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
