Jesus Jackson
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- $22.99
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- $22.99
Publisher Description
"Smart and sweet, comforting and moving."—Kirkus Reviews STARRED review
Jonathan Stiles is a 14-year-old atheist who is coping with his first day of ninth grade at the fervently religious St. Soren's Academy when his idolized older brother Ryan is found dead. As his world crumbles, Jonathan meets an eccentric stranger who bears an uncanny resemblance to Jesus Christ (except for his white linen leisure suit and sparkling gold chains). Jesus Jackson, as he calls himself, offers to provide faith to Jonathan. He also suggests that Ryan's death may not have been an accident after all.
With the help of his new friend, Henry, and Ryan's grieving girlfriend, Tristan, Jonathan sets out to discover the truth about Ryan's death—and about God, high school, and the meaning of life, while he's at it. But he's distracted by Cassie—number one suspect Alistair's younger sister—who holds the keys to the answers Jonathan is searching for, but who also makes him wonder if he should be searching for them at all.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Daley's first novel revolves around the psychological and philosophical conflicts facing 14-year-old Jonathan Stiles. His older brother, Ryan, has just been found dead in a ravine; Jonathan believes he was killed, but everyone else thinks Ryan's death was accidental. Jonathan attends the ultra-religious St. Soren's Academy, where he is a loner, due in part to his atheism. In a state of shock and confusion following Ryan's death, Jonathan meets Jesus Jackson, a self-proclaimed "Spiritual Contractor" who wants to help Jonathan rediscover his faith. Though Jonathan frequently reflects upon matters of belief in the aftermath of Ryan's death, he is more concerned with avoiding his classmates and their disingenuous sympathies and finding Ryan's killer. The last time Jonathan and his friend Henry saw Ryan was during a "drug-enraged fistfight," and a football player is their chief suspect. Daley believably depicts Jonathan's conflicting emotions as he passes through the stages of grief. Yet Jesus Jackson comes across more as a gimmick than a real catalyst for Jonathan's developing understanding of loss, faith, and the unknown. Ages 14 up.
