Just Jake

Just Jake #1

by Jake Marcionette, Victor Rivas Villa (Illustrator)

JUST JAKE  introduces readers to sixth-grader Jake, whose life is turned upside down when his family moves from Florida to Maryland, where Jake must adapt to a new school. Jake has always ranked the kids at school in his hand-made, humorous Kid Cards,” and when he arrives at his new school, Jake starts building a new collection, befriending as many people as he can while staying under the radar from the school bully.  But what happens when the school bully decides Jake's next in line for annihilation and his Kid Cards get into the wrong hands?!! 

JUST JAKE  is a genuine—and as Jake himself would say, AWESOME!—world of school, family, friends, and teachers; it’s the product of a writer talented well beyond his years.

Genres: Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade, Humor, Childrens, Chapter Books, School, Friendship

160 pages, Hardcover

First published February 4, 2014

Reviews

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pentru o carte de copii, este foarte creativa.

[Elsa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, I was impressed. (This is more of a 3/5 than 4/5, but I'm giving one extra star for his age.)
First of all, I was seriously disillusioned already by the mediocre books by kid/teen writers currently on the market. I had expected something of Nancy Yi Fan's Swordbird calibre, which is a 2/5 without the extra age star.
But this...this is pretty good. Extraordinary for a twelve-year-old. The voice is refreshing and funny. The writing style is stunning.
The plot, of course, is super-cliche. No surprise there. Popular kid moves to new town where he's not so popular anymore. But that's not my major problem with this book.
The main character is seriously unlikeable. He's a self-absorbed narcissist. Here are some brilliant quotes:
"Because, unlike my dear sister, I was born with an extraordinary talent that's superior to brute strength: AWESOMENESS!"
"Add to the equation my incredible intuition--sometimes it feels like I can predict the future--and a pit bull-like work ethic, and you have yourself AWESOMENESS in a nutshell."
"I can only please one person per day...and that person is me."
"I didn't get much time to prepare my school for the big good-bye. I knew there would be lots of tears. Who wouldn't be upset over losing their school's most prized pupil? I was like a national treasure."
Okay, in The Diary of a Wimpy Kid this self-centered thing actually works. But even Greg Heffley looks like Mother Teresa next to this Jake kid.

Also, Jake doesn't do anything redeemable. First chapter, what do we get? Him wrapping his sleeping sister's teddy bear in toilet paper and dunking it in water. She hasn't done anything to prove to readers that she deserves that kind of treatment.

Funny thing is, Jake-protagonist is clearly based off of Jake-author, as Jake-author has stated in several interviews. I suspect Jake-author doesn't realize how unlikeable Jake-protagonist is, because as Jake-author states in his TODAY show interview, Jake-author "always knew his book was going to become a New York Times bestseller." Ooooh-kay. That's a totally modest thing for anyone--let alone a middle school student--to say on national television.

There are also several instances where it's obvious the author is young. At one point, Jake stumbles into a second-grade classroom and doesn't notice. He just thinks, "Wow, the kids in Maryland sure are small!" This is completely unbelievable, especially since Jake is supposed to be AWESOME.

However, I'm hoping these problems will be fixed in the rest of the series as the author gets more mature. I'll probably check out the sequel.

[Angie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jake has just moved with his family from Florida to Massachusetts and isn't happy about it. In Florida he was the cool kid with tons of AWESOMENESS. However, his awesomeness doesn't seem to have followed him north. He has problems making friends and his cool factor is near the bottom. His one saving grace is the kid cards he makes. They are trading cards of all the kids both in his old school and his new one. I didn't realize this book was written by an actual 12-year-old until the end. It actually makes me feel a bit better about it. As I was reading it I thought the story was a bit unsubstantial and juvenile, which makes sense when you consider the author. However, I thought it was a great effort by young Marcionette. I think this book will appeal to fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Patterson's Middle School series.

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

As time goes on, my feelings on this book get lower. I get that it's great that a 7th grader wrote it, but why do we want to teach kids that you can rank them with popular kids and jocks on top and smart kids on the bottom, and when you're discovered, you won't get in trouble because kids like your artwork? Ugh. Not a good lesson.

[PlutoTheGoat · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrible book . A kid is just totally all about himself. In the middle of the book you will probably get annoyed by him and stop reading it. The writing is also really horrible. The only good thing I have to say is that he is a kid writer which is good.

[Johnny Kraynak · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book a pretty good and we probably read it again. I think it's good because it shows someone's life when they have all these friends then move to whole new star. Also it a kinda fast pace book.

[Christine Rains · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jake has a happy life in Florida, but when he moves to Maryland and starts in a new school, he wonders if he is truly awesome.

A fun story I read with my seven and a half year old son. He really likes Jake's "kid cards." It's a neat hook for the story that is otherwise just all right.

[Suzanne Dix · Rating 2 out of 5]

Written by a 13 year old! Knowing this ahead of time, I was able to read with a lot more patience. While not funny, goofy or insightful enough, I do think kids will enjoy Jake's personality and the layout and artwork on the pages was interesting.

Grades 5 and up.

[The Brothers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Asher (11yo) read.

[Renee MA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun debut from 12-year-old author.

[Aiden · Rating 5 out of 5]

a good book because it's funny and has a lot of detail in it. plus I got to meet the author in my school at BRES stands for Boothbay region elementary school he was funny and a talented kid.

[Nathar Ufo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kid was narcissistic, wondered how he made friends with that guy, Wild Kid. Did not expect the whole "secret karate expert" thing.

[Bernadette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good recommendation for boys who are fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

[Teaghan Warren · Rating 2 out of 5]

My friend gave me this book to borrow and she likes mostly humorous books.Humorous books are not my favourite.She loved this I didn't

[Taz · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was good.

[maddie terrill · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5 Stars
All I remember is the cards. I read this in like 4th grade. It was pretty good but not great!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clever and creative middle-school tale written by a middle schooler.

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seems big Nate esque and I do like those books as a brain break from heavy things

[Suz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great start to a new series by a young author. It is a wonderful fresh alternative to the Diary of a Wimpy Kids series. Both boys and girls alike will enjoy this tale of elementary to middle school turmoil and transition.

[Nikita the bookworm · Rating 1 out of 5]

Find me:
     

DNF @ 50%

This is what happened in the pages I read:
-Jake complained about: his sadistic, evil big sister and moving to Maryland
-Introduced us to his kid cards
-Tells us about his AWESOMENESS (it gets annoying after seeing the word a billion times )

The story was incredibly juvenile and boring, so I just didn't see any reason to go on. I know this is written by a 12 year old and that shows. It doesn't make the book impressive to me because 12 year olds can write much better.

This may appeal to young readers/fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and I funny.

Merged review:

DNF @ 50%

This is what happened in the pages I read:
-Jake complained about: his sadistic, evil big sister and moving to Maryland
-Introduced us to his kid cards
-Tells us about his AWESOMENESS (it gets annoying after seeing the word a billion times )

The story was incredibly juvenile and boring, so I just didn't see any reason to go on. I know this is written by a 12 year old and that shows. It doesn't make the book impressive to me because 12 year olds can write much better.

This may appeal to young readers/fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and I funny.

[Melissa Rosas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just Jake is a very fun, unique take on a sixth grader named Jake who is the new kid in Maryland. He is a very confident kid and measures himself in "awesomeness". At his old school he made up kid cards which categorized the kids in his school with hilarious phrases and descriptions. He was sort of a big shot at his old school and now, unfortunately at his new school he is at the bottom of the popularity scale. So, to build his awesomeness back up he becomes friends with as many people as possible and starts making new kid cards of the great friends he meets. There is a school bully that others in the school call wild boy, a.k.a. Micheal, that gets in the mix and tries to pick on Jake. Jake tries to get the help of a school friend, Jason, to help him defeat the bully. In the meantime, his collection of the new friends he's made, called the Kinney collection that's named after the school, is missing! It may have made it's way into the hands of the adults or worse, wild boy! This book had great drawings throughout along with references that kids today would get and absolutely love and relate to. The author is a teenager himself and totally gets the minds of his peer readers. This is a great book for the young adults and made me remember what it was like to be a "tween" with adults who just don't understand, kids who you want to impress and befriend and bully you need to stay away from.

Questions:
1) What would you do when faced with a bully like Wild Boy?
2) How could you make a new kid like Jake feel welcome in the school?
3) What were some of the "rules of awesomeness" that were in the book and how could you relate to them as an elementary student?
4) How could you use your "awesomeness" to do great things for your fellow classmates?
5) Do you think confidence is necessary to make through school and what can you do to build your confidence?

Citation:
Maricionette, J. (2014). Just Jake. New York, NY: Grosset & Dunlap.

[Stacy Sabala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Review- Just Jake # 1 by Jake Marcionette

Jake is less than thrilled to be moving from Florida to Maryland resulting from his father's job change. However he feels that he will be fine in his new school because he is such an AWESOME kid. He had lots of friends at his old school. So there shouldn’t be a problem.
Unfortunately he does have an annoying older sister, Alexis, who doesn't help. She yells at the neighborhood kids when they make comments on the family's possessions as they are moved into the new house. It definitely leaves a lasting impression.
Things don’t go well when Jake mistakenly goes to a 2nd grade classroom and seems only able to make friends with the misfits. He concedes to the point that having friends is important even if they are the misfits. His interest in drawing also helps when he creates his kid cards. These cards become very popular throughout the school. He is able to showcase his awesomeness.

This book was written by an actual twelve year old and was exactly the way I would expect one of that age to write. The language and popular references were appropriate. The notebook form for the novel included good illustrations, and clip art photos which added interest that grabs the reader. It contains humor that readers can relate to and likable characters. All of the characters were great and the way Jake describes them in both his cards and general descriptions made for such a fun read. I give it a 4 out of 5.

[Susie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Be sure that you check out the website for this book; it's pretty amazing (especially for a 13-yr-old) Somehow Jake made some pretty powerful connections. I first heard about this book by seeing Jake interviewed on TV (thinking, well, he's pretty full of himself) I remembered that as I started to read the book, but it really grew on me. Reading it from the lens of my middle and intermediate students, I think it will be very popular (I just wish the cover were more durable) My opinion also rocketed up when I saw that he felt the library technology person was a rock star/hero.

The website has everything: flashy animation, interviews, reviews, games, even vocabulary lists for teachers to use. There are opportunities to skype with Jake. I would want to ask him which parts are mainly true, and which parts are exaggerations.

The book itself has many visual things going on. The paper looks stained here and there and there are excellent drawings. I thought the font was a little strange for a book written by a boy. The kid cards are a delight; you could have your own students create them (in a positive light, of course) Some of the scenes are seriously funny, such as neighbors booing or cheering Jake's family's possessions as they move in, and Jake sitting in a 2nd grade class by mistake. To adults, that's ridiculous, but kids would love it.

I do plan to get this for our library, and look forward to #2.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jake and his family have just been relocated from Florida to Maryland and to make matters worse Jake finds out that instead of heading to middle school his sixth grade experience will be in elementary school. So NOT Awesome!! But Jake isn't just a normal kid, he has a secret superpower... Awesomeness! So, armed with his rules for awesomeness he is setting out to go from the bottom of the social ladder back up to the top. But, thanks to an annoyingly mean older sister, school bullies and adults who just don't understand it won't be easy.

Even as an adult I loved this book. The writing is exactly what I would expect from an age appropriate author and I found it to be very relevant to current language trends. This book has some great visuals like stains, random pictures and doodles, and of course Jake's famous "Kid Cards" but did anyone else notice the flipbook at the bottom of the pages? When I found these I was so amused I couldn't wait to show it off immediately and this will be something I show to everyone who comes to look at this book. All of the characters were great and the way Jake describes them in both his cards and general descriptions made for such a fun read. This is a 5 star read and perfect for middle school readers who already like things like Diary of a Wimpy Kid or Big Nate. Just don't forget to check out the flipbook.... Trust me, it's awesome!

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was way too fun! It felt authentically middle school to me. The main character's overcompensating cocky attitude reminded me of my own middle school journal. Jake's struggle to be liked at his new school and his relationship with his sister were very realistic. Jack is not always the best role-model, which might turn some parents off, but Jake's judgmental behavior is true to students of his age and is often addressed in the story.

I enjoyed this book more than many of the recent juvenile books I've read recently. It's too bad the book ended so abruptly. I would have happily read many more chapters of Jake's life.







I seriously cannot believe this was written by a seventh grader! I enjoyed this way, way more than many juvenile fiction books I have read recently. It's written a little bit like Diary of a Wimpy Kid, but the main character is more smug and less dorky than Greg Heffley. I absolutely love the idea of the Kid Cards and adore that he admires his library/tech teacher so much! The relationship he has with his older sister is so realistic and hilarious, too.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the book 'Just Jake,' Jake and his family have to move from Florida to Maryland because of Jake's dad's new job. When they finally get to Maryland Jake has to go to a new school in the middle of the school year and try and make new friends. He goes from being very popular to the bottom of the totem pole in popularity. During his first few months at the new school, Jake tries many thing to try and spike up his popularity, and after having a run in with a boy that the other kids call the wild boy, things go from bad to worse and then really good for Jake.

1-Where did Jake and his family move to?
2- Can you describe how Jake feels when he and his family move?
3- Why is being popular in the new school so important to Jake?
4- Compare how Jake felt about being in a new school and state at the beginning of the book and how he felt at the end of the book.
5- Do you think that Jake should have kept the secret about wild boy or told the other kids about his secret talent?
6- What do you think would have happened if Jake would have never found out about wild boys secret talent?

Marcionette, J., & Rivas, V. (2014). Just Jake.

[Bew · Rating 5 out of 5]

There was a 6th grade boy named Jake who is in a school where he was a very popular kid there, he made something called kid cards which are cards that he draws his friends and tell about there positives and negatives, Jake's awesomeness was well popular in that school. Jake has a sister called Alexis who is in 8th grade, Alexis is not like any other kid, she is really tough and mean (maybe the toughest sister) She is a expert in lacrosse where on the other hand, Jake is bad at lacrosse. During the school years got well, Jake's family had to move to Florida, Maryland to go educate there, In the new school Jake wasn't popular there, it was no warm welcome and he had to do a test, He befriended with someone he calls camo-kid because he wears this camouflage shirts and stuff later Camo-kid changed and got a haircut and ask everyone to call him Michael.

I liked this book because IT WAS MADE BY A 6/7 GRADER
Plus, It has lot's of stuff about middle school and that's just awesome.

I still have on question about this book, On the time where Alexis got into your boundary, did her phone got taken?

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a big fan of this genre, so this book didn't appeal to me at the beginning. I did however, enjoy the book. Eventhough the plot itself is your typical "new kid" stuff. Bullies, an unexpected friend, not fitting in. But there are also some ideas that were quite intersting. Take the "kid cards" as an example. Never in a million years would I have thought of making cards on the students at school, so the idea of those was quite appealing. The end and beginning of the story were not. The beginning was rather slow, as a lot of background information was given in one chunk as opposed to small pieces during the story itself. I have to admit that I was quite bored. After you get past that however, the story does speed up and gets quite enjoyable... until you get to the end. At the end of the book, the after math of what happened to Jake's popularity was all squeezed into a couple of pages. Nonetheless, this book is a good choice for a short read.

[Nikki Naddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Also es geht hierin darum, dass Jake mit seiner Familie von Florida nach Maryland umzieht und es ihm dort nicht so gut gefällt, da er an seiner alten Schule total beliebt war, und an der neuen Schule ist es total schwer für ihn, Freunde zu finden und beliebt zu sein. So möchte er am liebsten wieder zurück, weil er sich in der neuen Gegend nicht wohlfühlt.

Das Buch ist witzig geschrieben, schlagfertig und reich bebildert. Man kann es ziemlich gut lesen, es ist leicht geschrieben und nachvollziehbar. Das Cover ist genauso witzig wie der Inhalt. Ich finde es ist ein tolles Buch, das sehr gut das Innenleben und die Probleme, Sorgen, Wünsche, Sehnsüchte und daraus resultierende Handlungsweisen vieler heutiger Jugendlicher beleuchtet, und das auf witzige Art. Auf jeden Fall empfehlenswert :) Der Autor Jake Marcionette war erst 12 Jahre alt als er das Buch schrieb, das mehr oder weniger eine Biografie von ihm selbst und seiner Familie ist.
www.justjake.com

[Beth Nieman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow--the author was only 12 years old when he wrote this book! I think kids would love to read this knowing it was written by one of their own. It tells the story of Jake and his family moving from Florida to Maryland, where Jake wants to make friends and stay in control of his "awesomeness" rating, but he's worried about an intimidating kid at his new school whom everyone is scared of. As he claws his way up the popularity ladder, he finds some unlikely allies.

Marcionette is a big fan of Jeff Kinney's "Wimpy Kid" series and his book has a very similar feel; the layout is like a scrapbook, with doodles, color pictures, notes, and simulated stains, just like a real kid's notebook might be. It also has a fun flip-movie in the lower right corner for readers to enjoy.

Up-to-date, funny, and fast-moving--I think kids will really enjoy it.