With a title like DUMB JOCK, I expected a light, silly, high school tale of love and coming out. What I expected and what I got were two different things. I haven't read many YA novels. This is maybe my second or third one. I also have not read (in our genre) that many books that touched me as deeply as this one did, YA or not. A little background. My partner and I just went through the journey of helping his mother reach the end of her life with as much love and dignity as we could give her. And I think we succeeded. We also learned a few things along the way. Actually we learned a lot. About life, about death, and especially about the final days of living. I don't want to give away any spoilers, but there is a chapter in this book (Chapter 15, to be exact) that delves into the issue of death. And everything Mr. Erno says in that chapter on the subject was so spot on it sent chills through me. It mirrored almost exactly what my partner and I had gone through with his mother. When I asked my partner to read portions of the chapter, his eyes welled up and he got the same chills I did. It's a wonderful thing when a writer can grasp the truth as unerringly as Jeff Erno did in the writing of this book. And I don't just mean Chapter 15. I mean all of it. The romance was sweet. The characters real. The writing clean and honest and crystal clear. I'm so glad I picked up this book. It isn't every day that the reading of a book is anything special. I mean, some stories amuse us, or make us sad, or touch us in some way. But how often do they really reach in and squeeze our hearts? Thank you Mr. Erno. You've not only moved me with this story, you also make me want to be a better writer. Jeff Erno is determined to wring the last year from my dehydrated corpse. This book was just so good. I have never cried so much as when I read the scene in the hospital. Not even at the end of Imitation of Life. The romance between the MC was touchingly naive and beautiful. Brett was a selfish, spoiled boy who felt entitled due his standing in school and his privileged upbringing. His turn around was nice to behold. I didn't want it to end.
What do You think about Dumb Jock (2009)?
It was an Ok book , liked the beguining ...
—gmoore
