Rating: 4 stars

Sammy Sullivan never finished high school, spent most of his 50 years as a writer for a low-budget tabloid and hasn’t met a woman he could fall in love with – and that includes the mother of his only son, Jake.

Jake has always been wise beyond his years and at times a little too smart for his own good. Most of Jake’s 17 years have been spent being controlled by his intensely-academic mother and feeling estranged from his fairly-absent father. With one opinionated class essay and a very enlightening father-son weekend, life, as they know it, will change forever.

From the moment Sammy received the call requesting a meeting at his son’s very expensive private school, a call that would’ve went to his ex-wife, had she not been out of town, he realized things would never be the same. Hours before deadline, Sammy needed to skip out to meet with the headmaster; a need that cost him his job. Early that day, Jake felt the need to express his thoughts regarding his school in a class essay; a need that got him expelled. After gathering Jake’s belongings, father and son walk into a world much different than it was just hours before. Vowing a weekend of truth, Sammy and Jake will finally get to know each other and answer the questions that have been left unasked for years.

Deciding it best to start at the very beginning, Sammy takes Jake on a journey through his life in Queens. Reliving painful memories as he tells Jake stories of a childhood with a religious-zealot mother, his first sexual experience with a depressed older woman and introducing Jake to the grandfather he never knew he had. Through it all, Jake and Sammy will take turns being the parent and child, learning not only about each other, but about themselves. The weekend will be one not soon forgotten.

Raising Jake was funny, poignant and insightful. Carillo’s smooth and steady style brought his characters to life, allowing the reader to experience every moment. Sammy’s stories were riveting and heartbreaking; at times I felt I should look away to give him some privacy. Even during the scenes when the author seemed to take things a little too far, he still managed to make it work.

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Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Kensington (September 1, 2009)
ISBN-13: 9780758235046