Wish You Were Here [Paperback]

Barbara Shoup (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 8, 2008

Everything is falling apart for high school senior Jackson Watt. His best friend Brady disappears without a word. His mom remarries, which means a new stepdad, a new house . . . a new life. He falls in love with the girl of his dreams, and then risks blowing it for good.

It's only when Jax takes one last road trip to Graceland that he can accept the past year-and what it really means to grow up.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This ambitious debut touches on safer sex, death, self-worth, relationships, love and the meaning of it all. Jackson (Jax) has more than adolescent angst to contend with during his senior year: his best friend, Brady, runs away and leaves him feeling abandoned and betrayed; his mother remarries; his father, a freewheeling stagehand for rock groups, is almost killed in a fall; he meets Amanda, the girl of his dreams, during a vacation but falters in maintaining the romance. For much of the book, Shoup handles Jax's growing awareness of himself and others with grace and ease, even when many plot devices ring false. Amanda is unbelievably saintly, for example, and the marriage of Jax's father and Brady's mother seems a gratuitous touch while the suicide of Jax's ex-girlfriend on graduation day borders on soap opera. The ending, however, seems to belong to (or constitute) another novel: Jax is reunited with Brady (who has been following the Grateful Dead from concert to concert) and the two make a pilgrimage to Graceland, where they attend an candlelight memorial to Elvis. All of these experiences may have occurred in someone's life, but crowded into one book they seem disjointed and unreal. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up-Years after his parents' divorce, Jackson Watt is still shaky on his feet, still trying to mediate between them. In almost every respect this is a typical Young Adult Problem Novel: first-person narrative, rough language, conversational tone, a charming and sensitive hero, humor, and plenty of problems (divorce, suicide, sex, parental pressure, school boredom). The characters are extremely well drawn and very vivid: Dad, the immature womanizer who nevertheless deeply loves his son; Mom, who finally comes to terms with being a square; two little stepsisters; Dad's lycra'd aerobics instructor girlfriend; the concerned English teacher. The only character who doesn't quite ring true is Brady, Jackson's best friend who runs away in the second chapter. Brady is charismatic and troubled, and his disappearance crystallizes Jackson's anguish over the divorce and his life in general. Brady returns at the end of the book in a tragic and hilarious scene at Graceland that helps Jackson clarify his confusion and make some decisions. Overall, this book is a success and is several notches above the usual YAPN. However, it also shares the flaws of the genre. There is a heavy load of internalizing and explaining of feelings; readers will almost certainly become thoroughly tired of Jackson's internal monologue by the middle of the book. In addition, there is a tendency to pack in so many problems that plot weaknesses result. In the first half of the book, Jackson is preternaturally mature-then he crumbles into drunk driving, manipulative sex, withdrawal-then near the end of the book, his mother suddenly takes charge and starts to act like an adult for the first time, relieving him of a great burden. Even with these flaws, this is a solid and well-written story.
Kathy Fritts, Jesuit High School, Portland, OR
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Flux (May 8, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738713554
• ISBN-13: 978-0738713557
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #834,234 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wish You Were Here, October 27, 2002

By 

Brittany (Yokota, Japan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wish You Were Here (Hardcover)

The novel Wish You Were Here by Barbara Shoup was a literary work of art. I appreciated how she did not over-intensify situations, but made realistic so that you could understand and relate to the characters. I particularly liked the plot of the story. It was constantly changing and that made it all that much more interesting to read. There was situation after situation, dealing with everything from peer pressure and sex, to love, hate and also tragedy. Not many authors can write with the amount of realism and honesty that she does, and it was a great mix of modern day issues with hard situations and not always the best solution to it, but always a solution. I think that everybody should read this book. I guarantee you will enjoy it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wish You Were Here Review, February 20, 2002

By 

Brittany (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wish You Were Here (Hardcover)

Wish You Were Here
Teenagers today face tougher obstacles than just a typical calculus exam or debate speech. Love, sex, and popularity make for some pretty confusing and tough decision making on our young adults these days. Not always getting the credit they rightfully deserve, teenagers are the future doctors, lawyers, and executives of tomorrow and are forced to deal with today's biggest issues everyday. Barbara Shoup's Wish You Were Here is as close as it gets to a true reality story of one young man trying to find his place in the world amidst his parent's separation, remarriage, and several other difficult endeavors. A story we call all relate to at one point in our life, Jackson Watt takes the reader on a bumpy ride of happiness, tragedy, discovery, and a friendship truly written in the stars!
Jackson Watt never had much idea of what a real family was supposed to be like seeing how his was non-existent. His mother and father's differences were too much for either one to handle and they found no better alternative than to walk away. Like any other divorce today, Jackson was torn between his business woman for a mom and a punk band member for a father who was still trying to live out his childhood. Jackson felt as any other normal child would in this position, totally and utterly alone. Fortunately for him, he had someone to turn to. Brady was Jackson's best friend for as long as anyone could remember. They got each other through everything as though it was them against the world. With their futures planned to parallel one another Jackson thought they would be together forever; that is, until Brady up and split one day, right before the boys' senior year, leaving his problems and Jackson's with the confused and troubled teenager.
With Brady gone and no indication of ever returning, Jackson is left with no other choice then to move on in search of his future on his own. His mother, who at the time of the book's start, has been seeing a man named Ted who has two young girls of his own. Well, of course, you guessed it! It is not long before the two announce their engagement. Jackson, who never had much of a family to begin with, suddenly is thrown a new father and two younger sisters who are not too accepting of his shooting from the hip personality. Together the new family begins their journey together in the beautiful weather of Jamaica where Jackson is more than pleased to meet the gorgeous and adoring Amanda. Whether it was fate or just a coincident that this meeting took place in paradise, the two instantly began a relationship the pair never realized they had been missing so much.
All good things must come to an end as in any other storybook romance and Jackson and Amanda both had lives to return to. Their bond was far from over, though. However, with a new family, new house, and practically a whole new life, Jackson had plenty to preoccupy himself with. The love struck boy didn't get much of a chance to settle in on returning home, unfortunately, due to the tragic news he was met with upon arrival. His father had a very bad fall at work while the family had been away and was in critical condition at the time. With Jackson and his mother scared to death, they rushed to the hospital and were at his side until he woke up. Jackson was of course relieved at his father's survival, but was unaware of just how long the road to recovery truly can be.
Any sane individual would be driven crazy by just the issues of Jackson's family, but that was not the end for our in between teen. There was something else or shall we say someone else waiting for Jackson's expected return. Her name was Stephanie and she and Jackson had always had a unique relationship. Whether it was friendship or something more it was never easy to tell. What Jackson was not prepared, for though, was a dependence on the feeling of someone's loving or needing touch. The connection between Stephanie and Jackson was never clear, but their need for one another seemed to grow with each passing day until they discovered they both were in way over their heads!
From family endings to family beginnings Jackson Watt saw his share of ups and downs throughout his still very young life. Aside from all the commotion at home, Jackson was forced to deal with and experience a number of other trials and tribulations every teenager today must at one time encounter. These experiences and situations are what truly shaped and formed the man Jackson eventually grew into. In the words of Jackson Watt himself, "It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine," truly describes just what his experiences have taught him. Every one of us can relate to something Jackson went through and everyone us can say, "yeah that was me once," while flipping through the pages of this truly all around wholesome book. For anyone that ever has felt absolutely alone or that their life has come to a stand still while everyone else is zipping by, this book comes highly recommended. With a rating that ranks up there with the stars, people like Jackson Watt are living and breathing in all of us today and it is up to us whether or not we choose to set that person free. Jackson learned more than anything else that it is okay to need someone and until he was willing to give into that he would never get anywhere. Just perhaps there is a very simple lesson in this young adult novel that all of us should stop and think about!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Responsibility and Friendship, December 7, 1999

By 

GK lover - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wish You Were Here (Hardcover)

My tastes in young adult often run to humor, so I was not sure what to expect with "Wish You Were Here." What I found was a beautifully written book that looked at friendship and relationships very frankly and dealt with notions of responsibility. When I read it, a couple of years ago, it really spoke to me. The main character all of a sudden has to face his school and his life alone. People who had depended on his best friend now start to depend on him. And he has to understand what it means to be himself and to care about other people. This book is almost as compelling for the other story, the story of the friend who runs away. Shoup shows without telling what irresponsible behavior is and does through his destructive lifestyle and his actions with his former best friend. This book is a good read and is also a sober and mature look at young adult issues.