Jinx

Jinx by Margaret Wild
Simon Pulse
2004
Poetry
I.L. 11th and up
215 pages

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I. Synopsis- Jen is a young girl who starts dating Charlie. He is the most wonderful man in the world. Even though Ruthless, one of her friends, and her little sister tell her that something is wrong, she doesn’t pay attention. Everything seems right when she’s with Charlie. Yet, as Charlie says himself, he is troubled. There are voices that start trying to get into his head which he allows and in the end, he hangs himself in the entryway of his house where his family finds him. Everyone is asking Jen what happened and what was wrong, and she can’t tell because he didn’t open up to her. After that, she starts to become a “bad girl”, drinking, sleeping with anyone and everyone. Her friends talk about all the crazy stuff that she is doing, and her little sister, Grace, is becoming scared of her. Her mother is becoming worried and it’s only when Jen ends up in the hospital that she realizes that she needs to change.

II. Evaluation of Work as Literature
-Style- The style is very unique for it is all told in poetic form. Yet, it is not one long poem, but many different poems told by many different people. Some are written by Jen/Jinx, some are written by her mom, some are written by her boyfriends and by their parents, and some are even written as third person. This gives it a great variety and also makes it interesting to read. With Jen/Jinx’s friends, there are so many subplots that they tell their own story in their own poems mixed in with Jen/Jinx’s story. The writing style gives you many different views and it’s as if you are reading someone’s journal or poetry book; it gives you a glimpse into their deepest emotions.

III. Personal Comments- This book is good because it gives you a glimpse into a young girl’s life who has gone through many great tragedies, yet at the same time I didn’t really like it. There are some poems that I would not allow my children to read because there are strong swear words. Also, I don’t know if I appreciate the way they view sex and how lightly it is taken as well as homosexuality. If only they were viewed in a more Christian light.