Overview
The nail that sticks out farthest gets hammered the hardest.
Flint Southwestern High School is run by a cult: the jockarchy. And Bret Hendricks could never fit into their conformity cult. Bret doesn't mind standing out from the crowd when he's on stage acting or singing in his band. And he feels at home in his funky girlfriend's arms because sticking out together doesn't seem as hard.
But loyalties aren't what Bret thinks they are, as his safe havens seem to disappear one by one, and he learns that sometimes you just have to risk getting hammered in order to build a great future.
For any teen who feels that standing out is harder than just conforming. Patrick Jones's second novel nails the real truth about the high price of hiding one's true self.
Synopsis
The nail that sticks out farthest gets hammered the hardest.
Flint Southwestern High School is run by a cult: the jockarchy. And Bret Hendricks could never fit into their conformity cult. Bret doesn't mind standing out from the crowd when he's on stage acting or singing in his band. And he feels at home in his funky girlfriend's arms because sticking out together doesn't seem as hard.
But loyalties aren't what Bret thinks they are, as his safe havens seem to disappear one by one, and he learns that sometimes you just have to risk getting hammered in order to build a great future.
For any teen who feels that standing out is harder than just conforming. Patrick Jones's second novel nails the real truth about the high price of hiding one's true self.
Publishers Weekly
Jones's (Things Change) forthright, message-driven novel explores the relationship between teasing and school violence. Sixteen-year-old Bret's life is becoming intolerable, both at home and school. He's ignored at home for not being just like his older brother (who "does oil changes for a living"), and tormented at school for not being a jock. Bret, who narrates, is not interested in working on cars or playing sports. Instead he'd rather act onstage or make music with his band, Radio-Free Flint (inspired by "hometown antihero Michael Moore"). As he grows frustrated at being harassed by the school's bully, he writes an essay expressing empathy towards the Columbine gunmen: "I... pointed out that how they had been treated at their school was wrong, too. I said they were the first victims." Teens will applaud Bret's spunk as he goes up against the school principal. But life takes a turn for the worse when Bret sees his girlfriend making love with bandmate Sean and reacts with violence, a response he's been taught to abhor. Eventually, with the aid of his father (who has a rather abrupt change of heart), Bret makes amends with Sean. Through the first-person narrative, readers see Bret's shortcomings and his struggle to fit in where he feels like an outsider. At times, however, it seems as though the author has set up his characters to serve his issues, even if his message is one that teens in a similar situation may find beneficial. Ages 14-up. (Apr.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly
Jones's (Things Change) forthright, message-driven novel explores the relationship between teasing and school violence. Sixteen-year-old Bret's life is becoming intolerable, both at home and school. He's ignored at home for not being just like his older brother (who "does oil changes for a living"), and tormented at school for not being a jock. Bret, who narrates, is not interested in working on cars or playing sports. Instead he'd rather act onstage or make music with his band, Radio-Free Flint (inspired by "hometown antihero Michael Moore"). As he grows frustrated at being harassed by the school's bully, he writes an essay expressing empathy towards the Columbine gunmen: "I... pointed out that how they had been treated at their school was wrong, too. I said they were the first victims." Teens will applaud Bret's spunk as he goes up against the school principal. But life takes a turn for the worse when Bret sees his girlfriend making love with bandmate Sean and reacts with violence, a response he's been taught to abhor. Eventually, with the aid of his father (who has a rather abrupt change of heart), Bret makes amends with Sean. Through the first-person narrative, readers see Bret's shortcomings and his struggle to fit in where he feels like an outsider. At times, however, it seems as though the author has set up his characters to serve his issues, even if his message is one that teens in a similar situation may find beneficial. Ages 14-up. (Apr.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.VOYA
Bret Hendricks is reaching his breaking point. Daily verbal and physical abuse at school has him boiling inside, and his fuse is short. "Bret, what the hell is wrong with you?" his working poor father demands. Odd clothes and a ponytail separate him from the popular jock crowd, making him the proverbial nail waiting to be hammered down. But the Flint, Michigan, junior has talent. He plays a decent bass guitar, scores lead roles in school plays, and sees the big picture beyond the bleak boundaries of the economically depressed city. When sexy Kylee, a senior from another school, enters the picture, Bret falls hard, believing that she is the one great thing that will change his life. Chronicling Bret's junior year, much happens in this hard-hitting novel, perhaps too much. Bret's many problems-he conflicts with at least five other characters-are formed over the first hundred pages and initially the story's focus is unclear. In a stunning twist, however, the plot zeros in on Bret's blind love for Kylee, and here the author hits his mark. Jones writes about the pain of romance from a teen male's point of view and the tone becomes pitch perfect. Male and female teens will instantly feel Bret's agony when love goes bad. Several melodramatic sections of dialogue interrupt the story's flow, but teens will forgive this flaw. More important, it is one of the few teen novels involving a teen male struggling emotionally with both male and female relationships. It belongs in all teen collections. VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2006, Walker, 244p., Ages12 to 18.—Rollie Welch