Who Is Jesse Flood? - Hardcover

Doyle, Malachy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 158234776X ISBN 13: 9781582347769

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens, 2002

Synopsis

Jesse is a teen boy working out who he is, how he feels about girls and what the future of his family might be. In journalistic form perfectly suited to this novel, Jesse tells us what's happening to him and he gives us his opinions--intelligent and often hilarious--about life and the particularly difficult task of being a teenager. What's refreshing about Jesse is that he is smart and, despite being a bit uncomfortable in his own skin, he has an allegiance to himself and a healthy sense of humor.

Malachy Doyle writes Jesse with such simple grace that it's impossible not to care for him. An unforgettable story that will stay with you long after the last page.

About this title

About the Author:

Malachy Doyle was born in Northern Ireland. After earning a degree in psychology, he worked for several years in advertising and in education. Soon after his first short story won a prize, Doyle decided to become a full-time writer. He is also the author of Georgie. He now lives in West Wales with his wife, their three children and three cats.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 5-8-Fourteen-year-old Jesse Flood explores his life and thoughts in brief chapters of nearly stand-alone vignettes. The metaphor of adolescence as a tunnel from which one enters as a child and emerges as an adult runs throughout the book, beginning in the exciting opening in which Jesse enters a long train tunnel and plasters himself against the wall as a train races by, thus challenging death and staving off personal painful emotions. "And you're thinking maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. You're thinking maybe there are better ways to get the constant sound of parental argument out of your head. Slightly more clever ways to get yourself a cheap thrill, to break the unremitting tedium of small town life." Indeed, Jesse himself seems almost a metaphor for the common adolescent experience. He adores his mother and is devastated when she chooses to leave him and his father. He wonders if she were not loved or respected enough in their home in a small Irish community. Jesse's voice comes through with poignant tellings of embarrassing situations and with a wonderful sense of humor, as well as with an honest exploration of painful emotions.
Crystal Faris, Nassau Library System, Uniondale, NY
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 158234776X
• ISBN 13: 9781582347769
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 176