Living with Jackie Chan

Living with Jackie Chan

by Jo Knowles

It's his senior year of high school and Josh isn't spending it with his best friends.  Instead, he's moved four hours away to live with his karate teaching uncle.

He has to get away.  Far away.

He has to get away from the rumors, the stories, the looks, and, especially, her.

He has to get away from the girl he got pregnant because he can't stand thinking of that night, what he did, and what he shouldn't have done.

So now he's four hours away, living with his uncle, and sleeping under a poster of Jackie Chan.

He's also living a floor below a couple who have a baby that cries at 2 a.m. like clockwork.  And he's living in the same building as fellow high school senior, Stella.

Now he has a routine each day and a plan to just get through his last year of high school before moving far away from the life he thought he didn't want anymore.

Final thoughts:  I only found out after that this was the sequel to Jumping Off Swings, but that doesn't mean I was lost.  I wish now that I'd read the other book in order to understand Josh's friends a bit more, but the story still reads well.  The thing that actually bugged me most of Josh's uncle, Larry.  He just seemed like an ADHD teen hyped up on sugar... all... the... time.  He had a few moments of great restraint and insight, but he was mostly bouncing off the walls, showing off his karate skills, and acting like a little kid.  But I liked Josh's story and his friendship with Stella. Nice story.

Rating: 4/5