Between Mom and Jo in Queereaders

Nov 21, 2012 Thomas rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, realistic-fiction, lgbtq

Although my parents are heterosexual, Between Mom and Jo still spoke to me personally. As someone who wishes to have children with a male partner one day, it was saddening to read about how Nick had to put up with the taunting and teasing of his peers.

Looking at it positively, at least he had two loving parents who supported him through it. All his life, he’s known Mom and Jo would be there for him. They’ve gone through tough times together, battling alcoholism, cancer, and death. Which makes it ...more

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Apr 29, 2008 Jennifer Wardrip rated it it was amazing

Shelves: trt-gold-star-award-winner, trt-posted-reviews, read-personally-by-moi

Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

BETWEEN MOM AND JO is the first book I've read by Julie Anne Peters, but it won't be my last. In fact, as soon as I finished this book, I went and read KEEPING YOU A SECRET and LUNA. And while we're on confessions, this is also the first book I've read dealing with GLBT (gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender) issues, but again, it won't be the last. This book grabbed at my emotions, affecting me with every word so deeply that I finished it in only a matter of hours- Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

BETWEEN MOM AND JO is the first book I've read by Julie Anne Peters, but it won't be my last. In fact, as soon as I finished this book, I went and read KEEPING YOU A SECRET and LUNA. And while we're on confessions, this is also the first book I've read dealing with GLBT (gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender) issues, but again, it won't be the last. This book grabbed at my emotions, affecting me with every word so deeply that I finished it in only a matter of hours--and have been thinking about it ever since.

Nicholas Nathaniel Thomas Tyler has always only known one type of family life. He's the only child of mom Erin--and mom Jo. His earliest memories revolve around one or the other of his mothers, but it's usually Jo who is prominent, making him forget about the need for stitches at age three or tangling with the homophobic teacher he had in third grade. His mothers, of course, have their ups and downs like all parents do. Mom Erin complains about mom Jo's drinking and her inability to hold down a steady job; mom Jo can't stand mom Erin's stony silences when she's angry. For Nick, having two mothers is just the way life is. He's heard all the "queers" and "faggots" through the years, he's wondered about the father that donated sperm for his conception, and he's been haunted over whether having two lesbians for parents will make him gay.

Most of all, though, Nick has experienced love from two women who only want him to be happy. He has a three-legged dog named Lucky 2, a ton of fish that he takes care of religiously, and there's even a feral cat named Savage thrown into the mix to keep things interesting. Nick's life is pretty normal--or as normal as it can ever be--until the year he turns fourteen, and Jo moves out.

After a marriage, a child, lost jobs, meetings at AA, college courses, and a relationship that they'd always promised would remain whole, his mothers break up. Nick is suddenly thrust into turmoil, and his whole world falls apart. He's left with mom Erin, his biological mother, even though what he wants most in the world is to be allowed to live with mom Jo. Erin won't hear of it, however, even though she's the one with Kerri, her new girlfriend. She's the real parent, and Jo let trust get in the way of legally adopting Nick, so there's no out.

As Nick descends deeper into depression, as Erin becomes fanatical about not allowing her son to even to talk to Jo on the telephone, as Kerri moves into their home, something has to give.

BETWEEN MOM AND JO is heartfelt, genuine, and painfully honest. For anyone who has ever watched the breakup of a family, or for those with gay or lesbian parents, this is the book for you. I promise it will stay with you for quite awhile. ...more

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Dec 08, 2008 J. rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Not too bad, but a little cutesy. Also, there are some structural problems (for instance, the end of chapter commentary in italics only happens a few times and seemingly with no logic). However, as contemporary YA domestic fiction goes, it's nice to have one that features gay characters, but is not necessarily solely about being gay. ...more

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