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Jack Kerouac Is Dead to Me

Gae Polisner (Goodreads Author)

4.15 · Rating details · 53 ratings · 39 reviews

Fifteen-year-old JL Markham's life used to be filled with carnival nights and hot summer days spent giggling with her forever best friend Aubrey about their families and boys. Together, they were unstoppable. But they aren't the friends they once were.

With JL's father gone on long term business, and her mother suffering from dissociative disorder, JL takes solace in the in ...more

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Hardcover, 288 pages

Expected publication: April 7th 2020 by Wednesday Books

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Oct 16, 2019 Chelsea Humphrey marked it as to-read

Recommended to Chelsea by: St. Martin's Press

Shelves: from-publisher

Dark YA contemporary novels are my new love language, y'all.

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*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy.

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Aug 31, 2019 Kelly Hager rated it it was amazing

I could spend literally every minute between now and its release date---April 7---trying to write this review, and I still wouldn't be able to do this book justice.

First, you should know that this book isn't for everyone. It's dark and deals with hard topics and it will break your heart. It's more Cameron Crowe than John Hughes, and when I say that, I mean great Cameron Crowe (Fast Times at Ridgemont High or Say Anything Cameron Crowe, not Aloha Cameron Crowe).

I love everything about this book. I could spend literally every minute between now and its release date---April 7---trying to write this review, and I still wouldn't be able to do this book justice.

First, you should know that this book isn't for everyone. It's dark and deals with hard topics and it will break your heart. It's more Cameron Crowe than John Hughes, and when I say that, I mean great Cameron Crowe (Fast Times at Ridgemont High or Say Anything Cameron Crowe, not Aloha Cameron Crowe).

I love everything about this book. I love that JL is trying so hard to hold her life together with basically zero help from anyone (her dad's gone, her mom's useless and her grandmother is pretending so hard that everything's normal that she can't see how awful things really are). Max is great but that's its own complication (he is causing problems with JL's best friend and also he wants to have sex and she's not ready). And the person she's most used to counting on, her best friend Aubrey, is becoming a total jerk. It's all the worst for her.

Ellen Hopkins once wrote a YA novel that featured one character and then an adult novel that featured that character's mother. I mention that because I would really like an adult novel about Nana. (You probably thought I'd say JL's mom, right? Nope. I want historical fiction about Nana.) And I would like a sequel so I know what happens with JL. I hope it's amazing and she ends up finding her people. (I think she does.)

When I first met Gae, I was reading The Pull of Gravity (her first novel) and basically live Tweeting my reactions to her. That's how we became friends. This reading experience was very different. I didn't put the book down until toward the end and even then, it was only for two seconds. I loved TPOG but this is a whole different experience. I didn't want to leave the story, even only long enough to tell her how much I loved it.

This story is such an amazing gift, I can't even tell you. I don't read perfect novels very often but this is one. Highly recommended. ...more

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Sep 25, 2019 Energy rated it really liked it

JL lives at home with her parents, only her father has been mia for a while working in California. The fact that his job keeps extending his stay out there is taking its toll on her mother, who is drinking a lot. In addition to her drinking, she's writing letters to Kerouac when she's lucid enough to do so. JL's grandmother had a very brief encounter with the author when he was alive and so JL's mother has a bit of an obsession with him. That obsession is resulting in multiple letters being sent JL lives at home with her parents, only her father has been mia for a while working in California. The fact that his job keeps extending his stay out there is taking its toll on her mother, who is drinking a lot. In addition to her drinking, she's writing letters to Kerouac when she's lucid enough to do so. JL's grandmother had a very brief encounter with the author when he was alive and so JL's mother has a bit of an obsession with him. That obsession is resulting in multiple letters being sent to him a week.

It's all too much for JL and so she escapes into a world with her friends and her boyfriend Max. Though her friendship with Aubrey has gone south too as she doesn't much care for him, the age gap, or his drinking and smoking pot. He's a bit of a bad boy, a 19-year-old bad boy to JL's 15. And because she doesn't have Aubrey to lean on, JL unhealthily latches onto Max as she has no one to hang out with.

There aren't a ton of reviews out as I'm writing my own but I'm a bit surprised that no one else is writing about the age gap. Max calls her jailbait which is disrespectful, and he gets her to smoke pot. Despite him saying he's willing to wait for her to be ready to have sex, he isn't really willing as he brings it up *a lot*. A girl at 15 is going through vastly different things than a guy at 19, and it's a shame that there is no one in JL's life outside of Aubrey who is expressing concern about her relationship. (and I get people will defend this and say they're just two kids, age doesn't matter, etc), but not only can I not get on board with it, I feel sad that JL didn't have more support (especially seeing her mother liked Max without really knowing him).

Aside from the age problem, I think this was very well-written. JL has a lot of great insight regarding her life. Polisner touched on a lot of topics including teen dating, sex, mental illness, being quasi-raised by a single parent, and alcohol. I thought the way she posed the book as JL writing a journal length letter to Aubrey about everything that has happened since the two stopped being friends was a unique way to write the book. ...more

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Sep 17, 2019 Liza Wiemer rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arc

I was very fortunate to get my hands on an advanced reader copy.
And I couldn't put this book down.
It's gritty, raw, and deals with some important and tough issues like betrayal (friends/boyfriends/parents), mental illness, adulting/parenting - or the lack of - and finding the strength to face a crisis and make decisions that are empowering and "right" for you.
This may very well be Gae's best book. The writing is nuanced, emotional, and will leave you pondering the choices the characters' make ...more

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Sep 24, 2019 Sahar rated it really liked it

Shelves: arcs

I received this book courtesy of NetGalley as an ARC in exchange for my honest review. All quotes come from that ARC and not a published book. At the time I'm writing this, the book has not been released.

Trigger warnings: mentions of underage sex, attempted coercive sex, mental illness, butterfly deaths.

I always debate whether to give a book I rate 4.5/5 stars four or five stars on here. I'm erring towards 5, because I really loved it and the more I thought about all the elements of it, the more I received this book courtesy of NetGalley as an ARC in exchange for my honest review. All quotes come from that ARC and not a published book. At the time I'm writing this, the book has not been released.

Trigger warnings: mentions of underage sex, attempted coercive sex, mental illness, butterfly deaths.

I always debate whether to give a book I rate 4.5/5 stars four or five stars on here. I'm erring towards 5, because I really loved it and the more I thought about all the elements of it, the more I decided it's closer to 5 than 4 stars.

When I finished this book, the first thing I thought was that I had, well, a lot of thoughts on this book. There's so much to untangle here.

Here's the thing about this book that really ripped my heart out: the predictable ending would have been bad enough. It would have been sad enough. It would have probably made you cry. But the way Gae ends this? If I'd had a physical book I would have been torn between throwing it across the room and sighing in relief that JL didn't do what I thought she was inevitably headed towards.

JL is whip-smart, but she's very much still a child, and the parts that were hardest to read, were the way she was failed, again and again, by people she should have been able to trust. Which, in turn, is the precise reason she doesn't talk to her friends or family about her older, inappropriate, manipulative boyfriend.

In case it's not clear, I don't approve of JL's boyfriend. Under no circumstances should a 19-year-old be dating a 15-year-old. He calls her "Jailbait" (supposedly ironically, if I remember correctly, but still), even.

But because of the way society is, sexism and misogyny being what it is, I felt it really resonated how most of JL's friends blamed the relationship on JL. Because the girl had to be the Jezebel--which was what made the butterflies so perfect, obviously. The butterflies. I can't get over the butterflies.

JL raises butterflies, a fact we are introduced to very early on in the story. Her grandmother purchases them for her, as an early sixteenth birthday present, because she insists that "a girl should have something truly special and beautiful when she turns sixteen." Early on, she did this with her friend, Aubrey, and her boyfriend, Max. But as the story goes on, Aubrey shows up less and less, and Max more and more. It's as if she's replacing one confidant for another, one great love for the next.

Aubrey hates Max, and eventually, as a consequence, becomes a shadow character, simultaneously JL's conscious and someone JL desperately wants back, but can't stand on many levels. Honestly, there's a lot of sapphic sub-text. One line, in particular, caught my eye: "We are giddy with summer, with each other." I mean, come on--that's gay.

Something that isn't a huge key plot point but that I appreciated--JL is Jewish. Her grandmother mentions it in a story while talking about an argument with her mother about not marrying someone Jewish. I don't think it's mentioned again, but it's just really nice to have representation even if it's not a big part of the story.

The title of the book isn't a play on words or an obscure reference that comes up once--it's a key theme. All the women in her family were, at one point, in love with Jack Kerouac in one manner or another. Even Max is in love with him, in love with the romance of the road, while JL just wants to escape things that aren't okay in her life. She's not really in love with the road. She could care less about Kerouac. Hence the title. At some point, JL kills the last remnants of his presence in her family, which you'll see in the book, which I've hopefully convinced you to read. ...more

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Oct 29, 2019 Linda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-2019, adult-2019, young-adult-2019

Some may believe this is "make-believe", but Gae Polisner's new story, out next April, shows one girl's life in all its reality; all its hopes, some horribly dashed; yet, she keeps on, making choices that are "right" for her. Will you agree with every part? Perhaps not, but in the turmoil of this young teen whose father is away for work longer and longer, whose mother is drifting away in a heart-breaking mental disorder, and whose bestie Aubrey has drifted on to other girlfriends, readers will ...more

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Sep 27, 2019 Kim rated it really liked it

This is a book I would have loved as a teen. Raw, realistic fiction based on teenage angst. JL is on the cusp of adulthood with her looming 16th birthday. Her hippy parents have always raised her different from her friends, but she has always had her best friend Aubrey by her side. Her father cleans up his act and his new job sends him to far-off California, with a promise that he will be home in 6 months, and then another, and still another. JL's mother is not handling the separation well, and ...more

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Aug 22, 2019 PinkAmy loves books, cats and naps rated it really liked it · review of another edition

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of JACK KEROUAC IS DEAD TO ME by Gae Polisner in exchange for my honest review.***

With JL’s father working across country and her mother lost to mental illness, her friendship with Aubrey grounds JL. Puberty and high school and boys draw a wedge between the girls. Now Max has replaced Aubrey as JL’s go-to person. Max is graduating and taking the road for LA, and JL wants in.

JACK KERAOUSC IS DEAD TO ME is my first, but certainly not my ...more

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Sep 05, 2019 Amy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: contemporary, young-adult

This book captures the things so many teens are grappling with. Friendship. Family. Belonging. Feeling things and not always understanding why. Processing change--because everything is changing. Your body, your thoughts, your friendships, your dreams. JL, at 15, is dealing with all of that and just like the butterflies she's passionate about: constantly evolving.

"I liked how it felt to be out of control, a moth on a carnival ride, ready to be swept off by the wind, every tenuous hair, every ...more

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Oct 17, 2019 Joe Godina rated it it was amazing

JL Markham, 15 years old, has her whole life in front of her. But these first 15 have not always been easy. Her once unbreakable friendship with Aubrey has fallen apart, her father has been in California for work for way longer than he was supposed to, and her mom is suffering from a sometimes debilitating mental illness in his absence. The bright spot in her life is Max Gordon, her nineteen-year-old boyfriend. A senior at 19, Max is often misjudged, but JL feels like she knows the real Max, a ...more

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Oct 12, 2019 Emma's Things to Read rated it really liked it

JL is 15 and her life seems to be falling apart. Her dad is working thousands of miles away in California, her mum is struggling to cope with her mental health and writing letters to Jack Kerouac, and her best friend Aubrey is barely speaking to each other. Her boyfriend Max is 19 has a bad reputation and calls her "Jailbait".
This is a real coming of age novel. JL makes some questionable decisions along the way and I found myself willing the adults in her life to notice what was going in and ...more

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Oct 08, 2019 C.j. rated it it was amazing

I really enjoyed this book. The main character JL allows the reader to really feel what she is feeling at the time. Her relationships with the other characters are told rather well and really show how JL grows throughout the story. A great tale of a 15 year old dealing with growing up and expectations.

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Oct 08, 2019 Oona rated it really liked it

Great read-around with The Glass Menagerie or On the Road. And I loved the way the author manipulated time, especially as the book moved towards conclusion.

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Sep 29, 2019 Leeann rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya, 2019

Growing up, I loved books by Judy Blume. This book had a similar vibe. The author has a great understanding of teens, particularly the thought processes, insecurities and confusion of teen girls. A family in turmoil and crisis, along with the dissolution of a long term childhood friendship provide plenty of this fodder for lead character JL.

Another strong storyline is that of the relationship between JL and her 19 year old boyfriend Max. He calls her "Jailbait" and pressures her often to have ...more

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Sep 24, 2019 Lisa rated it it was amazing

Having been a fan of Gae Polisner since The Pull of Gravity, I was thrilled when NetGalley offered me a chance to read an advance copy of Jack Kerouac Is Dead to Me. This is an elegantly written coming-of-age story, with nuanced characters and a plot that can't be wrapped up in a neat little package and tied in a bow. Plus, there are butterflies. One of my favorite reads of the year.

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Aug 31, 2019 Jennifer (JC-S) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: net-galley, review-books

‘Is it wrong to do stuff with a person you love?’

JL (Jean Louise) Markham is 15 years old, and she’s having a tough year. Her father is on a business trip, which keeps getting extended, and her mother has retreated into her own world. JL’s best friend Aubrey doesn’t seem to have much time for JL anymore: she has made new friends. If it wasn’t for the tropical butterflies that JL raises (thanks to her grandmother) life would be bleak. Except for Max.

Max Gordon is JL’s 19-year-old boyfriend. He’s ‘Is it wrong to do stuff with a person you love?’

JL (Jean Louise) Markham is 15 years old, and she’s having a tough year. Her father is on a business trip, which keeps getting extended, and her mother has retreated into her own world. JL’s best friend Aubrey doesn’t seem to have much time for JL anymore: she has made new friends. If it wasn’t for the tropical butterflies that JL raises (thanks to her grandmother) life would be bleak. Except for Max.

Max Gordon is JL’s 19-year-old boyfriend. He’s about to graduate and then he intends to hit the road: leaving Long Island for California. JL would like to go with him. Whatever life with Max holds in store, it is surely better than being left behind. Her mother is unwell, and JL’s best friend has deserted her in favour of other friends. Aubrey does not like Max. What can keep JL home?

While much of this story is contained with a couple of months of JL’s sophomore year, what has happened earlier is also important. The story unfolds through a letter JL writes to Aubrey, a letter in which she tries to explain what happened.

‘What is it that makes us suddenly remember, Aubrey? What makes us take notice of what is actually around us, rather than what we want to see?

I’m not going to write more about the actual story: each reader will take it at his or her own pace; each reader will have their own reaction. I remember being 15 years old (almost half a century ago). I remember having to try to work out which choices to make, and possible consequences. I remember being overwhelmed. Reading this novel takes me right back into that space, thankful I survived. And JL? Which choices will she make?

This is Ms Polisner’s fifth YA novel, and the fourth I have read. (Yes, ‘The Summer of Letting Go’ is still on my reading list. I have bought a copy; I just need to schedule time to read it.) Ms Polisner continues to create believable characters and places them in challenging (but realistic) situations.

Highly recommended both for young (and not so young) adults.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith
...more

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Sep 13, 2019 June rated it really liked it

Shelves: ng

This reminded me of the Judy Blume books I read as a kid--the author perfectly captures the feelings of being confused, left out, and pressured that many teenagers experience. The story could have been a little longer--the end started to feel rushed--but perhaps we'll get a sequel to JL's story.

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Sep 16, 2019 Becca rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: for-fun, e-reader, arcs

Fifteen-year-old JL Markham isn't having the best year: her father has been on an extended business trip for nearly a year, her mother's mental health is in a steady decline, and her best friend, Aubrey, has found a new clique of friends that excludes her. There are only two good things in her life: the butterflies she raises and her boyfriend, Max. When Max reveals his plans to leave Long Island for California, JL's life is thrown into a whirlwind.

Framed as a letter to Aubrey, this YA novel ...more

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Oct 09, 2019 Isabelle | BookwyrmBites marked it as priority-owned-tbr

Shelves: arcs-review-copies

Happiness is getting home after an exam and finding this on my desk! Thank you to Wednesday Books (St. Martin’s Press) for sending me an advance review copy.
(And thank you to my housemates for bringing in the mail, I guess.)

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Sep 01, 2019 Elizabeth Taylor rated it it was amazing

This book was amazing, as most of Gae Polisner's books talk about working through struggles to see the light this book follows the pattern. It is truly amazing and one of the best books you'll read. It talks about a lot of issues and doesn't make the charcter seem perfect. JL has flaws and quirks along with every other charcter. The letter writing throughout is beautifully placed and overall anyone who reads it will fall in love with JL and Max and the entire plot. Polisner's other books don't ...more

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Sep 02, 2019 Sherry rated it it was amazing

Gae’s writing always has a way of reeling me in with characters I can’t get enough of and situations that make me turn the pages to see what happens next. JL’s story went straight to my heart. So beautifully written, her experiences brought me to tears as I felt connected to her struggles.

This book is one I already feel like I need to read again to fully appreciate all of it. This eARC from Netgalley scratched the itch to read the book, but I can’t wait to hold the printed book in hand and turn ...more

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Nov 01, 2019 Cheryl rated it really liked it

I am a repeat Gae Polisner reader and I was lucky enough to get approved for an ebook ARC of her newest novel "Jack Kerouac is Dead to Me". I enjoy Polisner's way of capturing youth and all the uncertaintity that comes with it. Jean Louise (JL) Markham is on the brink of 16 and struggling with all the change that has taken place in her life. There is a lot going on in JL's life and I don't think she is fully capable of dealing with it.

The book alternates between her current time of 10th grade
I am a repeat Gae Polisner reader and I was lucky enough to get approved for an ebook ARC of her newest novel "Jack Kerouac is Dead to Me". I enjoy Polisner's way of capturing youth and all the uncertaintity that comes with it. Jean Louise (JL) Markham is on the brink of 16 and struggling with all the change that has taken place in her life. There is a lot going on in JL's life and I don't think she is fully capable of dealing with it.

The book alternates between her current time of 10th grade and then her past with her friendship with Aubrey. Her and Aubrey were best friends, but then they grew apart. Them growing apart could not have happened at worst time for JL and she seeks solace with a bad boy Max. JL's father is in California for work and doesn't appear to be coming home anytime soon. Because of this, her mother is a wreck. Her mother has lost touch with reality and is in a downward spiral of depression. JL finds her peace with butterflies, the raising and the caring of them even though they do not have a long lifespan, they have always been a love of hers.

So where to begin?
JL - Written like a true 15 year old! She handles her mother as best she can while wrestling with her feelings of resentment and embarrassment. Her ache at her lost friendship with Aubrey is apparent through out her writings, although it is never clear excactly what had happened between the two. That's the way it is with most friendships in your teens. Usually there is not any one big event, but simply that people just grow apart, but this book shows the regret from both JL and Aubrey for the loss of a friendship.
JL and Max - I wasn't sure what to think of Max. He's 19 and even though she is almost 16, when you think of a 15 year old girl, with a 19 year old boy...its not a good thing. Funny how significant a four year age difference is at that AGE vs a four year age difference at say 25 year olds and 29 year olds. Or 35-39. Those four years don't matter the older you get, but in your teens...those four years are everything. I have to give kudos to Polisner for not making Max out to be a complete A-hole (he still was but he was human). While he tried to get JL to have sex with him on a number of occasions, and the end of the day, he did ultimately respect her decision to wait and not force himself upon her. Plus, he actually did seem to feel awful about what he eventually did. While it would have been easier to hate the character, Polisner gave him qualities that you can't help but like. There was a point where I was literally screaming at JL in my head, but its also easy for me to think "how stupid" she is because I'm older, but when I stopped to think about it, JL was so much smarter than I was at 15. Yes, she was still dumb with a few things, but weren't we all at 15?
Once again, Gae Polisner has proved why she is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.
Thank you so much to NetGalley #NetGalley for the ARC. ...more

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Oct 22, 2019 Jennifer rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2019-ya-books-8th-grade-plus

Gae Polisner's new novel, Jack Kerouac Is Dead to Me, is due in April 2020 from Wednesday Books, but you should pre-order this now.

JL Markham’s teen years seem typical, and yet this main character grabs the reader’s attention and holds on for dear life. In Jack Kerouac Is Dead to Me, JL’s stories surround her butterfly habitat, her family struggles, and her relationship with Max Gordon, who she hopes will take her away from all the high school drama when he graduates and moves to California. She Gae Polisner's new novel, Jack Kerouac Is Dead to Me, is due in April 2020 from Wednesday Books, but you should pre-order this now.

JL Markham’s teen years seem typical, and yet this main character grabs the reader’s attention and holds on for dear life. In Jack Kerouac Is Dead to Me, JL’s stories surround her butterfly habitat, her family struggles, and her relationship with Max Gordon, who she hopes will take her away from all the high school drama when he graduates and moves to California. She’s packed and ready to leave as soon as Max is. He’s sort of a roughneck with a cool ride, but he’s also intelligent and cares for JL. Right?

JL’s mother has dissociative disorder and depression, which provides a major conflict for JL -- a mother who lives alternate realities, wearing revealing kimonos around the house and writing letters to a dead author (enter Jack Kerouac). Dad took another stint with his out-of-town business and left JL and Mom in the best possible position he could, financially anyway. Mom doesn’t deal well most days, but she sees Dr. Marsdan faithfully so that she might get better sooner than later. JL’s “best friend forever,” Aubrey Andersson, now has new friends, Niccole and Meghan (think “Mean Girls”), so JL wraps her energy into raising beautiful butterflies in the solace and safety of her bedroom. She even learned to fix one’s broken wing by watching a video. Butterflies are stronger than we humans think, and they provide a safe and stable environment for JL in an otherwise cruel world. As for Max, he’s invested, he’s all in, he’s there for JL every step of the way. Right?

What happens when childhood friendships end, but adult life has yet to begin? What’s next for 15-year-old JL? Will she be caged in - stuck in the past, or fly away to a bright future?

Why I Loved This Book: I loved Jack Kerouac Is Dead to Me for the references to strong girls who are intelligent and can live life on their own (even if they don’t know how yet), for how the characters made me feel (reliving my own high school days), and for the twists and turns that the alternating timelines led me through. I wanted to smack JL’s friends and hug her at the same time, letting her know that life works out, eventually.

Why You Should Pre-Order Jack Kerouac Is Dead to Me: You’ll want to learn more about raising butterflies (it’s fascinating!). You’ll want to scream at Aubrey. You’ll want to yell at Dad over JL’s phone. You’ll want to hug Mom and tell her everything will be okay. You’ll want to help Max see the love that is standing there, waiting for him. And you’ll want to encourage JL to live her best life, leaving her past behind. This book is remarkable. Gae Polisner has done it again. Add it to your list now, and be ready to read in 2020.

My Rating: ***** ...more

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Oct 17, 2019 Toni_B_Librarian rated it liked it

This young adult book follows JL Markham through her sophomore year of high school as she struggles to cope with her mother's mental illness and her father's absence. These issues are compounded by JL's feelings for her best friend's brother and her sense that her best friend is slipping away. JL adores her bad-boy boyfriend Max, though he keeps pressuring her for a more physical relationship. But JL does manage to find some escape and solace in tropical butterflies--fragile but surprisingly This young adult book follows JL Markham through her sophomore year of high school as she struggles to cope with her mother's mental illness and her father's absence. These issues are compounded by JL's feelings for her best friend's brother and her sense that her best friend is slipping away. JL adores her bad-boy boyfriend Max, though he keeps pressuring her for a more physical relationship. But JL does manage to find some escape and solace in tropical butterflies--fragile but surprisingly resilient--that she raises in her bedroom.

The author Jack Kerouac is a recurring figure in the book. JL's grandmother met the writer decades before and the two had stolen a kiss on Nana's 18th birthday. JL's mother has also developed a fixation with the author, sending the dead man letter after letter during her dissociative episodes. But readers won't get much exposure to Kerouac's words or the essence of his works, since few quotes are used and there's no discussion of the values or ideas of the Beat movement. What's here is pretty superficial: he lived on Long Island for a time, "On the Road" was originally written as a scroll, etc. One might get the sense that the author chose Kerouac to play a central role here simply because his name sounds cool, and any other celebrity could be plugged in his place.

Readers will find loving, responsible adults in short supply in this book; the adults here are generally checked-out or incapacitated--even JL's loving grandmother seems in denial about her own daughter's mental illness and its effects on her grandchild. As an adult reader, I wanted the adult characters in the book to step up in ways they never did, but younger readers may find this sadly authentic.

I also felt that the ending rang false, with JL perhaps too quick to forgive another character's despicable act, and JL's own serious transgression against a character never resolved. It's a bleak book that imposes a happy ending on its characters that contrasts with much of what came before.

That said, the writing was compelling, and the book argues appropriately against "slut shaming" and in favor of teen girls having agency over their sexuality (sexual content is present in the book, and though it is handled sensitively, it might be a bit much for younger readers or conservative parents). ...more

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Nov 19, 2019 Julie-Ann Johnson rated it really liked it

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the arc.

Just a forewarning: this is not a happy go lucky teen novel. Jack Kerouac is Dead to Me deals with heavy themes, but tackles them beautifully. It will make you hurt, but in an oh-so-good sort of way.

This novel follows 15-year-old JL (Jean Louise), who is hurting an awful lot. Due to her dad’s work and her mom’s mental illness, JL seldom receives the attention she desires. Not only that, but her best friend has become distant as well. In turn, JL ...more

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Dec 02, 2019 Ms. Warchol rated it it was amazing

Shelves: for-high-school-readers-and-beyond

NetGalley ARC

JL Markham is on the verge . . . Of turning 16. Of sleeping with her boyfriend (the poetic & swoonworthy Max Gordon). Of forever walking away from her already fractured friendship with Aubrey. Of losing her grip. And she can't bear to suffer one more loss. When Max makes her an offer to hit the road, what will JL be willing to risk?

JL's mom is on the edge. Because her husband has been living in California for work. Because she struggles with mental illness. Because while the ...more

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Aug 24, 2019 Jennifer Shanahan rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc-giveaways

I really liked this book. JL, the main character is a 15yo sophomore in high school who is dating a 19 year old senior, Max. JL's life is a bit of a mess with her dad working out in California and her mom falling off the deep edge in loneliness with a little bit crazy too. JL used to be best friends with Aubrey but they have drifted apart since she started seeing Max, who nobody really approves of except JL's mom, strangely enough. JL is slowly learning about growing up, love, family, deceipt, ...more

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Oct 05, 2019 Andria Sedig rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, read-in-2019

JL and Aubrey used to be best friends. That is, they were until JL's dad left and she started dating Max Gordon. JL's mother has gone off the deep end after her father left to California for work and Aubrey doesn't approve of JL dating someone so much older and with a bit of a bad reputation. But JL is just trying to cling to things that make her happy, even if it seems a bit self destructive.

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I really enjoyed the writing in this book. The prose was beautiful and drew me into the story in a ...more

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Nov 22, 2019 Stacy rated it really liked it

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the writing style and the way the author wrote the book as a letter to JL’s best friend. It was unique and different.

JK is Dead to Me was very realistic book. JL maintained a pretty level head with everything she had going on in her life. The drama of high school, a depressed parent, a missing parent and a “misfit” boyfriend. I’m not so sure I would have made it out quite as well as she did. I always have a soft heart for books where kids don’t always have ...more

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Oct 11, 2019 Tara Weiss rated it liked it

Every English literature major thinks they know a thing or two about the great authors of the canon, and I think I have a grasp on Jack Kerouac. So, in reading Jack Kerouac is Dead to Me, I'm looking for all the things I know about the author. Often I'm reading too much into things. JL's parents are hippies . . . Kerouac didn't care for the hippies who came in the aftermath of the beat generation, so I'm just over here with the arms up in the air emoji thinking, "Huh?" The book has a lot going ...more

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About Gae Polisner

Gae Polisner

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I am the author of THE SUMMER OF LETTING GO and THE PULL OF GRAVITY.

Please note that, although I originally tried to assign star-ratings to my book reviews (and, thus, you will see some of my favorite books with stars), I have stopped doing so. A 3-star review, for example, can mean such different things to readers and reviewers, some rarely give more, so 3 means pretty great, to others 3 is ...more