Customer Reviews

Jay

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Jay Thornton is sixteen-years-old. When his mom died, Jay knew he would be put in a foster home. Fear of the unknown had him running away instead. Jay "catches out" on a freight train thinking he would live the romantic hobo lifestyle, foot loose, free, and no one to tell him what to do. Instead, Jay discovers constant physical dangers, the fear of being caught by train gangs or the police, hunger, and facing the elements.

He joins another young man, only slightly older, who goes by the alias Liberty Two. As Jay slowly learns the life of the hobo, he does much thinking. Will he remain a hobo and merge into its hard lifestyle? Or will he return to the town he lived in and see if a foster home could give him a chance of a better life?

***** This is the sequel to a previous teen novel titled "Me & Jay". You do not have to read the first to enjoy this one though. This book begins two years after the previous book ended. Watching Jay, as his travels went along, gave me a glimpse into a subculture that I never dreamed existed. This story is a real eye opener. Though the story is fiction, the names in the book are real. The author lived this life for a time (and has the scar to prove it, according to the Forward in the book). Therefore, the author's experience allowed realism to shine through in his writing. I recommend both books, but this one is the best of the two, in my opinion. *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Rebeccasreads highly recommends JAY for teens who think running away will solve all their problems.

You might have met Jay before, in ME & JAY. Now, after his Mom's died, he is faced with being taken care of by the state. Instead, he puts his stuff: a photo of his Mom, a Swiss Army knife, & a twenty-dollar bill into his back pack, & jumps on a freight train heading... anywhere...

Along the way, somewhere in the American Midwest, in a world where huge freight trains & flat cars can maim or kill in an instance, Jay survives a hobo round-up by an armed gang of thieves; days & nights of fear, cold & hunger... until he meets up with a youngster like him who teaches Jay a thing or two about avoiding trouble.

Then they find a group of older hobos with a roaring camp fire, food to spare & lots of interesting stories to tell.

While W. Royce Adams has written a fine & riveting adventure about a boy on the run who joins the sub-culture of the hobos, & includes a lot of history, & scenes of fun as well as danger, he does not encourage or romanticize this lifestyle.

Outstanding!

Four years have passed; more than can be imagined has changed. Jay, now sixteen, is a hobo living a life on the tracks. Having nowhere to live after the death of his mother, the only remaining member of his family, he must ride the freight trains to escape a foster home. After being caught by the bulls, or Freight Train Police, he needs to be more careful on the tracks. The bulls robbed him; he was left with no money, food, or weapons to defend him or to cut food. He hops a train to escape the bulls and jumps on a flatbed car. He tries to hide under a tarp so he is not seen, and in the darkness of it, he feels a leg. "Hey!" is all that is said. A hobo, called by the name of Liberty Two, is the leg's owner. They are introduced to each other and they are astonished to find that the two of them are the same age. They befriend and start out a life of hobos.


Jay, the sequel to Me and Jay, is a very good piece of children's literature. This book is not as graphical as Me and Jay, so it is a book that a child can read without getting frightening images in his head. From the ending to Jay, it is obvious that a sequel to Jay is in order. Jay, the sequel to Me and Jay, should be a book on everyone's bookshelf because of the unforgetable characters, their friendship and shared adventures.

Reviewed by a Flamingnet Student Reviewer for Flamingnet Book Reviews (www.flamingnet.com)

I found "Jay" to be insightful and entertaining. This railroading teenager's adventuresome tale is is interesting and educational at the same time. There is a whole part of life and society I rarely thought about before. One of my favorite things about the book was the interesting turn of phrase. The clever use of language and carefully selected words shows know the author put a lot of thought into this book. I found that added another dimension to the action, making you ponder and experience more deeply this engaging adventure. You will enjoy this book!

Author W. Royce Adams has done it again. This action packed story of a teenage runaway is both captivating and exciting. Jay, a sixteen year old, narrates his story. Adams has used this voice to capture language that portrays a mixture of a young teen's bravado and innocence.

As each chapter races into the next Jay finds himself faced with new challenges, conflicts, and danger. When his mother died he became an orphan. In a desperate attempt to avoid being placed in a foster home Jay struck out for California by "catching out" on a freight train.

Adam's word pictures and brilliant descriptive phrases have captured the mindset, geography, and environment of mid America.

This is a story that should stir the emotions and imagination of even the most sophisticated of teen readers.