I Can't Tell You [Paperback]

Hillary Frank (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 25, 2004

After he opens his big mouth in a big fight with his best friend, Jake concludes that talking = trouble. He decides that communicating through writing is safer. Through notes scribbled on napkins and in notebooks, on upside-down calculators, and on walls with pudding-covered fingers, Jake explores new ways to express himself. But there are also the notes he never sends. To his flirty friend. Who is just a friend. But could be more than a friend. But isn’t—or is she? Hillary Frank’s inventive style envelops her readers in a new dimension of storytelling. Jake + Xandra = a story about what it means to be “just friends.” All without saying a word.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 10 Up–During a huge fight with his best friend and college dorm-mate, Jake says something he cannot take back. As a result, he decides to communicate with everyone by writing–using dry-erase boards, Post-its, stained napkins, etc.–figuring he can better control what he has to say by not opening his mouth. Friends at first find him weird, but then play along and decide it's cool. His mother is sure he is cracking up, but his father goes along with him. All the while, he's obsessed with trying to find out if Xandra likes him or, you know, likes him. Each character Jake interacts with is represented by a different typeface and, in some cases, a "handwriting key" might be helpful to keep track of who's who. This unique writing style makes for attentive reading–and guesswork–as readers eavesdrop on Jake's otherwise typical social life and try to decipher what is actually going on. His inner struggles with feelings, friendships, and forgiveness are believable, but despite the highly personal nature of the story, the correspondence comes across as somewhat removed and impersonal as readers witness Jake's struggle to understand himself and, oh, yeah, maybe–or maybe not–to win the girl.–Roxanne Myers Spencer, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 9-12. Shooting off his big mouth (again), Jake alienates his best friend and college roommate, Sean. As a result, Jake takes a self-imposed vow of silence and communicates only in written messages. In fact, the text of Frank's playful investigation in narrative technique consists exclusively of Jake's messages, the written replies of others, and occasional drawings. The result is story as assemblage, always interesting to look at but sometimes confusing, and, at least initially, emotionally distancing. Most readers will eventually warm up to funny but feckless Jake and sympathize with his frustrated longings for Alexandra, but the unconventional way the story is told calls attention to itself and distracts from narrative continuity and reader-character empathy. Contemporary teens who communicate largely in instant messages may well disagree, but in either case, Frank's experiment is fascinating. Michael Cart
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Graphia (October 25, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 061849491X
• ISBN-13: 978-0618494910
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #935,410 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Page Turner, October 25, 2008

By 

J. E. Stephens "Jeanne" (Florida) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: I Can't Tell You (Paperback)

Jake makes the decision to stop talking after he has fight with his best friend. During the fight he said some awful things that he can't take back. Jake thinks if he starts communicating in writing instead of talking, he will have more control of his words.

I couldn't put this book down. I wondered what it would be like to communicate with written words only. Would Jake be able to survive in college with only written communication?

This was a very interesting premise for a story and I enjoyed it very much.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I devoured this book, June 24, 2005

By 

Willow (Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Can't Tell You (Paperback)

I CAN'T TELL YOU by Hillary Frank may be one of the best young adult books I've read in quite some time. It's funny, heartbreaking, and easy to relate to...and it doesn't try to glorify being a young adult or falling in love.

After a huge fight with his best friend Sean, Jake decides that he can't ever get into any trouble if he just stops talking altogether. As his friendship with Sean is dying, he becomes closer to his friends Paul, Roger, and Xandra. But when Jake realizes that he doesn't just want to be friends with Xandra, things start getting a bit messy. He doesn't know how to explain himself and he doesn't know what do about it, so...he decides to do nothing.

Told entirely through notes passed back and forth, I CAN'T TELL YOU is an interesting and original story. The friendships between Jake and Paul, Roger, and Xandra are all incredibly realistic, and the course of a friendship turning into unrequieted love is scarily accurate.

Highly recommended.

Overall grade: A+

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inventive!, December 10, 2004

By 

Kerry Long "KLphoto" (CT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: I Can't Tell You (Paperback)

Inventive, touching, witty and just plain REAL! I work with teenagers everyday and this book does a remarkably good job of capturing their honest emotions and "speech" patterns... Usually YA lit falls short when trying to be "hip" to the current teenage culture but this one hits it right on the money. Terribly original yet a story that everyone will relate to. Keep it up, Hillary!