Jakeman

by Deborah Ellis

Diamond Willow Award nominee, 2008 Silver Birch Fiction shortlist, 2007 CLA Children's Book of the Year Award 2008 shortlist VOYA's Top Shelf Fiction for Middle School Readers list, 2007 Hackmatack Children's Choice Book Award nominee, 2008-2009 Jake and his sister Shoshona have been under foster care since their single mother was arrested for possession and trafficking three years before. Both have found their own ways to cope: Shoshona has become a bossy mother figure; Jake, who is a budding comic book artist, has created an alter ego named Jakeman. And unbeknownst to his sister, Jake continues his one-man letter-writing campaign to the Governor, pleading for clemency for their mom. Along with an assortment of nervous, angry, and damaged kids, Jake and Shoshona take a community-provided school bus four times a year on the long overnight journey through New York State to visit their mother in jail. This time will be like no other trip they've ever taken. Their adult chaperones contract food poisoning on the way back and must be dropped off at a hospital. And their driver, refusing to wait for another adult to replace their chaperones, sets off again with only the kids and a hidden bottle of booze in tow. In no time they are off the main highway and lost. And their driver, now staggering drunk, abandons the kids and walks off, leaving them in the middle of nowhere. Angry and sick to death of a system that has deserted them at every turn, Shoshana takes the wheel. And through a series of crazy side trips, Jake and the others hatch a plan to visit the Governor's mother. And when the old lady sees that her son has dismissed Jake's appeals and refused to even reply, she helps them face off with the Governor himself. Jake and the others find themselves at a photo opportunity that ends in tragedy even as it gives the long-abandoned kids a forum to be heard at long last.

Genres: Fiction, Young Adult, Teen, Novels, Realistic Fiction, Canada, Childrens

192 pages, Paperback

First published April 10, 2007

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Deborah Ellis has achieved international acclaim with her courageous and dramatic books that give Western readers a glimpse into the plight of children in developing countries.

She has won the Governor General's Award, Sweden's Peter Pan Prize, the Ruth Schwartz Award, the University of California's Middle East Book Award, the Jane Addams Children's Book Award and the Vicky Metcalf Award.

A long-time feminist and anti-war activist, she is best known for The Breadwinner Trilogy, which has been published around the world in seventeen languages, with more than a million dollars in royalties donated to Street Kids International and to Women for Women, an organization that supports health and education projects in Afghanistan. In 2006, Deb was named to the Order of Ontario.

Reviews

[Camila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jakeman can do anything the barbed wire that comes out of his skin will protect him he cant be defeated, not even Queen of Pain will…But reality is his major enemy. After his mother got arrested thanks to his ex boyfriend that accused her from being a drug seller, a lot of things changed. Jake(Jakeman) and his sister Shoshona (Queen of Pain) now live in a Foster home and nothing is the same, nothing will ever be the same until he is with his mother all the three together again. His only hope turns to be a huge deception for him because for more than 3 years he wrote to the governor asking as a special favor to pardon his mother but he never gets an answer. Jake could not be more devastated because after the visit to his mother for mother’s day a very important adventure happens in the bus on which he is traveling. In this book Deborah Ellis lives us the message that nothing is impossible and that even if you don’t expect to realize a dream its never too late, the faith you have will be the key for you to open unknown doors. In the book Deborah transmitts us this valuable quote “Maybe we can do other things I’ve never thought we could.” This book uses great characterization that helps you feel exactly what the author is communicating to you!This wonderful book helps you understand that you can be your own hero!!

[Alexis Armit · Rating 4 out of 5]

A heart breaking tale of kids who have suffered at the hands of a broken system. Although they are resilient and creative, the system seems to have them pigeon holed and their futures carved out at a young age. A series of misadventures combined with ingenuity and a passion righting some wrongs, leads this bus load of kids on an unforgettable adventure. True to Deborah Ellis’ form, the ending is definitely not a predictable one.

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jakeman was such a fantastic book I was struggling to put it down. It was full of drama and it was written to perfection! The detail and vocabulary was incredible and I would definitely recommend it!

[Iris Kerns · Rating 4 out of 5]

not-that-funny of a fun fact: read this in the middle of the night while waiting for a supposed tornado. the tornado did not come, but this book was great.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jake and Shoshawna take an old school bus with other children from the Boys and Girls Club to visit their mothers in the state women's correctional facility. On the bus ride back to the city half the students and the social worker become ill. An unexpected stop at a small town hospital has to be made. Half the students and the social worker are left at the hospital while the other children are taken back to the city by a substitue bus driver. The children discover the driver has been drinking. After they force him to pull over they leave him passed out on the side of the road and take over the bus. They get lost in the dark and end of spending the night in the country. Jake has been writing the Governor of NY for three years asking him to pardon his mother. The children decide to meet him in person. They figure surely he would be visiting his mother in the nursing home they read about in the newspaper on Mother's Day. A trip to the nursing home on the way home leads to more adventures. A great book for any child who has a loved one in prison.

[Maria Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great novel would best fit Middle School. Great read and I recommend it for everyone.

[Colleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jake's life is tough. His mother is in jail and he and his sister are bounced from foster home to foster home. Jake takes solace in the comics he draws. Jake also holds out hope that the governor, who he writes to every month, will pardon his mother and release her from jail. After surviving insults from prison guards, a drunk bus driver, and a system that holds out little hope for them, Jake and the other kids who visit their mothers in jail take matters into their own hands in stead of waiting for the governor to take action.

[Dani · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't care for this book. I liked the topic, and the idea, and it's definitely something people should learn more about. However, this book felt very "this happened, and then this happened, and then this" without much growth or emotion. Also, every character was very flat, and either nice or a jerk. No in-between. This may have been because the characters were written the way the main character saw them, but still. I feel like the author tried to write in some depth, but none of it worked for me.

I don't think this is a bad book overall, I just really didn't like it.

[Nisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jake stood a little behind his sister. The counter in front of him came up to his nose. On his first visit, it was at the top of his forehead. He'd grown a little bit, but there was still plenty of room in his suit. He'd be wearing that ugly old thing until he was ninety.
Shoshona passed up their ID again. The guard frowned and scratched himself.
"This is Jacob?" he asked.
"Yes," said Shoshona.
"What's your name?" he barked at Jake.
Calvin Coolidge, thought Jake. "Jake. Jacob."

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 3 other people I know who read this book didn't like it. I really did, though. It's not literary excellence, it's not super realistic, but it's an amusing, memory catching story. And kids who actually have family in jail or live in the city might be that much more interested in it. I would be perfectly happy to be able to recommend it to a reluctant middle grade boy, bc I think he'd at least be amused enough to finish it.

[Neill Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jake is working on a comic book in which the hero, Jakemen, has barb wire under his skin and can surmount all manners of unfairness in the world. He gets to visit his mother in prison every few months by taking a bus with his sister, a social worker, and a group of other kids whose mothers are also in danger. When the substitute bus driver is spectacularly mean and a lot of people get sick at the prison they steal the school bus to go home leading to all sorts of adventures.

[Megan Merrithey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it. We had some good discussions about circumstances, fairness, and race. The kids gave the book mixed reviews and it could have been because they really couldn't relate to the characters. I think Ellis brought up some real-life issues that sparked lots of good discussions.

[Ms. Tongate, TLC Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

MS read. Jake and Shoshanna live in a million foster homes while their mom is in prison. 4 times a year they board a bus with other children to visit their moms in prison. The last trip is a wild ride!

[Mar · Rating 3 out of 5]

seems a bit over the top, but has good parts.

[Heep · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Jakeman" is a good story. It deals with some tough issues in an interesting way and without being too strident. My son liked it and really enjoyed the ending - Jakeman for Governor.

[Angela]

I Think That Jakeman

[devynne · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was not the right book for how old I was. My grade 4 teacher read it to us. But if you like books that are kind of dark.

Devynne.

[Maya20 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I couldn't get into this book, I just didn't like it.

[Yesenia Abeja]

jake its a good person

[Zach]

I had to read this book for school. It did not really interest me but it was still a well written book. It follows the story of a young boy who's mother is in prison for a crime she did not commit. He lives in foster care with his older sister. When they get a replacement bus driver who leaves them stranded Jake and other foster home kids have to try to find their way back on their own