He's Got a Great Sense of Humor • The Edumacation of Jay Baker (+ Giveaway)

The Edumacation of Jay Baker by Jay Clark
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co. (BYR)
Publication Date: January 31, 2012
Source/Format: Publisher (Thanks!) || Paperback

[I received this book from the publisher. This in no way affects the contents of my review.]

A few "sexy" bullet points about Jay: 

- He is in love with a cheerleader named Cameo "Appearance" Parnell 

- He is forever losing "Love-15" to tennis-playing goddess Caroline Richardson 

- He rocks a touche array of pop-culture references, jokes, and puns 

- His family-life cookie is about to crumble. 

Live vicariously through Jay as he faces off against his mortal enemy, gets awkward around his dream girl(s), loses his marbles in a Bermudian love triangle, watches his parents' relationship implode, and, finally, learns to get real and be himself(ish).

This is the second time I've struck gold this year with a contemporary YA novel featuring a male protagonist! When I read the review Jess posted, I was instantly intrigued. And I was extremely delighted when I was given the opportunity to read this novel for myself. The Edumacation of Jay Baker was fun, entertaining and definitely a feel-good read!

The Character

Jay Baker is hilarious! I found myself laughing out loud while I was reading, and I never felt anything less than thoroughly entertained. Jay has a quirky, unique perspective on the things that happen in his life. I was amused by the combination of his extremely unique vocabulary and his interesting thought process. His voice is reminiscent of Greg (from Me and Earl and the Dying Girl) and Craig (from It's Kind of a Funny Story). Relatable, funny and a big ball of creativity - that's what Jay Baker is like to me.

The Story

The story is truly entertaining and very positive, but it does tackle some difficult issues without belittling them. Jay Clark managed to strike a good balance between the entertaining pattern of Jay Baker's thoughts and the reality of the stuff Jay (the character) was going through. Plus, when really awful things happened or really awful truths came to light, I really like that Jay (the author) didn't hold back about telling it like it was.

The pop culture references were a definite plus to me, as well as the chapter titles (which were all plays on famous song titles). I knew this after reading Jess' review, but I still think that's it's a great idea - and I love the playlist featured at the end of the book (with the real song titles indicated!)

Personally, I say you should...

Read this book if you're looking for something fun, quirky and will have you laughing and smiling while you read it! The Edumacation of Jay Baker is one hell of an entertaining debut novel. I definitely can't wait to see what Jay Clark will come up with next!

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Guess what else is totally awesome? When Jay Clark contacted me to review his novel, he and his publisher also offered to give away one copy of The Edumacation of Jay Baker to my readers!

Rules:

1. You must be 13 (thirteen) years of age or older.

2. This giveaway is open to the US ONLY.

3. You must have a valid email address to enter below.

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