My Book Boyfriend: Jacob Coote

My Book Boyfriend is a weekly meme hosted by Missie at The Unread Reader, all about fictional boys who make us swoon. This week I'm going back to a book boyfriend who dominated much of my teens: Jacob Coote from Looking For Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta. As the only Marchetta book available for most of my teen years, I read it approximately 174 times (Saving Francesca came out when I was 17, but On the Jellicoe Road wasn't released til I was 20 - to my shame, I haven't had a chance to read it or any that followed yet, though they're all on my TBR list... but I digress). Now, Jacob is by no means perfect; in fact, sometime he's downright douchey, but other times he's gorgeously caring, and I rooted for him and Josie - and swooned over him - all the same. Call it hormones. The pull of the bad boy. The amazingness of Marchetta's writing. Whatever it is, I love me some Jacob Coote. Because I've seen the movie almost as many times as I've read the book, I always picture him as Kick Gurry.


Swoon-worthy Quotes

"To give you a run-down on Jacob is very hard. Sometimes he speaks really stupidly and doesn't know what I'm talking about, and other times he speaks really well, and I don't understand what he's talking about.
Sometimes he's a tough guy and I can imagine him bashing someone's head in and other times he's this real nice sensitive guy who smiles at babies and helps old women across the street. He smokes dope, drinks and I think he sleeps with a lot of girls, but on the other hand he really loves his family and has respect for people." 

"I sat up on the bed and put my arms around him, kissing him slowly. I felt his hand come up across my cheek and I realised that was what I loved about him. He was a loving person. His need to touch my face or hair made me feel closer to him than if we were making love."

"'We don't even love each other, Jacob.' We lay there in silence until he nudged me. 
'I do a bit, you know,' he said gruffly.
'You do what a bit?'
'You know. Like you... whatever... love you a bit..'
He seemed a bit flustered and I hugged him.
'I think I kind of love you too, Jacob.'
'I really missed you when you were in Adelaide that time and sometimes when I don't see you for a couple of days I think I'll go crazy,' he said honestly, looking at me as if he needed for me to understand."