BETWEEN MOM AND JO by Julie Anne Peters
    Category:  Contemporary
    Age Recommendation:  Grades 9+
    Release Date:  5/10/06
    Publisher:  Megan Tingley
    Reviewed by:  Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"
    Rating:  5 Stars


    BETWEEN MOM AND JO is the first book I've read by Julie Anne Peters, but it won't be my last. In fact, as soon
    as I finished this book, I went and read KEEPING YOU A SECRET and LUNA. And while we're on confessions,
    this is also the first book I've read dealing with GLBT (gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender) issues, but again, it won't be
    the last. This book grabbed at my emotions, affecting me with every word so deeply that I finished it in only a matter of
    hours--and have been thinking about it ever since.

    Nicholas Nathaniel Thomas Tyler has always only known one type of family life. He's the only child of mom Erin--and
    mom Jo. His earliest memories revolve around one or the other of his mothers, but it's usually Jo who is prominent,
    making him forget about the need for stitches at age three or tangling with the homophobic teacher he had in third
    grade. His mothers, of course, have their ups and downs like all parents do.  Mom Erin complains about mom Jo's
    drinking and her inability to hold down a steady job; mom Jo can't stand mom Erin's stony silences when she's angry.
    For Nick, having two mothers is just the way life is.  He's heard all the "queers" and "faggots" through the years, he's
    wondered about the father that donated sperm for his conception, and he's been haunted over whether having two
    lesbians for parents will make him gay.

    Most of all, though, Nick has experienced love from two women who only want him to be happy. He has a three-
    legged dog named Lucky 2, a ton of fish that he takes care of religiously, and there's even a feral cat named Savage
    thrown into the mix to keep things interesting. Nick's life is pretty normal--or as normal as it can ever be--until the year
    he turns fourteen, and Jo moves out.

    After a marriage, a child, lost jobs, meetings at AA, college courses, and a relationship that they'd always promised
    would remain whole, his mothers break up. Nick is suddenly thrust into turmoil, and his whole world falls apart. He's
    left with mom Erin, his biological mother, even though what he wants most in the world is to be allowed to live with
    mom Jo. Erin won't hear of it, however, even though she's the one with Kerri, her new girlfriend. She's the real parent,
    and Jo let trust get in the way of legally adopting Nick, so there's no out.

    As Nick descends deeper into depression, as Erin becomes fanatical about not allowing her son to even to talk to Jo
    on the telephone, as Kerri moves into their home, something has to give.

    BETWEEN MOM AND JO is heartfelt, genuine, and painfully honest. For anyone who has ever watched the
    breakup of a family, or for those with gay or lesbian parents, this is the book for you. I promise it will stay with you for
    quite awhile.
Between Mom and Jo
by Julie Anne Peters