The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Greene

Hi everyone! So today I am reviewing a book that I read a few weeks ago called The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Greene, which was written by Joshua Braff. So without further ado, here is my review!

Characters: Jacob Greene: younger brother of Asher/ is very good at reading Hebrew/ suffers from a learning disability
Asher Greene: older brother of Asher/ an exemplary artist/ is constantly fighting with his father Abram
Abram Greene: self-absorbed father of Jacob and Asher/ married to Claire/ has serious anger management issues

The Plot: Jacob Greene is a young boy growing up in New Jersey in the 1970s in a repressive Jewish household. Forced to endure not only hours of strict Hebrew school, as soon as Jacob returns home, the worst of his day begins. Jacob's father Abram is obsessed with perfection in his children and he considers everyone in his family, in some shape or form, to be a complete failure. Belligerent, belittling, and cruel, Jacob and his older brother Asher long to escape the world they have lived in for so long. The deep divisions between the family become even more apparent as Jacob's mother Claire returns to school to get her Ph.D. and becomes even more distant from the family. Alone and confused as Asher begins to drift away from him, Jacob starts to wonder if his life will ever get better.

What I liked: I absolutely loved the relationship between Asher and Jacob. The two boys had only each other to rely on, and that reliance created a beautiful and realistic relationship. What particularly struck me about the Asher-Jacob dynamic was that it had both light and dark. There were times when Jacob and Asher fought like normal siblings, where Asher would lock Jacob out of his room, refuse to talk to him, or yell at him like an older brother. But when it mattered most, we as readers knew that Asher was going to come bursting in to save the day. For example, when Jacob is writing thank you notes to the people who sent him Bar Mitzvah gifts, Abram becomes frustrated that Jacob's notes are not perfect, and do not have flawless grammar. Abram becomes so enraged and reaches the point where he is almost physically abusing Jacob when Asher rushes into the room and starts to defend Jacob. Now, a few hours ago, Asher was completely ignoring Jacob. It was this kind of love, that no matter how irritated Asher was he was going to help Jacob, that you really connected to as a reader. It always bugs me when characters and relationships are one dimensional. Jacob and Asher had many levels to their relationship: friends, brothers, occasional partners in crime, and sometimes annoying siblings that live down the hall. But that complexity is so important when you are reading, otherwise the story just gets dull. Second, I found the character of Jacob's and Asher's father, Abram, totally and completely frightening. There are characters in stories that you love to hate, the best example for me being Professor Severus Snape in Harry Potter, but Abram just honestly gave me chills of fear. He was an awful father to his children, by not only acting verbally abusive, but acting as an insolent toddler who didn't get his McDonald's happy meal toy when something did not go his way. He spat, he shrieked, he threatened, he yelled, he cursed, but never in any of the pages did he show true love to any of his children. Jacob, Asher, and Claire's struggle to break out of his vicious hold was awful to watch, and I cheered aloud when Claire told Abram she wanted a divorce. I cheered when Asher got into Rhode Island College on scholarship, and he could finally get away from his evil father. But I was terrified for Jacob, who was now left on his own. Braff's biggest strength was his dynamic, strong characters that no matter how polarizing, always drew you in. Braff also managed to have a strong and witty sense of humor that was present in Jacob's commentary of events, which was nice to see. Otherwise, the story would have been too heavy and too dark.

What I didn't like: Okay, I thought the end scene was really weird, and slightly awkward. I don't really want to spoil the end, but it was not really my favorite scene. I thought it was strange, and kind of uncomfortable, which I guess was the point...but still I felt like it was a bizare addition to the end of the story. I also thought the whole story line with the babysitter was odd as well. These parts just seemed forced, and kind of peculiar, in comparison with what was a well-written, easy flowing story.

Overall: 7 out of 10. I liked the family dynamic, but the story was slow in some places, and there were some awkward writing moments. But overall it was a decent read.