Naked in Winter: A Novel [Hardcover]

Jerome Brooks (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1990

Moving to the suburbs of Chicago, miles away from his old home and school, Jake comes to terms with his bitter, bickering family while struggling to commute four hours a day to maintain old friendships and develop a new romance.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this potent novel, Brooks chronicles Jacob Ackerman's junior year of high school. Separated from his three childhood buddies when his family moves away, Jacob commutes to his old school; but things are different among the four friends. Jacob values education and respects girls' feelings, while the other boys are preoccupied with sex. Jacob struggles to make sense of his life, wondering why he should bother caring about people; his parents spend their days arguing bitterly, and Jacob's newly married brother Mike is already committing adultery. With the help of a perceptive English teacher, a shy girl who gets hives because she is as scared to expose her emotions as Jacob is, and his own father, Jacob realizes that love exists even when it is cloaked by anger or fear. Brooks's eloquent narration captures Jacob's thoughts and fears intimately. Readers will admire the young man's honesty in this expressive, uplifting story. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up-- Vivid as a portrayal of adolescent emotions, this book is less successful as a historical novel. High-school junior Jake Ackerman is startled to hear that his family is moving to the suburbs, miles away from his familiar Chicago neighborhood. The date is late 1947, and Jake is at a crossroads in his existence. Behind him is his life as a schoolboy and at home with his unhappy parents. Ahead of him is the glimmer of university, work, and most important of all, girls. Brooks uses the dislocation of the move as a symbol of Jake's uncertain forays into manhood. The rest of the plot is essentially boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy grows up a bit and tries again. The strengths of the novel are strong imagery and vivid description (the scene in which Jake watches Roberta drinking a rootbeer float and his fumbling sexual encounters are reminiscent of Tom Jones ) and the gripping depiction of teen male emotions. However, there are many serious problems. Without a unifying theme to provide a firm structure for the book, the plot becomes leggy. Adult characters are shadowy or bleak. Jake's friends, except for Roberta, fare not much better. Most serious is the failure to integrate details of the setting. Instead of providing the ambiance and color of the late 40s, Brooks erects too obvious signposts to remind readers of the period. At the same time, there are many anachronisms in his narrative ("humongous," "zilch," "weirdo," and, worst of all, "zits," all more recent expressions). While readers observe through Jake's eyes some interesting human interactions, their relevance to the novel is not clearly developed. As a result, the whole attempt falls short. --Barbara Hutcheson, Greater Victoria Public Library, B.C., Canada
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 182 pages
• Publisher: Orchard Books; 1St Edition edition (April 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0531058662
• ISBN-13: 978-0531058664
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,676,047 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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