Best LGBT Young Adult / Coming of Age: Another Dumb Jock by Jeff Erno

[reviews_and_ramblings]

This is not the first book I read by Jeff Erno, I have even read the previous one in this series, Dumb Jock, that is basically the story of Adam’s parents, Jeff and Brett, but Another Dumb Jock felt a completely different book, more mature and contained, and above all, more Young Adult than the previous one. Dumb Jock was about teenagers, but if I remember well, there was quite the presence of sex, so that my recommendation was to consider a target of late teenagers if not adult for that one. Another Dumb Jock is more or less at the opposite, maybe since here the characters are really young, 15 years old, and this is their first experience at love; mostly they kiss and make out, but the reader knows the second thing happened, but doesn’t read about it. That is the reason why, I wouldn’t have issue to recommend this one to a young adult reader, especially since it has a positive attitude that could be of great support to young gay and lesbian kids who want to believe that it gets better.

Adam has his own issue to come to term with the reality of having two dads. His family is a good and steady one, he is a privileged kid, with a wealthy background and plenty of possibilities in the future. He is loved and spoiled, in a word, he is a brat. Like every teenager his own age, he goes through the step when he has to rebel against authority, and he picks the only weak point of his perfect family, the lack of a mother and the presence of two father. And of course, him being a jock, strong and masculine, he finds his trouble in Jeff, his more feminine father. But when the same Adam falls in love for a boy pretty much a little replica of Jeff, he has to reconsider his prejudices on his dads’ relationship.

I think the real problem for Adam is that he was starting to realize he was too much like his father Jeff, the nerd parent, and not really like Brett, the jock. Adam thinks that is due to the fact Jeff is really the housekeeper, the one who brought them up, while Brett is always out at work, he is the cool dad who comes along only when it’s time to play. Adam wants to be like Brett, but inside he knows he is more like Jeff, and at 15 years old, he doesn’t like that.

Very good novel, as I said, it’s well plotted, planned and weighted.

Amazon: Another Dumb Jock
Amazon Kindle: Another Dumb Jock
Paperback: 218 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (January 22, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1469956543
ISBN-13: 978-1469956541

Series: Dumb Jock
1) Dumb Jock: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/659568.html
2) Another Dumb Jock



Reading List: http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle