"Eighteen" is a terrific coming of age novel by the award-winning author and illustrator Jenny Jaeckel. She has written the family saga "House of Rougeaux" with its sequel "Boy, Falling".

Thank you, Jenny Jaeckel, for sending me an advance copy of your book in exchange for an honest review!

Arriving in a rain-swept city after a lone bus journey, eighteen-year-old Talia's world breaks wide open. Soon she is hunting chickens, telling bad jokes to a forthcoming boss, fielding a roommate's insults about her décor, all the while homesick for a home that never existed. 

In a chance meeting, Talia meets George, a young man whose devotion to building sailboats flashes a chat that leads to much more. When a sailing job takes George away to Mexico, Talia struggles with phantoms from her troubled past until a growing faith in herself brings her to take a courageous decision, stepping into the unexplored and herself in a way she never has before.

This story is set between 1980 and 1990 in America and written in the first person narrated by Talia.

The central theme is growing up, coming to terms with your sexuality and just falling in love. All these things happen to Talia between the age of 16 till 21. We, as the reader, follow her along the way of having her first sexual experiences and experiencing her first-ever heartbreak. We are going to see her highest highs and the lowest lows. We see her graduating from high school and starting college. The entire book felt incredibly realistic, which was fantastic.

I especially loved that the representation was not forced. It was just a side-effect to a character and not the primary personality trait since sometimes you do get representation, but it seems forced. Of course, I can't speak about the gay or Jewish representation entirely since I'm not part of it.

The author's writing style was, as always, a delight to read, and the story you did keep captivating me. However, I have to say that up until the halfway mark. I was not fond of Talia's personality since I did not enjoy her constantly going out and making foolish mistakes she might regret, even knowing that she will. Still, I think that is a "me-problem". Furthermore, the age difference was a bit much for me. I highly recommend this book if you want a fast coming of age read with good representation.