Title: Nailed
Author: Patrick Jones
Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 0802780776
Review: "The nail that sticks out the farthest gets hammered hardest", says his dad. Bret Hendricks is an outcast. With his blue ponytail, his distaste for auto mechanics and sports, and his love for reading classics, he drives his father crazy. Not to mention all the popular jocks in his school who live to torture him, who he's named the "jockarchy". The only things that provide a means of escape are playing in his grunge rock/funk band, "Radio Free Flint" and participating in school plays. When he meets Kylee, the violet haired pixie girl who shares his interests, he thinks he's finally found happiness. He and Kylee become inseparable and Bret feels like he has finally found someone who understands him. Are things to good to be true? A turn of events tests all of Bret's relationships, including his relationship with himself.
Bret is one of the best male characters I have met in YA literature. You like him from page one and are immediately experiencing the story through his eyes- connecting with him, understanding his feelings and struggles. Jones “nails” (sorry, couldn't help myself) the setting as well as shows us some of the most layered relationships I’ve seen. Bret’s interactions with his father teach us more about him and where he comes from and in turn, you learn much about his father through their fights/conversations. I felt differently about him when the book was done.
Overall, great read- totally sucked me in.
*I read this title a while back and am desperately trying to remember details. I’d love some backup/input!
Reviewed by: Annie Miller, PARA
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1 comment:
I read the book and liked it fine until I realized two things: 1) It's just The Earth My Butt and Other Big Round Things for guys, and 2) I thought The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl had a more likeable main character, and it told the same story.
It's not that I thought Patrick Jones did a bad job. On the contrary, I thought the characters were very well drawn and Bret's relationships with his family, friends, and love interest were painfully realistic. (But man, that is a LOT of dramarama piled on one character. Were our lives ever this complicated?) It's a carefully written, highly readable book that could be very popular, but it's not in my top ten.
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