Jason's Women:

On the day the fast food place where Jason works is robbed, he vows that if he lives, he won't be wimpy anymore. When he comes out of the robbery alive but jobless, it's not easy to live up to that vow. His father wants him to get another job, but Jason prefers to answer personal ads with flamboyant letters signed T. Worthington Jones. He does find employment, as a combination gardener and campaign manager for elderly Bertha Jane Fillmore (distantly related to President Millard Fillmore), who is running for mayor. He also tutors the Vietnamese girl Bertha Jane has adopted, Thao, who is just his age. Jason's dates with the women he meets through the personals are disasters, but the rest of his life starts shaping up, thanks to his growing self-confidence. Okimoto has created fully realized characters in Jason, Bertha Jane and Thao, but has not fleshed out Jason's mother and father. They don't seem to be interested in Jason at all. Jason's moment of truth is Bertha Jane's death, when he decides to carry on her campaign. But her political agenda is simplistic, and not likely to stir Jason, or readers. (12-up)