cover image Naked in Winter

Naked in Winter

Jerome Brooks. Orchard Books (NY), $14.95 (182pp) ISBN 978-0-531-05866-4

In this potent novel, Brooks chronicles Jacob Ackerman's junior year of high school. Separated from his three childhood buddies when his family moves away, Jacob commutes to his old school; but things are different among the four friends. Jacob values education and respects girls' feelings, while the other boys are preoccupied with sex. Jacob struggles to make sense of his life, wondering why he should bother caring about people; his parents spend their days arguing bitterly, and Jacob's newly married brother Mike is already committing adultery. With the help of a perceptive English teacher, a shy girl who gets hives because she is as scared to expose her emotions as Jacob is, and his own father, Jacob realizes that love exists even when it is cloaked by anger or fear. Brooks's eloquent narration captures Jacob's thoughts and fears intimately. Readers will admire the young man's honesty in this expressive, uplifting story. Ages 12-up. (Mar.)