Jacked Up

by Erica Sage

Overview

Saved! meets Tim Federle with just a dash of A.S. King in this hilarious and poignant debut about a teen stuck at Jesus camp.

It’s bad enough that Nick’s sister is dead, and, in some bizarre attempt to force him to confront his grief, his parents are shipping him off to Jesus camp. But he’s also being followed around by Jack Kerouac, who’s incredibly annoying for a genius.

If arguing with a dead beat poet doesn’t qualify him for antipsychotics already, Nick’s pretty sure Eden Springs is going to drive him insane. The campers ride donkeys into the desert, snap selfies with counselors dressed as disciples, and replace song lyrics with Bible verses. And somehow, only Nick seems to find this strange.

Worst of all is the PC Box, into which the campers gleefully place daily prayers and confessions. With Jack nagging him to do it, Nick scribbles down his darkest secret—about his sister’s death—and drops it in the box.

But then the box is stolen, with Nick’s secret inside of it. And when campers’ confessions start appearing around the camp, Nick is desperate to get the box back—before the world learns the truth about what he did. The truth he can’t even face himself.

Laugh-out-loud funny, surreal, and insightful, this is an unforgettable novel about the strangeness of life, death, and grief—and the even stranger things people do to cope.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781510754409
Publisher:	Sky Pony
Publication date:	03/03/2020
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Erica Sage is an English teacher and writer who lives in Washington state with her two sons. When not reading and writing, she loves to hike around Mount Rainier and travel whenever and wherever—whether it’s packing up and heading to a new country, or just climbing into the car for a road trip. Jacked Up is her debut novel.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Irreverent, poignant, and smart, Jacked Up turns Jesus camp on its head! A clever debut by a talented new author.”

—Kimberly Derting, award-winning author of the Body Finder series and the Pledge trilogy

“With an unforgettable setting and a vibrant cast of characters, Erica Sage has delivered a poignant story of one boy’s search for forgiveness in the face of loss. Hilarious and insightful, Jacked Up explores the complexities of both faith and grief with remarkable honesty, nuance, and grace. A captivating debut.”

—Katie Henry, author of Heretics Anonymous

“You can’t help but think of Jack Kerouac’s famous novel during this humorous and heartbreaking road trip of a book. Erica Sage’s deft hand on the wheel makes the journey memorable.”

—Mark Teppo, author of the Codex of Souls duology

“Spiritual without being didactic, laugh-out-loud funny without being slapstick, and heartwarming without being melodramatic, Jacked Up takes us on a pilgrimage—both literal and allegorical—as Nick searches for healing and redemption.” —Patrick Swenson, author of The Ultra Thin Man

"An impressive debut novel that entertains while encouraging the questioning of all assumptions." — Kirkus Reviews

“This story of tragedy and relationships reads quickly, and Nick is a sympathetic narrator. . . . The author has created a small but well-crafted cast of characters [with] real-life issues that will resonate with young adults. A good selection for most YA collections.” — School Library Journal

Editorial Reviews

Irreverent, poignant, and smart, Jacked Up turns Jesus camp on its head! A clever debut by a talented new author.” —Kimberly Derting, award-winning author of the Body Finder series and the Pledge trilogy 

“With an unforgettable setting and a vibrant cast of characters, Erica Sage has delivered a poignant story of one boy’s search for forgiveness in the face of loss. Hilarious and insightful, Jacked Up explores the complexities of both faith and grief with remarkable honesty, nuance, and grace. A captivating debut.” —Katie Henry, author of Heretics Anonymous

“You can’t help but think of Jack Kerouac’s famous novel during this humorous and heartbreaking road trip of a book. Erica Sage’s deft hand on the wheel makes the journey memorable.” —Mark Teppo, author of the Codex of Souls duology 

“Spiritual without being didactic, laugh-out-loud funny without being slapstick, and heartwarming without being melodramatic, Jacked Up takes us on a pilgrimage—both literal and allegorical—as Nick searches for healing and redemption.” —Patrick Swenson, author of The Ultra Thin Man

"An impressive debut novel that entertains while encouraging the questioning of all assumptions." —Kirkus Reviews

“This story of tragedy and relationships reads quickly, and Nick is a sympathetic narrator. . . . The author has created a small but well-crafted cast of characters [with] real-life issues that will resonate with young adults. A good selection for most YA collections.” —School Library Journal

From the Publisher

03/01/2018
Gr 9 Up—Jack Kerouac has been dead for almost 40 years, but that doesn't stop him from haunting Nick, who just lost his older sister, Diana, to suicide. Diana loved Kerouac and often channeled his philosophy of loving the "mad ones." As if these things weren't bad enough, Nick's parents have decided to send him to "Jesus Camp" at the behest of Nick's other sister, Charlotte. Nick is not excited or even happy about this decision but he doesn't feel like he has a choice, given the tragedy his family has just gone through. The campers are encouraged to write down confessions or prayers and put them into the official PC Box, and even Nick participates—by writing down his secret about Diana's death. When the PC Box goes missing, everyone at camp is in a panic, especially Nick, who makes it his mission to find where the box went. This story of tragedy and relationships reads quickly, and Nick is a sympathetic narrator. The teen is often resistant to the camp's lessons, which are gentle but not subtle. Some of the male campers use crass language and objectify their female cohorts. The author has created a small but well-crafted cast of characters. Each of them have real-life issues that will resonate with young adults. VERDICT A good selection for most YA collections.—Sara Jurek, Children's English Library, Stuttgart, Germany

School Library Journal

2018-03-20
Nick's lesbian sister, Diana, is dead and his parents are sending him to a weeklong "Jesus camp" at the suggestion of his homophobic, evangelical sister, Charlotte.The 15-year-old narrates his tale with humor, cynicism, and self-deprecation. A self-proclaimed grammar aficionado—who even publicly corrects a pastor—his language abounds with colloquialisms. However, from the moment he is forced to exchange his grammar-nerd T-shirt for one proclaiming, "Happiness Happens Here!" readers empathize with his plight. The portrayal of camp is farcical and hilarious, with counselors dressing as people from the Bible, including a prostitute, an apostle, disciples, and an adulteress, and campers literally dragging around crosses for rule infractions. Typical summer camp activities and teenage angst are skillfully woven into Nick's journey, which begins with grief and a guilty secret. The stakes grow higher when a box containing campers' and counselors' private confessions—including Nick's—goes missing and Nick is suspected. As he attempts to find the box and its thief, Nick enjoys witty repartee and serious conversations with fellow camper Natalie, "the prettycute Bandana Girl." The novel's title refers to another noteworthy quirk in this original story: Nick sees, hears, and converses with 1950s Beat Generation author Jack Kerouac, beloved by his late sister, who first appeared to him following her funeral. Major characters follow a white default.An impressive debut novel that entertains while encouraging the questioning of all assumptions. (Fiction. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews