For fans that want to enjoy something a little juicer than your usual contemporary. Jack of Hearts is Netflix’s Sex Education in book form, set in America and focused around a gay student who encounters a few problems when he discovers he has a stalker.
Jack of Hearts (and other parts) (2018), L.C. Rosen
Themes: Young Adult, Sex, LGBTQIA+, Contemporary
Reading Format: Paperback
Pages: 368
4 STAR
Trigger warning: this book contains messages of sex and stalking – do not read it if you are uncomfortable with either of these things.
This book was a refreshing read that treaded through the fields of diversity and came successfully out the other end. It really did try and cover a lot of the rainbow when talking about sexuality, and I was really pleased to see it being inclusive of how so many different people feel.
This is kind of like an extreme version of Netflix’s Sex Education, in which the main character starts up a sex column on his friend’s website. But it soon becomes much more sinister as Jack is stalked by someone who is starting to cause him a lot of stress and concern. This deals with issues of unwanted attention and how to deal with it and how this makes people feel.
I really enjoyed Jack as a character, he wasn’t a victim, but he was complex and we see him go through a lot. As an openly gay character we read about him tackling various situations he has been in, but more importantly, I praise this book for how open it is about all types of sex. It maintains the message of safe sex, whilst also talking about the fun side of things. I think this book certainly encompasses a more realistic portrayal of sex than something like 50 Shades of Grey for example.
Jack of Hearts raised some really important points, one of which was the fantasising of gay sex and seeing it as a form of gossip/entertainment. Jack does really well to straighten this one out, he addresses people who treat gay sex as if it is alien and different. I left this book with the mindset that sex is sex, why does it matter if someone is a dom or a sub, f there is a top and a bottom, it doesn’t work like that. There aren’t roles, there are just people enjoying themselves and they don’t need to confirm to any expectations or stereotypes.
This book was a welcome breath fo fresh air and I think it could be really important for teens discovering their sexuality and starting to have sex. It is a funny book yes, but it’s messages are real and true, I think they could really help some people.
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