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Book Review of The Edumacation of Jay Baker

The Edumacation of Jay Baker
reviewed on + 380 more book reviews


Summary:
Jay Baker is a freshman in high school. He is in love with his cheerleader best friend (at the moment), and in a constant battle with Mike, the football playing bully that insists on calling in Gay Baker. Jay is no slouch on insults, so the two of them go at it throughout almost the entire book. Ms. Lambert helps guide Jay at school, but his home life seems to be in ruins. His parents are separating because his mother is having an affair. This leads to heartache, confusion, and sarcasm dedicated to avoiding the situations that bombard Jay. Throughout the novel, he has to grow up and start facing things. As a reader, you get to go through all of these mixed emotions with him.
My thoughts:
I was literally laughing out loud constantly throughout this book. The sarcasm is thick within this book. It's witty, snarky, and sometimes ridiculous, but almost always hilarious. Unfortunately, the slang gets annoying. I wonder if it rings better with an older generation than it will with a younger one. A lot of the pop culture references, and cheesy slang terms that are used relate to an older audience than to current young adults. I think that teenagers will understand the references, but don't believe that they are as relevant any longer. Also, occasionally Jay Clark makes up words. This was cute for about seventy pages or so, but it became overwhelmingly obnoxious. If you can get past the lingo, then this is a real fun read that will keep you laughing through the good times and the bad.