitely funny - I was laughing for a good part of the book. The funny parts are balanced with the serious undertone of the plot, dealing with divorce, family issues, and friend issues.

The characters were great. Even the characters like Alice, who only appeared in one scene, really stuck out in my mind. Abby, Cameo, and Caroline totally sold this book! They were just great characters. They all had their moments of vulnerability or a moment where they don't make the best decision, but I really liked the three of them! The faults in them made them that cooler of characters. Ms. Lambert was also a pretty cool character - definitely one of the best teachers you could have!

For me, this wasn't a superb read, but it was still a very promising debut and I'm curious to see more from Jay Clark. If you are looking for a book that is funny and tells a good story, then this is the one for you.