Nailed By Patrick Jones Walker & Company 2006 Salma Raouf

Introduction Nailed takes place mainly at Flint Southwestern High School in Flint, Michigan. This story focuses on the life of a boy named Bret. Bret is in his junior year, and he is just trying to make it through. He wants only to please his father, but with him being a punk-rock loving singer and theater geek, his mission is hard to accomplish.

Introduction Bret struggles through high school, not because of grades but because he isn’t your average “jock” or “normal kid”. He actually tries to be as opposite of normal as possible.

Protagonist vs. Antagonist Bret is the protagonist of the story. He is a typical long-haired, graphic t-shirt, sneaker wearing boy. He makes an effort to make it appear like he does not make an effort in his style. Bret is the lead singer of his band, Radio-Free Flint. He loves to act and perform, mostly in plays. Bret is considered an outcast at his school, because he enjoys arts and literature, not sports. Bret wants more than anything to please his father, which seems impossible to both men.

Protagonist vs. Antagonist The antagonist of the story is Bob Hitchings. Bob is the school jock and jerk. Bob harasses Bret every day in English class. He calls Bret names, burns his hair with a lighter, abuses him, and threatens him. Bob tries as best he can to put Bret down, and he succeeds most of the time. Bret’s good friend, Sean, and Bob are friends and neighbors, which only stirs up more trouble for Bret.

Conflict The main conflict of the story happens when Bret finds his one true love, Kylee. She and Bret start dating, but that does not stop her from breaking his heart. Bret finds Kylee betraying him with none other than one of his best friends, Sean. Though Kylee and Bret work out their problems once, Kylee is unfaithful to Bret again. After the second time, Bret does not know what to do with himself. Kylee was his favorite person in the world and the only girl he has ever truly loved. Bret has to decide whether to forgive and move on, or whether to seek revenge on Kylee and Sean.

Other Characters Kylee Kylee is Bret’s girlfriend. Kylee and Bret have a very loving and passionate relationship, until she is unfaithful, not only breaking Bret’s heart, but also breaking up the band he is a part of. Kylee cheats on Bret with Bret’s good friend Sean. She does this twice, causing Bret to lose his mind and ability to love anyone or anything.

Other Characters Alex Alex is Bret’s best friend. Alex is the song writer of the band Bret is in. Alex and Bret are very close, almost like brothers. They trust each other with everything. Alex, Bret, and Sean make up their band, with Bret being the writer of all the songs. He is the friend that helps Bret through his deep girl-influenced depression, and he is the friend that makes Bret realize that life goes on.

Other Characters Sean Sean is the drummer of Radio-Free Flint. Sean and Bret were very good friends, until Sean and Bret’s girlfriend started seeing each other behind Bret’s back. After being kicked out of the band and out of Bret’s life, Sean starts to hang out with Bret’s biggest enemy, Bob Hitchings. Sean is very wealthy not very nice, which shows when he treats Bret terribly all throughout junior year.

Book Reviews http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-8027-8077-5 This review finds that the book may be helpful or relatable to teens going through some of the same issues at home, whether its family issues, relationship troubles, or broken friendships. The reviewer finds the book to be beneficial. http://roughnotes.wordpress.com/2006/12/29/nailed-patrick-jones/ This review also praises the book. The reviewer thinks that the book is useful in understanding teenage life. They also believe adults would enjoy this book, to help relate to modern teenagers.

My Opinion Although I did not completely enjoy the story, I think it is a good representation of teenage life. Parts of the book represented real life situations, such as friendships falling apart and relationships failing. The author really displayed the evil side of high school. He expressed what it is like to have bad friends and to be betrayed, and parts of the book even made me think about my own life and my own friends. On the other hand, I thought the book was very cliché. The main character was a punk-rock singer coming from a poor family, that faces many issues, while the preppy sports players of the school were all wealthy and happy. This aspect of the story was not very realistic, because not all unhappy people are dirt poor, and not all joyful people are filthy rich. The ongoing problems in Bret’s life also set up the plot to be a sob-story with a completely predictable ending. I would not recommend the book unless you want to read a life lesson. The lesson in this book is that life is hard, but you have to deal with it.