Josie and Jack by Kelly Braffet

I can say for sure that I have been waiting a few hours now to get all my thoughts on this book while I am still heated. I started and finished this book in less than three hours, completely and utterly consumed in it.

The stage set, siblings Josie and Jack, live together in a large house with a unloving, neglecting (slightly maniac) father, deprived of a mother, who has deep interest in the studies of science, and believes schools teach their children rubbish, therefore having them homeschooled. Josie and Jack, share the same dark, witty humour that sets them off from everybody in town, as they’re the only people who understand each other. After Josie has a falling out with their father, he leaves the house for several months only to come back and invite Josie along to their new destination: New York.

I grew faintly attached with Jack, Josie’s nineteen year old brother, who takes care of her with such care, in the midst of the book, I was suspecting a slight case of incest when he would kiss or caress her, pushing away several of her admirers, stating that he would be the only one to love her. Josie, must to my distaste, is greatly dependent, and almost cannot be without him, overall creating a weak female lead, made difficult to like.

It’s certainly a consuming book that leaves you thinking after the ending, wishing you’d gone back and read carefully so you wouldn’t miss a single word. Their dialogue and emotion put you right in the scene, a delightful, taboo romantic relationship between the two that will leave you breathless. I highly suggest this a quick read or something to dissect and interpret in your free time. A intelligent, tear-provoking book. I suggest it if you’re up for it.

Eman Fathala