Scotty Jackson Died... But Then He Got Better

By: Mark A. Roeder

Narrated by: Jack London

Scotty Jackson is a gay boy in trouble. His fanatically religious parents cannot accept his attraction to other boys. Scotty tries to fool them at first, but they grow suspicious and clamp down on him until his life isn't worth living. Fearful that Scotty's parents will send him away to be 'cured,' Scotty's friends spirit him away while desperately seeking a way to make his life better.

While Scotty is in hiding, Dorian comes up with a brilliant idea to improve Scotty's life - he'll kill Scotty! Sometimes, only death can make parents see the error of their ways.

©2012 Mark A. Roeder (P)2013 Mark A. Roeder

Buy the book on this one...

What made the experience of listening to Scotty Jackson Died... But Then He Got Better the most enjoyable?

I was sold on the title. I kind of knew what was going to happen and I just wanted to see how Mark Roeder was going to do it.

What didn’t you like about Jack London’s performance?

Jack London's performance didn't provide identifying voice changes for the characters, so it was difficult to know who was talking in a conversation. When the point of view changed, there wasn't a sufficient pause to register the transition. One almost had to be reading along with the book to properly follow the story.

Another thing that threw me off was Jack London's Canadian accent. It didn't sound like a person from Indiana.

Finally, it sounded like the characters were in fourth grade rather than eleventh grade (or junior year in high school, if you'd rather).

I would assume that this was Jack London's first narrating session and I apologize for being so critical of his performance. Hopefully he will do better on his next reading.

Any additional comments?

There was also a problem with the recording itself. The recording started six pages into the story in the middle of a scene. I reported it to Audible (Selena B) and it should be corrected eventually.

just awesome

omfg people the series in this should be taught to Jr an Sr high school kids. to show them the danger of bullying an that just because a person is LGBTQ doesn't mean they are less a person. just totally awesome. thank you Mr roader for all of these books. I'm totally loving each an every one of them.

Good stroy in the Verona Boys series

The story is part of the Verona Gay youth series and is an integral part of the overall story line. However, the performance could have been better.
The Narrator, Jack London, starts reading at 100 MPH, never even pausing between lines. It was hard to tell which character was speaking at the time. About half way through, he slows down and it became easier to follow.
I am glad there are no other books in the series narrated by Jack London.

Do yourself a favor, Read the hard copy

I have this book in my Kindle library, but I always enjoy listening to the audio book if I like the story. The narration for this one is not great. Jack London rarely pauses between characters, plus all the characters sound the same so it is difficult to discern who is talking. Mr Roeder should stick with Bryant Sullivan or Jerry Bradshaw. That being said, I love this story, but Roeder does tend to ramble and repeat things sometimes...The story could have easily been a couple hours shorter without missing the plot. Definitely worth the time but better to read the text. Four stars for the story.

Boring and Long Winded

What disappointed you about Scotty Jackson Died... But Then He Got Better?

I was shocked at how long winded Roeder became in this book. The redundancy of the "internal struggles" was more than just a little annoying. The snail pace that the shallow plot moved was also annoying. There were just way too many "bunny trails" in this book. None of them paid off. They added nothing to the story and were difficult to deal with. At one point, Roeder got away from the plot for over 100 grueling minutes, and this was right when the plot finally began to unfold! He discussed living on farms, food, tea, flatware, horses and even gave a long and boring section on Robert Frost's poetry...

What could Mark A. Roeder have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

If he used about 50% less words, it might have been OK. Why does he need to keep repeating things like he does??? This is common in all of his books, but it becomes almost unbearable in this book.

Which scene was your favorite?

I didn't really have one, but if I have to pick one, let's just say it's the "catch the flag" scene.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

It was just boring and drawn out. Roeder is usually much better than this. I think he may have been trying for something here and missed.

Book fell short of Marks other books

What disappointed you about Scotty Jackson Died... But Then He Got Better?

I am not sure if it was the narrator or just the book. I had listened to 2 others of Mr. Roeder books and enjoyed them but not this one