First up, I should mention that I helped Charles edit this book. However, I don't think that precludes me from rating it as really the book was there before I started.Sure I helped him tweak a few paragraphs around and got him to expand a couple of sections, but my input was minor.What I really liked about this book was that he got the voice, thoughts, insecurities and motivations of a young man just right.It wasn't an easy job writing a book where the background is the scene of the genre it's set in. Charles manages to tread a fine line between enjoying the people that write in the genre without satirising them. I think he succeeded in doing that simply because he likes and respects his peers.Guys the age of his protagonists don't see the subtleties of a person's nature, so keeping his secondary characters simple (and in some respects cartoonish) worked for me. Sure, Marquerite, might make some people squirm, because she does things we all hope we don't do. But her personality needs to be like that for the plot to work.As a first published story, I think "Jump First" is a brilliant start, and no doubt Charles will soon be helping me like I helped him. That's what critique partners do.The book succeeds in being exactly what the writer wanted it to be, a whimsical exploration of coming out, first love and two people sharing a love of writing.I enjoyed helping Charles add those last little finishing touches.
