Lindsey Reviews: Me and Mr J - Rachel McIntyre

 

Me and Mr J

Rachel  McIntyre

Electric Monkey 2015

Lara Titliss is a 17 year old teenager who attends a Yorkshire school.  Lara is finding life hard on all fronts:  her parents have lost their business  causing the family to reduce their once privileged circumstances which has impacted on all their lives; Mrs Titliss takes cleaning jobs to support the family and Mr Titliss finds refuge increasingly in drink.  At school, Lara is horrifically bullied from the mean girls in her class and also the boys in the nearby boys’ school.  She vents her feelings and frustration in a journal which is how the story is relayed to the reader.  Although Lara is normally an upbeat person, gradually her esteem and belief in life is being slowly eroded.

When Mrs Gill, the English teacher announces her maternity leave, into her life steps the young, handsome Mr Ben Jagger.  Lara immediately has a crush on her teacher and Mr J gives her a reason to look forward to going school rather than the usual dread she feels.  Mr J takes notice of her, builds up her self confidence but more importantly he believes in Lara and pays her attention when usually she just wants to fade in the background.  Through circumstances in the story, gradually the 2 become drawn to each other and fall in love.  Lara thinks she has found her perfect man but at what price.

This highly topical book was a delight to read.  I practically devoured this novel in a few hours.  Lara’s portrayal of her life was riveting, although the account of her suffering at the hands of the bullies was at times so painful to read.   For me the book highlighted the tenaciousness of the teacher /pupil relationship:  Lara is fast blossoming into a woman but her school still effectively defines her as a child; a teenager who has been exploited by Mr J.  This definitely was a thought provoking book to read and made you ponder many controversial issues.  Far from being a paedophile as he is made out by the school and society, the author gives a very empathetic insight into Mr J who in reality is not much older than Lara.  Indeed, Lara in his defence cites that her father is older than her mother but the problem here is that Mr J was in a position of trust, which he has compromised and it falls to the reader to decide, is the fact that he is Lara’s teacher reason to condemn him.

Wonderfully written, fast paced and a joy to read.  This would particularly appeal to those who enjoyed the “Notes on a scandal” novel by Zoe Heller.