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Jesus Jackson
Author:
Daley, James
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Class:
Fiction
Age: 12-19
Language: English
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LC: PZ7.D152
Grade: 7-12
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ISBN-13: 9781929345069
LCCN: 2014938496
Imprint: Poisoned Pencil
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
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Pub Date: 10/07/2014
Availability: Available
List: $18.99
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Trade Paper
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Physical Description:
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viii, 267 pages ; 22 cm.
H 8.5",
W 5.5",
D 0.72",
0.64 lbs.
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LC Series:
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Brodart Sources:
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Bibliographies:
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Middle and Junior High Core Collection, 12th ed.
Middle and Junior High Core Collection, 13th ed.
Senior High Core Collection, 20th ed.
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Awards:
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Kirkus Best Books
Kirkus Starred Reviews
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Starred Reviews:
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Kirkus Reviews
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TIPS Subjects:
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Mystery/Detective Fiction
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BISAC Subjects: |
YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Mysteries & Detective Stories
YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Social Themes / Death, Grief, Bereavement
YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Social Themes / Religion & Faith
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LC Subjects:
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Brothers and sisters, Fiction
Brothers, Death, Juvenile fiction
Death, Fiction
Teenage boys, Fiction
Teenage boys, Juvenile fiction
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SEARS Subjects: |
Brothers, Death, Fiction
Teenagers, Fiction
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Reading Programs: |
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| Annotations |
| ONIX annotations | 09/28/2023 |
| "Smart and sweet, comforting and moving."-Kirkus Reviews STARRED review
Jonathan Stiles is a 14-year-old atheist who is coping with his first day of ninth grade at the fervently religious St. Soren's Academy when his idolized older brother Ryan is found dead. As his world crumbles, Jonathan meets an eccentric stranger who bears an uncanny resemblance to Jesus Christ (except for his white linen leisure suit and sparkling gold chains). Jesus Jackson, as he calls himself, offers to provide faith to Jonathan. He also suggests that Ryan's death may not have been an accident after all.
With the help of his new friend, Henry, and Ryan's grieving girlfriend, Tristan, Jonathan sets out to discover the truth about Ryan's death-and about God, high school, and the meaning of life, while he's at it. But he's distracted by Cassie-number one suspect Alistair's younger sister-who holds the keys to the answers Jonathan is searching for, but who also makes him wonder if he should be searching for them at all. |
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| Starred Reviews: |
| Kirkus Reviews | 07/01/2014 |
| When high school football hero Ryan Stiles is found dead at the bottom of a ravine, the only person not consumed by grief is his younger brother.Jonathan has reason to believe his brother's death was no accident. While everyone around him goes through the many stages of grief, Jonathan can only investigate. The book works as parallel mysteries: On one track are the shady details of Ryan's death, and on the other are the religious and spiritual questions brought up by his demise. Jonathan's friend Henry and Ryan's girlfriend, Tristan, help him solve the murder, while the mysterious "Jesus Jackson" helps Jonathan with his theological needs. Daley's use of Jesus as a sounding board for Jonathan's crisis of faith makes for the book's most surreal and intimate moments. The author argues the necessity of faith regardless of where it is placed, a simple concept that is refreshed when delivered in such an unusual fashion. The book excels, sidestepping holier-than-thou rhetoric and addressing the pain of loss head-on as well as painting a wonderful depiction of a young man coming to terms with how he was raised and how he wants to lead his own life. The mystery element and minor romance are icing on the cake: well-executed and finely tuned, complementing the book's major themes in all the right ways.Smart and sweet, comforting and moving. (Fiction. 12-16). 278pg. KIRKUS MEDIA LLC, c2014. |
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| Journal Reviews |
| Publishers Weekly | 10/20/2014 |
| Ages 14-up. Daley's first novel revolves around the psychological and philosophical conflicts facing 14-year-old Jonathan Stiles. His older brother, Ryan, has just been found dead in a ravine; Jonathan believes he was killed, but everyone else thinks Ryan's death was accidental. Jonathan attends the ultra-religious St. Soren's Academy, where he is a loner, due in part to his atheism. In a state of shock and confusion following Ryan's death, Jonathan meets Jesus Jackson, a self-proclaimed "Spiritual Contractor" who wants to help Jonathan rediscover his faith. Though Jonathan frequently reflects upon matters of belief in the aftermath of Ryan's death, he is more concerned with avoiding his classmates and their disingenuous sympathies and finding Ryan's killer. The last time Jonathan and his friend Henry saw Ryan was during a "drug-enraged fistfight," and a football player is their chief suspect. Daley believably depicts Jonathan's conflicting emotions as he passes through the stages of grief. Yet Jesus Jackson comes across more as a gimmick than a real catalyst for Jonathan's developing understanding of loss, faith, and the unknown. (Oct.). 278p. Web-Exclusive Review. PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, c2014. |
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| School Library Journal | 08/01/2014 |
| Gr 8 Up. Jonathan Stiles, 14, just learned that his older, football star brother has died in a freak accident. He already struggles to understand his parents' divorce, how to survive his first year of high school, and his ever-increasing questions about religion. The first-person narrative will easily draw readers in and through a series of flashbacks, teens will come to understand older brother Ryan's previous role as mediator between Jonathan and their squabbling parents. Caught between their strict Catholic mom and Buddhist Dad, religion has become a bone of contention within the family. During ninth-grade orientation, Jonathan and his new best friend, Henry, take a shortcut through the woods where they find Ryan and his football buddies, and the brothers have a falling out. That's the last time Jonathan sees Ryan alive. It is while Jonathan is questioning what occurred with his brother that he stumbles onto the football field and meets Jesus Jackson. This is where the story cleverly travels in two different directions: there is the mystery about what actually happened to Ryan, and there is Jonathan's struggle to come to terms with his faith. Jesus is almost always out on the football field when Jonathan seeks him out. It's here that he questions and wrestles with his faith in God, in himself, and in the people he loves and respects. Jonathan is a multidimensional character who learns to make a leap of faith and must be willing to accept the consequences for his leap. An engaging, suspenseful read that teens will not be able to put down. Julie Shatterly, W.A. Bess Elementary School, Gastonia, NC. 278p. SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, c2014. |
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9781929345069,dl.it[0].title
| Review Citations |
| New York Times Book Review | 11/09/2014 |
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