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Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite
In the book In Jake's Shoes by Andrew C. Phillips, when Jake Gatlin is killed while serving overseas, his family gathers at their home in Oakton, North Carolina, as winter rain falls and Christmas approaches. During the hours following the funeral, his father, Marshall, slips away to the attic and opens a notebook he has never seen before. Inside are letters Jake wrote throughout his childhood to his grandmother, Mary Claire Gatlin, known as Gammy Gat. As Marshall reads, the letters trace Jake’s private record of school discipline, friendships, loss, family conflict, and the decision to enter military service. The house below is active as Millie and their daughters search for Marshall, uncertain where he has gone. In the quiet attic, the letters reshape Marshall’s understanding of his son and force him to confront years of silence, distance, and missed conversations.
In Jake's Shoes by Andrew C. Phillips takes its title from Marshall slipping into his son’s sneakers, a private gesture of connection that feels so beautiful. Jake's letters are a mix of heartening, such as when we learn that his enlistment was partly a desire to stay with people who feel isolated, and incredibly sad, like a suicide note, where Jake was thanked for his friendship. Honestly, Randy's story had me choked up. Marshall Gatlin is a good vessel for readers to learn about Jake, and we learn about him also. Marshall feels like an authentic person with flaws and emotional distance. Through Jake's letters, he chooses presence over retreat, which speaks volumes. The settings described are textured and atmospheric, from diesel-tainted air and mortar thuds at a base, to cracked winter windows, rain, and a crowded place of grief in the family home. Overall, this is touching literary fiction, elegantly written and worth reading. Recommended.
