title: Baby Jack: A Novel
author:  Frank Schaeffer 
description: Schaeffer, the author of two nonfiction books based on his experience of having a family member on active duty in the Middle East, treats similar themes in his new novel. Self--absorbed painter Todd Ogden and his patrician wife, Sarah, are stunned when their 18-year-old son, Jack, the product of prestigious prep schools, enlists in the marines. Moving from cajolery to cold fury, Todd finally refuses to speak to his son. Meanwhile, Jack finds the camaraderie and dedication of his drill instructors and fellow marines to be a welcome change. The majority of the novel, however, is devoted to how the parents deal with their guilt and grief when Jack is deployed to the Middle East and killed one week later. In reductive fashion, Schaeffer contrasts the full-blown patriotism of the enlisted with the selfishness of the upper classes. An irreverent God makes an appearance, as does the ghost of the dead marine. In the end, too many broad strokes and the wide variance in tone weaken the novel's effect, although the vivid portrayal of the appeal of the military sets the story apart from much war fiction. Given the subject, expect some off-the-book-page interest. <i>Joanne Wilkinson</i><br><i>Copyright &#169; American Library Association. All rights reserved</i>
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  contessa | choisie book 1
  
  
  
  
  
  by Lori L. Otto
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    
  
  
  Copyright 2012 © Lori L. Otto
  
  
  
  
  
  All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act 1976, no
  part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any
  form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the
  prior written permission of the publisher.
  
  
  
  
  
  Lori L. Otto Publications
  
  
  
  
  
  ![stickerwhite](../Images/stickerwhite.jpeg)  
  
  
  
  
  
  64 70 67 72 6f 75 70
  
  
  
  
  
  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any
  similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended
  by the author.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    
  
  
  DEDICATION
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  to first loves
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    
  
  
  JACK
  
  
  CHAPTER 1
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I’d been a father for six years before my son was born. During the pregnancy,
  I had wondered if it would feel differently to have a biological child of my
  own. I had feared that it would, actually. Now that he’s here, I 