Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts)

Gr 10 Up—Contemporary sex advice meets mystery in this high school story of bullying and being true to oneself. Jack is out and proud, unashamed of his love of fashion or his voracious sexual appetite. When his friend asks him to write a sex-advice column for a blog, he is happy to help. Mysterious pink notes then start appearing in his locker, and soon they turn from playful to threatening. Jack begins to shrink into himself until he is barely recognizable to his friends and classmates. This sex-positive story is interspersed with the emails Jack's advice column receives, his responses to those questions, group chats among Jack and his two friends, as well as the eerie letters he gets in his locker. An upbeat, conversational writing style makes this story move quickly, and the understandably creepy atmosphere surrounding the unwanted notes is punctuated by his adventures with his friends, supportive relationship with his mother, and sexual exploits.