Between Mom and Jo by Julie Anne Peters

Cover via Goodreads.

Rating: 4/5 stars.

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 that much worse when Mom and Jo start having marital problems and Nick’s left with no one to turn to. How can he choose between the two people in his life whom he cares about the most?

I’m pretty sure that Julie Anne Peters is known as a prevalent YA writer, specifically in the GLBT vein. This, however, is the first book I’ve read by her. She has an effortless style to her prose – it’s simple and sparse, but effective in communicating the characters’ emotions to the reader. I finished this book in a couple of days, but it felt like I had been with Nick for much longer than that.

Overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone curious about what it might be like to have same-sex parents, as well as anyone who has had family problems – specifically involving separation or divorce. While this may be my first book from Julie Anne Peters, it definitely won’t be my last.

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