Mundie Moms

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Book Review: The Edumacation of Jay Baker


Published by: MacMillan
To Be Released on: January 31st, 2012
Source: ARC from publisher to review
3.5 stars: It's A Good Read
Pre-Order from: MacMillan | Amazon

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 touché 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) -quoted from Goodreads

If you're looking for a good, laugh out loud read pick up Jay Clark's debut book! Jay Baker is hilarious. There were times he had me laughing out loud and other teams I felt so sorry for him, but before I could teary eyed for all he's dealing with he says something funny that makes me start laughing again. He's a typical teenager who deals with a lot, his first love, a great best friend, a broken home and a bully. Normally I'd feel horrible for Jay, I mean I did, but his snarky and down right hilarious comments he makes to deal with all that goes around him had me laughing at moments I didn't even except to laugh out. For most of the book I found his sarcastic ways charming, and some of his best lines were used towards the bully he deals with in the story.

Jay does a lot of stuff and says a lot of things I felt were very realistic for a typical teenage guy. I felt his character was very believable and may even be relatable to some. Jay Clark did an awesome job at giving his character a true to life teenage voice, which is one of the things that made me like this book. That doesn't mean I agreed with everything Jay says or does, but there's something about what he does through out the story that makes him so enduring. The other person I enjoyed was Jay's sister. They both dish it to each other like all normal siblings do, but they're both also there for each other when the other needs it. I won't even get on the topic of Jay's mother... that women irritated so much.

Jay's writing is fresh, it's surprising, and it's real. I enjoyed the way he tells Jay's story and how he allowed me to get to know his characters. I don't remember the last time I laughed out loud so often while reading a book. His debut is a solid read, and I even enjoyed the surprise ending. I have to say, I didn't see it ending the way it did. The only compliant I have, and this is going to show my age, is all the teen lingo, but I'm "old" and definitely not in the 12-18 yrs old range (even though I may at times act like it). This is definitely a read the targeted age range will love, which is 13-18 yrs old. As I said above, this is a good read, and it's one I recommend to YA readers who are looking for a good contemporary book from a male teen's pov.


Don't miss our interview with Jay & enter for your chance to win a published copy of The Edumacation of Jay Baker HERE.

Interview with the Edumacation of Jay Baker author, Jay Clark

Today I'm thrilled to introduce you guys to debut author, Jay Clark, who's debut the Edumacation of Jay Baker will be released on the 31st of this month.


How would you describe The Edumacation of Jay Baker in three words or less?

Juno for dudes.

What inspired you to write Jay's story?

Well, I took a long, hard look into my iPhone camera and said, "Dang, son, instead of having a quarter-life crisis, you should go back in time and write a book about yourself as an awkward teenager." Then I went back to my cubicle and proceeded to crank that baby out on my then-employer's dime, becoming best friends with the minimize button in the process. For real, though? I wanted to write a book that actually reeked of high school (in a good way). In my opinion, it’s hard to dredge up that kind of nostalgia when one’s characters are dealing with the END OF THE WORLD as they know it, which seems to be the case in a lot of YA books lately (no offense, though, because I’ve taken many of these page-turners to the face).

What's one thing you have in common with your character, Jay Baker?

Jay Clark and Jay Baker are both persistent little buggers. Jay Clark is particularly annoying. He keeps telling me that I need more Twitter followers and Facebook fans and better reviews, and I’m like, “Can’t you see I’m trying to space out in front of the TV, b-hole?” It’s never enough with him. I attempted to smooth out this characteristic for Jay Baker just a smidge—make sure his ambition to get things right wouldn’t rub people the wrong way. But I’m not a genie in a bottle, baby, so who knows if I polished enough.

What was one "must have" thing you needed while writing your book?

My fiancé, Caroline. A.k.a. the keeper of my sanity, my go-to, my babychowpow-mookatow. I think every writer needs that one special victim to bounce his/her worst ideas off of, and C-line plays the role beautifully. It doesn’t hurt that she’s the most beautiful being on the planet, either. She’s too nice to tell me when I’m missing the mark by a mile, but I’m familiar enough with her facial expressions to know when it’s revision time.

What's one piece of advice you'd give to aspiring authors?

Write. Every day. Even if it's crap incarnate. Even if you must resort to typing into your Evernote app at a boring office meeting (not that I've ever done such a thing). Even if you’d rather have a colonoscopy. Writing is fun about three percent of the time; the other ninety-seven percent you’ll want to stab yourself. Oh, and don’t stab yourself. Almost forgot that part.

**********

Thank you for stopping by today Jay and thank you to MacMillan for making this interview possible.

Be sure to follow Jay on his facebook page

Pre-Order The Edumacation of Jay Baker via MacMillan | Amazon


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 touché 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) -quoted from Goodreads

Thank you to MacMillan, I have one copy of Jay's upcoming release to GIVEAWAY!

To enter, please fill out the form below:
-this is open to US residents only
- you must be 13 yrs & older (if under a parent/guardian's permission to enter is required)
- this giveaway will end on 2/10/12


Stop back by later today to read my review!

Thoughtful Thursday- MM's Q & A on Book Reviews, Blogging & More

For today's feature I thought I'd take a moment a publicly answer some questions I often answer on email or else where. Today's questions are about blogging, reviews, my chats and more. Though I've gone back and forth about saying anything about the sixth question, I felt now was as good as any to take a moment and answer these questions.

Why Do I Review?

This is a great question. Simply, because I love to talk about books. I started my book blog so I could publicly talk about books and refer books to others who might not have other wised picked it up. I mean, that's not the entire reason why I started the Mundie Moms blog, but that was a HUGE part of it. The other part my reasoning was to keep fans of Cassie's books up to date with series, news and such. I wanted a place to come and promote books, host live author chats, run other promotions which is why I ventured out and created the Mundie Moms blog. I admit I spend far more time than I should on my blog, but I'm passionate about this hobby of mine, and I'm passionate about reading. Reading to me is empowering. I love that I'm able to spread the word about books via my blog. So my short answer is, I review because I love reading, I love books and I love to talk about books with others.

Do I Love What I Do?

Yes, I love what I do. I don't ever see myself falling out of love with reading. I've always loved reading, it's something I fell in love with in grade school, but the moment I stop loving what I do on my blog, is the moment I stop blogging. If it's not fun, why do it?

What Have Advice Do I Have for Bloggers?

My advice is, DO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO, it's your blog. You'll find a ton of great advice out there from other bloggers, but you don't need to apply everything you read to your blog. Be creative, be you. Do what feels right to you. I think your blog should be a reflection of you. Just because other bloggers are doing something, doesn't mean you should. There are a lot of great memes out there, and if you like some of them do them, if memes aren't your thing don't do them. Don't let what other bloggers do or have discourage you from blogging.

My other advice is to not become envious of other bloggers. I personally spend a ton of time on my blog. It took me a long while to really build my blog up to what I envisioned it to be, and I'm still wanting to change more things to get how I want it to be. I worked hard to establish myself by building up relationships with publishers and authors, as well as bloggers. It takes awhile to build trust with people, but slowly but surely it will happen. Just keep doing what you're doing. It's okay to do your own thing, in fact, I love blogs who do just that. They take ideas and put their own creative spin on things. Have fun, don't be afraid to do your own thing, and enjoy it.

What's One Thing I've Learned From Blogging?

I enjoy promoting the books I read, but I've learned over the last 3 years that if I don't like it, it's okay to stop reading it and it's okay to not post a review for it. I learned that that hard way. I used to think I had to read every book that was sent to me, leaving me no time to read the books I wanted to read. I learned it's okay to say NO. It's also okay to say no to review requests, though I feel bad doing so. I'm a wife, a mother and I have other responsibilities outside of blogging. It's impossible for me to fulfill every request I get and fulfill the commitments I've already made.

Do I Get Paid To Review?

haha, I wish I earned a living doing this, but no, I don't get paid. I do not make any money off my blog. Everything that I do is completely out of pocket. Hopefully I'll be able to start bringing in a little bit when I start posting blogger ads.

What Do I Think of the Recent Blogger/Author Drama?

I have really gone back and forth on answer this question, because I'm seriously a little stunned there's even drama going on. Yes, I've read some horrid things on Goodreads, and I've heard from a ton of blogger friends about the recent rash of things that have been said, and honestly I'm wondering where the respect went.... I feel there is no need for anyone to bash each other. There's no need for a reviewer to personally bash an author and there's no need for an author to personally bash a reviewer. So what if you don't like a certain book. It's okay to not like it. I've read plenty that I didn't love and a ton that I did love. I think reviewers cross the line when they become disrespectful towards an author because they didn't like their writing, as in name calling, personally attacking them etc. The same goes for an author who rips into a reviewer for not liking their book. Not everyone is going to enjoy their writing, and it's naive of an author who thinks other wise. There's a ton more that can be said about this, but I think the bottom line is it only takes a few bad eggs to ruin it for a lot of people.

Are all reviewers and authors hateful and rude? Not at all! I think the more time that's spent dwelling on the negativity surrounding a lack of respect that's going on, on both sides, the more the negativity is going to come out. There are a ton of fabulous reviewers who continue to support authors and love what they do. There's a ton of authors who continue to give their support to reviewers. I personally think Maggie Stiefvater said it best in her post about this here.

Who Runs Your Author Chats?

This is definitely a tag team effort, and the few times I've done it by myself were a little chaotic behind the scenes. I run the chat itself and my friend Cynthia who runs A Blog About Nothing, and whom also reviewed for MM's for a bit helps me sort through the questions, and Sophie does the tweeting for the event. There's more to it than that, but honestly without their help and the system we have in place, there's no way I could run a successful chat. I often times have other bloggers offer to help me with them, which I really appreciate it, but I've learned that it works best to keep up with the system I have, because the three of us all know what to do, and what the other people are doing. I hope that makes sense.


I'll post more questions I've received in a future post about my blog tours, more questions about blogging and any other questions I get. Thank you for all the great questions!

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