Customer Reviews

Jack of Hearts

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I'm not big on mystery stories, so I've never bothered with Hansen's Brandstetter series. But in crafting Jack of Hearts, Hansen is responsible for one of the best coming-of-age tales of a gay youth. The writing is first-rate, with a well-developed central character and story line. The realism of Nathan Reed makes him the kind of reluctant hero most authors unsuccessfully strive to create. I've read scads of coming-of-age books and Jack of Hearts is head and shoulders above most of them. It's too bad most high school kids will never discover this book. The sequel, Living Upstairs, doesn't have the same impact, but is worth reading for those who want more of Nathan Reed.

Jack of Hearts is set in 1941 in a small town in California. The central character, Nathan, is seventeen years old and in his last year of high school. He has a talent for writing, and is keen to have his work accepted by the college newspaper; he is also working on his first play. The newspaper connection draws him into a group of theatrical hopefuls who become his first real friends, and with whom he learns much about growing up.

Filled with fascinating characters, the young gay lanky face-pulling Travers, the driving force behind the theatre group, his robust mother who runs the café where they all gather; Donald Donald who takes delights in being obnoxious, Stone the lonesome teacher whispered to be a German spy, Desmond Foley who lives in a mansion and entertains handsome young boys; and Nathan's dysfunctional parents, his fortune telling mother and his father Frank, a one time musician whom Nathan dearly loves.

This is an appealing coming of age story, a tale of sexual awaking. Nathan is confused as he struggles with his indifference to girls and his obvious arousal when he finds of his childhood friend waiting for him in his bedroom wearing only his sock and with something stiff in his hands. Beautifully told, at times touching, at times funny; with a strikingly handsome, modest and compassionate central character it is impossible not to fall in love with, this is a story which is captivating from the very first page.