Jack's on Fire

A modern fairy tale is the perfect way to describe this book, because it's (prince) charming as hell. There are plenty of things to like about this book, and really only a few minor flaws that might not even be flaws to certain readers.

The characters are wonderful, and the simmering romance is palpable through the entire book. Jack is adorable, Damon is a heartthrob, and everyone lives happily ever after. The book is, maybe surprisingly, low stakes. There is the element of bullying and homophobia, but once Jack moves his life completely turns around and the things he has to deal with pale in comparison.

That may be a deal breaker for some people though, and I can see someone not enjoying this if they need a high amount of angst in the things that they read. I love some good angst, but it was honestly refreshing to just see two dudes just be...happy. They have problems, things go wrong, but they're not devastating and they're not piled upon with darkness. I caught myself thinking "this is entirely unrealistic" about halfway through the book, and then I realized that was the point.

It's a fairy tale. It was in the title.

It's like the happy version of don't open, dead dove inside.

My biggest complaint is that maybe it was slightly too long, I think probably fifty or so pages could have been trimmed out or cut down in some way, but in the end that's not enough to even put a dent in any score I'd give this book.

It's fun, it's cute, and it's delightfully happy. I fully recommend.

Owen Lach’s Jack’s on Fire is a charming, triumphant tale of a queer boy’s journey to find acceptance, community, and love.

I immediately fell in love with Jack Martin, the story’s eponymous main character. Jack’s biting wit and tendency toward hyperawareness, products of his trauma and possible neurodivergence, spoke to me so profoundly that I wondered if Lach had somehow climbed into my head when he crafted this tale. I appreciated that Lach mostly left Jack’s experiences of trauma off the page. Jack is hurt, but the story isn’t about that. It’s about how he recovers to eventually thrive and shine. The blurb’s description of the book as a “modern queer fairytale” is entirely accurate.

Lach thoughtfully depicted Jack’s anxiety and the struggles he faces in coming to terms with his new environment. Then he surrounded Jack with a delightful set of characters, including his loving older brother to his funny, supportive new friends Frankie and Red. But, beyond Jack, Lach saves the most love for Damon (pun intended,) Jack’s seemingly too-good-to-be-true love interest. Damon is such a grounded, down-to-earth character, showcasing an enlightened depiction of modern masculinity and tenderness. The sweetness of Jack and Damon’s relationship dynamic melted my heart more than once. And the will they or won’t they tension in the slow-burn romance is delicious.

By focusing on queer love and joy, Lach has created a wonderfully hopeful story that any questioning or newly-out queer teen will almost certainly want to read.

This book contains light descriptions of racism, homophobia, physical violence, verbal abuse, loss of a parent, and mild, age-appropriate teen sexuality.

Having lived in San Francisco for 12 years, I absolutely adored how the this story's vivid descriptions of the City took me right back to my time there.

As the story began, Jack was being badly bullied in his Minneapolis high school, with his awful, religious mother blaming him for the beatings.

So with things only going to get worse for Jack, when his brother, Isaac, suggested that Jack move to SF mid-semester to live with him, Jack and his (godawful) mother jumped at the idea, which gave Jack a chance to not only heal, but also flourish.

I really enjoyed seeing Jack go from being an outcast at his old school to him finally finding his tribe and being recognized and valued by those around him.

It was also entertaining to witness Damon going from "the hot delivery guy at the pizza joint" to Jack's tutor to them becoming a happy, functional couple, which they both so desperately needed.

The romance was extremely slow burn until the scene on the roof, but I never found myself losing interest, mainly because so much was continually going on around Jack and Damon.

And although this was a YA/NA story, the melodrama was kept (mostly) to a minimum, even if Jack's Teenage Feelings™ and anxiety did make pretty frequent appearances on page. Just not annoyingly so.

What I think helped a lot in that respect was the fact that Jack's brother, Isaac, frequently encouraged Jack to open up about things that might have been bothering him, without ever making any demands that he do so. Isaac was a great brother and support system, making him one of my favorite side-characters in the story.

To avoid getting all spoilery, I'll stop there, but if you're looking for an entertaining, steam-free, YA/NA story with the beginnings of an HEA, lots of representation, and sensitivity editing GALORE (sometimes it felt like a *lot* of egg shell-walking, TBH), I'd definitely recommend this book.

4.25 stars.