Books with title My Private Pectus

My Private Pectus is a serious yet comical portrayal of teenager Jack McDermott’s struggle to discover who is, what he’s meant to look like, and how much he should care about what other people think. Jack’s chest deformity is symbolic of the body-image issues young men face daily in schools today“There's something different about my body. It's not something I'm proud of either, not something I show anyone. It's like the missing piece of a jigsaw you can’t take your eyes off. If I were to take off my shirt you wouldn’t see my face, my freckles or ratty hair. You’d just suck your cheeks in and stare. All you’d see is the depression in the middle of my chest.” A realistic story about cars, footy, a love interest, and the commonly forgotten ingredient: a young man’s emotions. The difficult challenges of a teenager’s life are interwoven with humor and insight. Cynical and occasionally irrational, Jack McDermott (or Sticks to his mates) gets himself into serious and at times hilarious situations in an effort to prove his manhood.

'There’s something different about my body. It's like the missing piece of a jigsaw you can’t take your eyes off. If I were to take off my shirt you wouldn’t see my face, freckles or ratty hair. All you’d see is the hole in the middle of my chest.’Jack is a typical seventeen year-old going to high school in Queensland. He surfs, fixes up cars, plays footy with his mates and is having trouble with girls. Only one problem – Jack has a hole in the middle of his chest – pectus excavatum (PE).A story about footy, cars, and a young man who discovers that revealing his greatest secret is the only way to hold on to the people he loves.