I adore this book! Jack is such a fun character to follow- his advice was refreshing and delightfully diverse.

Read July 20

More books like this please! Well, the being stalked part was not so great, though so twisty and whodunnit, thankfully without the murder. No, the gay teen sex-ed stuff. I will say that this book is very, very graphic in its talk of sex between men/people with penises. However, it is necessary for the very good advice Jack gives as part of his column. He also discusses coming out, expectations, asexuality, and even BDSM. The key threads through every single letter are communication and being safe. The book also covered stereotyping and microaggressions in a really good way.

All of the characters were well-written and developed. Ben who is fat and black and loves fashion and believes in “happy ever after”. Jenna is latinx, worries about her international reporter mother and is one of the novel’s few straight characters. I low-key love and find amusing that the only time her sex life is talked about is when she’s discussing an act that many men refuse to do! I also loved how supportive and non-judgemental Jack’s mum was! This book overall is really well-written and important.

Something small to note. It may be because I did get it via NetGalley but some of the notes didn’t display properly on my ebook/Kindle.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley. 

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity. 
Natalie.

I enjoyed this novel, it made me think and I like reading books that I normally wouldn't go for.
I'll be looking out for more by this author.

I was so lucky to have an early copy of Jack of Hearts (And Other Parts) sent to me to me for review and I couldn’t wait to get started. Even though I got this book a few months early there was still a real buzz surrounding the book and and awful lot of positives reviews. I had very high hopes going into this book and I do have a soft spot for gay coming of age stories, so my expectations were sky high. Thankfully Jack of Hearts lived up to the hype and surpassed my expectations because it was absolutely brilliant.

Jack of Hearts (And Other Parts) is about a seventeen year old boy who is an out and proud gay teenager. He lives his life as he sees fit, he doesn’t care what people think about him. He is a very honest person even when it comes to personal topics such as his sex life. But things start to turn sour when someone starts leaving him notes in his locker telling him to not behave in certain ways and they don’t like how he is behaving. At first Jack shrugs it off but when the notes become threatening and start appearing at his home he knows he has to take it more seriously and find out who has a problem with him.

One of the reasons why I really liked this book so much was the writing because it felt so real and honest. Sometimes you find that the author doesn’t really know what to write when it comes to teenagers and you find yourself thinking they wouldn’t really say something like that, or they wouldn’t act like that in real life. But for me the author did an excellent job in creating a character that readers can easily connect with and really relate too.

Another reason why Jack of Hearts is such an interesting and engaging read is because of the way it touches and deals with issues that other books are maybe too scared to cover. Such as the advice columns, they ask and answer questions that some reader may want to know about but are a little too scared to ask or can’t find out themselves. Instead of dealing with issues in a preach way the book manages to weave all the information into the story and it makes it a lot more engaging with some really funny moments.

I read this book in just a couple of sittings, I found myself unable to put it down once I picked it up. I thought the story was well paced and I really liked the mystery side of the story as well as Jack’s day to day life. Jack is such an easy character to get along with and read about his life because it so freeing and fun, but when the notes do start to get to him you start to really his terror and insecurities, which made it so hard to leave the book unread.

Jack of Hearts is a book that has no boundaries and an unfiltered look on a life of a gay teenager. There is a lot to like about this book because it feels so fresh and original. This book tells you how it is without covering up the difficulties or problems that’s some people experience in their day to day lives. Once you start reading you will find it very hard to but down because you will become so obsessed with Jack. If you loved Simon Vs the Homosapien Agenda but wanted something a little more grown up then Jack of Hearts is the book for you.

Incredibly funny, earnest and honest, this book was a breath of fresh air in terms of its handling of so-called taboo subjects. It covered everything from gay sex to true friendships, also hitting interesting topics like stalking and stereotypes, with equal parts sensitivity and hilarity.

I really enjoyed reading this book and would have loved it as a teenager. It’s a great read for the LGBT YA community and young people in general. The plot, characters and story weren’t necessarily the most original but the issues that the book addressed were dealt with sensitively in an informative way. I would recommend to younger readers: straight, gay, bisexual or transsexual, and to older reader just to make them reevaluate how they look at sex and relationships.

I absolutely adored this book! Jack is most definitely my new favourite character! I love his boldness, his confidence, and his unapologetic nature about who he is and what he wants. I don't remember the last time I rooted this much for a character's happiness. A must read, completely worth your time.

*Trigger warnings - homophobia, homophobic slurs, bullying*

Overall opinion of the book:

I was blown away by the raw honesty in this book. I thoroughly enjoyed the story as a whole and like that it didn't sugar coat just how awful school environments can be. There's so many YA books I've read over the years that portray schools as great and accepting. While this is what we want to strive for, in reality this is just not the case. Jack of Hearts shows that school's aren't perfect in how they deal with bullying and homophobic attitudes and emphasises just how much still needs to be done to change this in schools. It even shines light on teachers who slut shame.

As the synopses suggests, the book focuses on Jack who ends up writing an online sex advice column. I won't be the first person to say this or the last, but this book is definitely the sex eduction that isn't talked about in schools, but should be. It discusses sex in a lot of detail and is honest about it. There's no sugar coating. I watched the TV show Sex Education on Netflix shortly before reading Jack of Hearts and it's on the same sort of vibes as that, so if you loved the show, then this book is definitely for you. 

What's interesting is that Jack of Hearts emphasises the importance of discussing sex with teenagers. Often adults shy away from this, maybe because it's awkward to do so and also because they assume teenagers don't know much about the topic. This book emphasises that young adults do discuss sex and it normalises this. It also discusses sex in a healthy and consensual way.

It's so refreshing to have so much LGBTQIA+ rep in a book, it's important for not only those in the community, but also allies too. It debunks myths about gay relationships and educates people on sexual topics in a mature way. There definitely needs to be more representation like this in books in the future.

I loved the main character Jack, his personality shines through and he's hilarious at times. He's honest and open about his sexuality and oozes confidence in his style and himself. He's not ashamed to be the person he wants to be and it's honestly so refreshing to read.

Alongside Jack's online sex advice column, there are some darker elements to the book, mainly surrounding Jack's stalker. Without giving too much of the plot away, the book goes into some serious issues such as stalking and a person's obsession with Jack. This involves bullying, destroying of clothes, and blackmail. Some of these parts were tough to read, so if you've been a victim of bullying in the past, then please do be aware of this content when reading. 

I loved so many aspects of this book, and from memory the spelling, punctuation and grammar was pretty much spot on. I gave this book three stars as I did really enjoy it but did guess who the stalker was pretty quickly. While I absolutely loved the advice aspects of the book, I would have loved for the story as a whole to have developed a little further and for the story to have been a bit longer. 

For me, the ending was quite predictable and I was left wanting a little more from it. Everything seems to round up quite quickly at the end and it doesn't seem to be fully resolved when the story ends for me personally. That being said, this is still a great book!


Final thoughts:

Overall this was a really great book and I would recommend everyone giving it a read. It's such a positive and great step in the right direction towards more diversity in publishing, and I'd love to see more books like this being published in the future. 

If you enjoyed the TV series Sex Education on Netflix or want to read an honest book that talks about sex in a healthy way, then this is the book for you!

I tried to reading this on three different times and could not get into then, on the fourth attempt i got further through it but i could not continue with it.I did not really like the character of Jack and felt that he was a bit irritating. it might have been because it was the audiobook version but I did not like the narrative voice that was happening. This novel does discuss some important topics but this wasn't for me.

I loved this book! Jack is such a strong, distinct character with a great voice that worked perfectly for the story. I was hooked on the mystery aspect, and I loved Jack's Agony Aunt style replies to people's questions. They felt so real (and genuinely informative) and this felt like an important read, and a great gay voice in YA!

I thought this was a brave and searing story  with a truthful representation  of the way young gay men think and feel about their sexuality. the tense plotline was played beautifully and I loved it right up to a rather lack lustre ending which sadly soured the whole for me.

A great new voice in realist YA though. Bravo

Jack is a gay teenager who is comfortable with his sexuality, he enjoys shopping and gossiping with his best friends Jenna and Ben. 

Jack is asked to write an agony aunts column online, where he is open about his sex life. He is used to being talked about, he is known as a slut, but the stories are widely exaggerated much to his amusement!! Unfortunately being in the limelight has attracted a stalker who leaves him origami notes in his locker, at first it is slightly amusing but the notes are getting more menacing and controlling. Jack will need the help of his besties to find the stalker.

Jack Of Hearts is a fun book to read, it’s a great story of friendship and being accepted for who you are with the added chilling element!!

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.

Going into this book I was quite looking forward to reading it. It took 3 attempts but I got there in the end. I thought the idea of a story about a teenage writer of a sex column was quite an interesting one, especially with the confident, outgoing characters we met along the way.

I enjoyed the story line about the notes and the stalker and the lengths Jack went to to try and conceal what was happening, without hiding himself away. I thought the layout of the story was good (especially when I got my hands on the paperback and could see the graphics properly) with letters, texts and crumpled notes. I think the representation in the book is great and I'm sure many older teenagers who read the book will get a lot from it.

However, marketed as a YA book that could be read by younger readers, (I know I was browsing the YA shelves in the library at 12) it was quite graphic and may leave the younger reader with a lot of questions.

I would have given a lot to read this book when I was a teenager <3 Unapologetically queer, sex-positive, and feminist, Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts) was a breath of fresh air in YA. The sex advice was non-patronising, useful, and narratively cogent (which I loved), and having a sex-positive queer YA main character felt like a sea change. That said, I found the stalker plotline a lot creepier than I was expecting, and it felt tonally jarring at times, with the eventual culprit's motives underexplained (and more hand-wavingly ascribed to "poor mental health" than I was comfortable with). I think, if I'd gone into the book hoping for a safe space to feel queer and proud as a teenager, some of the elements of the stalker plotline would have really been at odds with that sense of safety, although I do understand that it gives voice and concrete to worries and fears. Overall, though, Jack was a delight, and I would absolutely recommend this book. Fierce and unapologetic and queer. <333

Firstly, I really see why this book is useful. It contains advice and information about sex and growing up in a straightforward way that can be easily related to. I wish more Sex Ed books were like this, maybe there would be fewer unwanted pregnancies STDs and depression in teenagers. It was also cleverly delivered with much of the 'advice' coming through Jack's column.
Unfortunately, I didn't really enjoy the supporting story. Predictable characters following high school stereotypes and and obvious conclusion.
Overall, though, I would suggest that this is valuable reading for any young person growing up today in the world of media celebrities and online gratification.

Jack is an American High Schooler who likes having sex and isn’t ashamed of it. Convinced by a friend he takes up the role of relationship advice giver, but soon becomes the subject of a stalker whose actions become increasingly sinister.

I’m not going to lie, I very nearly didn’t read this book. I was fortunate enough to be approved for an eARC on NetGalley but the formatting was terrible – I mean really bad. The book is formatted wonderfully, with text conversations between Jack, Jenna and Ben laid out as images, looking just as you’d find them on a smart phone. The notes Jack received were also shown as images. In the eARC the texts were just plain lines of text, with no way of telling a) they were meant to be text messages and b) who was speaking at any point. The images of the notes were awkwardly split between pages, meaning I had to flick back and forwards and at points parts of sentences were repeated until it became unreadable. Fortunately I was intrigued enough by the premise to pick up a copy of the paperback and the rest as they say is history.

There are many many things I love about this book, the plot and the writing is absolutely wonderful. I loved the way it gradually built, with the story intensifying, the tension I felt skyrocketed as I started the wonder where it would eventually end! Once I reached a certain point in the book that was it, I just had to keep reading, I needed to get to the end, to find out what happened to Jack. The notes and the actions of the stalker got increasingly sinister and I needed to see if they discovered who was leaving the notes and stalking him, or if something terrible would happen as there were certainly some worrying signs!

The main reason I cared so much were the wonderful central characters Jack, Jenna and Ben. As characters they felt very real; they’re not perfect, sometimes they did stupid things and made bad decisions but they’re teenagers, it’s to be expected! Also it was very clear there was a genuine affection between the three of them, even if they have disagreements. One of the things I really appreciated about the book was the fact they drank, they did drugs and they had sex, for me it added to the realness of it all. Some (although not all) teenagers do at least one of these things and there’s not point in pretending they don’t…

I thought the addition of Nance as a supportive adult was fantastic, and I was so pleased to see Jack had someone on his side. Especially when he was made to feel like he couldn’t approach his mum about everything that was happening.

Which brings me on the Principle Pattyn; Principle Pattyn was not a likable character but for me one of the most important – Principle Pattyn was at the centre of a theme that really struck a chord with me, the idea of victim blaming. As a mixed race woman it’s something that I’ve thought about before, what if something were to happen to me and the person I reported it to decided it was some how my fault, that because of the clothes I happened to be wearing at the time, or the fact I’d gone out drinking meant I was some how asking for it. Or quite frankly because of the colour of my skin and their own prejudices they decided I deserved it and couldn’t be bothered to pay more than lip service to any sort of investigation. I have Principle Pattyn personified that fear of mine, rather than taking Jack’s concerns seriously he suggested it was his own fault, that he was some how asking for it by living his life the way he was and if he changed the way he chose to live, to fade back into the shadows, maybe the stalking would stop. He was far more concerned about policing Jack’s behaviour than doing anything to establish ways they could locate the stalker. What’s even more terrifying is to think that this is taking place in New York City, supposedly a liberal, metropolitan city – if you can be faced with this sort of response from a person of authority here, just imagine how much worse it could be in another much more conservative state…

After my complaining about the formatting of the eARC I also must say how much I enjoyed the layout of the paperback. The inclusion of the messages, laid out as they would be in a group chat made the conversation feel quick. There was no need for additional text to clarify who was saying what, it felt very snappy and just real, I also thought the way the notes were shown in the book was really effective.

One final thing I absolutely loved were Jack’s advice columns! It may be a novel but there was some absolutely fantastic advice contained which I hope will help some of the books readers in their own lives, whether it’s about sex, communicating in relationships, or preparing to come out for the first time there’s some great advice to be found in this book! Not just for teenagers either!

Final Thoughts
I’m so pleased I didn’t let the bad formatting of the eARC I downloaded put me off and went out and bought a copy. Jack of Hearts is such a wonderful book, it doesn’t sugar coat issues, teenagers have sex, and drink, and smoke and swear and the book isn’t afraid to show that side of life. I really grew to love Jack, and was genuinely concerned for him as the stalking escalated. I think through Principle Pattyn the book portrayed a very real attitude that prevents victims from speaking up and it was great to see Jack still get support from one of his teachers. Also the advice Jack gives in his column were fantastic!

I would like to thank netgalley and Penguin Random House UK Children’s for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Full of love for the LGBTQ+ community.

I really gave this book my best shot but it just wasn't for me. I absolutely hated Crystal and her plan to convice a guy guy to become her boyfriend.

Really enjoy this fast paced book! 
I’d recommend having few trigger warnings before the actual text starts such as bullying, eating disorders, drug used, alcohol used, swearing...
I like the representación of minorities in the USA, which this book is based, although I couldn’t relate to the main character I could feel his pain, and I loved Jena and Ben as his side kicks. I like that the characters are good people and for that reason they didn’t need to change or grow up too drastically. That was refreshing! 
I think is well written and keeps you entertained while manage to give some “good-ish” advice about sexuality from a white gay man POV which in a way bother me as I feel I’d prefer him to be any another ethnicity. 
I can’t give it 5 stars as I felt the ending was rushed, and there were times where “remember to use a condom” felt forced, as if the author just remember to say it and then was inserted by the editor. Also I’m not so sure about the whole rich kids using drugs being so open about their sexuality yet they were not really honest with their friends. 
I know humans are complex and nobody is perfect but I felt the characters were a little modelled to fit a certain criteria to sell to the public, and keeping it as safe as possible while still being a bit risqué.