Book: The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green

Reading this book, or rather, the experience of finishing this book, has induced in me a quasi-manic quest to tell as many people as possible to read it as well. That's how good it was.

My one complaint, and I reserve the right to be judgemental about these sorts of things, is that the cover design is terrible. I have no idea what its relevance to the story is, and frankly, I think it will deter readers. It looks like a teen novel. The title sounds like a teen novel. But it's most certainly not teen material. At least, not the typical kind. Read it as an adult, and you'll experience the character development much differently than you would if you were 13. You won't identify with Jacob's angst in the now, but you'll remember how it was way back when.

I have to tell you, I loved this book. In a sentence, brief as it is, I loved it. I began it on a Tuesday (let's just say) and didn't stop reading until Wednesday night. I brought it to Starbucks. I brought it to work. I brought it to bed. I carried it around with me in my pocketbook and pulled it out during lunch and showed it to everyone as they ate their tunafish sandwiches. "You must read this book," I said. And when they looked at the cover with disdain, I said, "Trust me."

It's about a young boy, and he's Jewish, and he lives in New Jersey, and he has a learning disability, and he hates his father, and he can't stand Hebrew school, and he can't keep his brother by his side, and he's in love with his nanny, and he hates writing thank you cards. Those are just the facts. The real story is in between all of that; the way you root for him, worry for him, scream for him. A few times I had to put the book down because my tears kept me from reading any more.

And I'll throw in a side note here. It's written by Joshua Braff, who happens to be the brother of Zach Braff, who is the one who brought this book to my attention in the first place, on his blog. I mention that because maybe it will give you an idea of his sensibility and the compassionate way he tells the story. And in the same way you wondered after Garden State, you'll wonder again, who the heck raised these kids?

But like his brother's movies, it's not based on fact. It's not a true story. It's fiction. He's a writer. And it feels so real because, well, he's damn good at what he does.