Jack Tumor
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5.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Hector is being hectored by an unlikely bully: a talking brain tumor. And it's not just a talking brain tumor. It's a know-it-all, pain-in-the-arse, jibber-jabbering brain tumor that names itself Jack, and insists on coaching Hector through life even as it's threatening to take his life away. It's a pretty good coach, actually. With Jack in control of Hector's speech and brain chemicals, Hector suddenly finds himself with a cool haircut, a new fashion sense, and tactics for snogging previously unattainable hottie Uma Upshaw. But when Jack begins to force increasingly questionable decisions and behavior, Hector has to find a way to turn the tables – before it's too late for both of them.
Delightfully twisted, desperately funny, and deeply moving, this novel is also the winner of the Booktrust Teenage Prize in the United Kingdom.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Fourteen-year-old Hector has no shortage of problems: "My mum was a hippie, my dad was nowhere, my school was a dung heap; I was bullied by Neanderthals and ignored by the girls, and my friends were the Wretched of the Earth." But when he learns he has a brain tumor a vocal one, no less, that waxes philosophical and occasionally assumes control of Hector's movements he may have hit rock bottom. Except that "Jack Tumor" helps Hector "snog" the hottest chick around, humiliate the school bullies and transform his normally spaced-out mom into something resembling normal. Though the story can ramble painfully, McGowan injects plenty of humor, phallic references and British slang into this edgy coming-of-age tale. His story is geared toward male teens who will get the many sexual innuendos, though when he's not lusting after girls, Hector's musings seem pretty mature for his age. As Hector grapples with love, friendship and death, a broad range of readers should find the trip worth it. Ages 12 up.
