Paranoid Park
by Blake Nelson
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Read in January, 2006
recommends it for:
skaters, teens, skateboarding fans.
A preppy type Portland skateboarder goes to a scary skate park under a bridge and ends up taking off with a sketchy kid when he mentions that he’s always wanted to try hopping a train. Arriving at a freight yard just blocks from the skate park they are beset by a security guard who seems to really want to do them damage. The protagonist strikes him with his skateboard and he is caught up by the train and pulled under its wheels. The other kid takes off and our protagonist runs. Told in a serie...more
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Reviewed by Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com
If you dare visit Paranoid Park in Portland, Oregon, you will find the Streeters and the Preps. In Blake Nelson's new novel, PARANOID PARK, the reader enters the dark side of the skate park world along with the main character, who happens to be one of the Preps.
Paranoid Park is the nickname for an old skate park being used by the less desirable Streeters. While visiting the park, the main character is dared to ju...more
If you dare visit Paranoid Park in Portland, Oregon, you will find the Streeters and the Preps. In Blake Nelson's new novel, PARANOID PARK, the reader enters the dark side of the skate park world along with the main character, who happens to be one of the Preps.
Paranoid Park is the nickname for an old skate park being used by the less desirable Streeters. While visiting the park, the main character is dared to ju...more
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Paranoid Park is a clandestine hardcore skate park located under the Eastside Bridge in Portland. When the narrator decides to check it out for a night of edgy skating, events culminate in him hopping a train with a "streeter" and nearly getting nabbed by a security guard. Rather than go quietly, he panics and cracks the guard over the head with his board, causing the man to fall, then be pulled along and run over by a passing train. Suddenly, his conscience and paranoia become his own...more
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Read in November, 2007
recommends it for:
high school students and skaters
I heard Blake Nelson speak and read from his new book at the St. Pete Festival of Reading, and I knew I had to follow up by reading some of his books. His style is very simple, and this book is a very fast-paced read (It's hard to put down once you start and then it's over before you know it). The book isn't really about skateboarding at all, but the book is very much grounded in the world of skateboarding, which makes it feel authentic to teenage life today. This isn't a feel-good book by an...more
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Read in January, 2006
The nameless protagonist of Nelson's latest is a preppy kids / skater poser who's skating on the outside of his own life. His parents are divorcing, his friendships are superficial, and he's got a girlfriend he doesn't even like. He comes alive when skating, though not at the adult approved parks, but at places like Paranoid Park, so dubbed because of an alleged murder years past. At the park, the protag hooks up with real skaters / street kids, ending with the adrenaline rush of hopping a ride ...more
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Read in April, 2008
I can see why Gus Van Sant was drawn to this book. Although the central event of the novel is a gruesome death, it is much more about what happens inside a person's head than outside in the world. The main character, who is never named, inadvertently causes the death of a security guard. The rest of the book explores how this event changes him. In many ways it's a book about becoming an adult, swallowing your secrets, and facing the reality of what you've done. Though most of the book is basi...more
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The unnamed narrator of this story is a sixteen-year old skater whose life isn’t so great lately. His parents are headed towards divorce and a girl he’s not even sure he likes is aggressively pursuing him. The one consistent thing in his life is skating; he is never without his board. Paranoid Park in downtown Portland is a skater’s dream but the regulars are pretty tough. When his friend ditches him to go visit a “sure thing” at Oregon State University, the narrator decides to go to...more
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Read in October, 2006
recommends it for:
YA readers/Blake Nelson fans/Gus Van Sant fans
Biased review because I'm a well known BN fan... this is his "Crime and Punishment" and it definitely kept me on the edge of my seat - I read the whole thing on a train ride to New York - it was suspenseful almost to the point of being uncomfortable which, I think, made it really good. Gus Van Sant is filming the movie version in Portland or Seattle. This is probably the best Blake Nelson book technically speaking (Girl still being my personal favorite) which is a good thing beca...more
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I read this book in one sitting, and saw the movie the same day. I believe this is a first. The movie was good, but it made me appreciate the book. Seems like this would be a good one to recommend to young guys who think reading is boring and those for which fantasy or scifi don't do much. It's not that it's super edge-of-your-seat, but the voice is authentic and real-seeming. And, best of all, he's likable. Just your average dude in a terrible situation. Good book.
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Read in March, 2008
I heard Blake Nelson on NPR the other day -- he was talking about how he lifted the plot from Crime and Punishment and built a teen novel around it. Well, I gotta say, this is one of the best short novels I've ever read. Readers will feel constant tension after "the accident" (or non-accident) as the main character's mind churns and churns, replaying the events after skating that night at Paranoid Park. This is a pretty intense book.
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Read in June, 2008
A noir, breakneck speed thriller set in and around a Portland skateboarding park. It follows one teen's involvement in the death of a trainyard security guard and his decision to hide or confess. It doesn't quite walk that fine line between leaving the ending open for interpretation and leaving some gaping plot holes, but I would still booktalk or suggest it, just because of the content and pace.
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I never saw the movie, but I like Gus Van Sant so I'll probably see it at some point. The book is so-so and Blake Nelson is fairly annoying judging by his blog. This book (a Young Adult novel) has LOTS of holes in the plot and more than a few moments that read false. Oh well, I'm about to read his Rock Star Superstar, which seems much better judging by the firsst paragraph.
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A decent read about the consequences that surround a failure to tell the truth. I was disappointed, however, that Nelson makes it seem like all teenagers do is have sex and go to parties. I felt like he didn't give young people enough credit, which always bothers me, but especially concerns me in a writer for young adults.
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Read in April, 2008
recommends it for:
people who've lived in PDX
This is my favorite Blake Nelson since Girl. Read it in two hours today during lunch. Quick and dirty, like the skate park under the bridge.
I would recommend this book to: skaters, people who liked Girl, people who've lived in PDX, people who like Gus Van Sant, and probably fans of Crime & Punishment
I would recommend this book to: skaters, people who liked Girl, people who've lived in PDX, people who like Gus Van Sant, and probably fans of Crime & Punishment
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I LOVED Girl when I read it right after college. The girl narrator felt so real, and I was really surprised to find that the author is a guy. The skater boy in Paranoid Park just doesn't speak to me the way Nelson's Girl did, but it's a cool rewriting of Crime and Punishment.
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Read in February, 2008
recommends it for:
YAs of all types
A tough, sympathetic look into the mind of a teenager killer? or is he a killer? Taking a page from Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, Blake Nelson has written his first serious, thought-provoking YA novel to date.
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Read in January, 2007
the story of an "accidental" murder and a young boy's efforts to deal with the police who slowly close in on him. A suspenseful read, full of all sorts of young hooligans and other punks.
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Read in August, 2007
A young adult version of Crime and Punishment. In some ways, it is much harsher than Crime and Punishment. Doesn't have as much room for redemption, but a very good book.
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Read in September, 2007
Probably the best of Nelson's that I've read. Uncompromising almost the point of being sadistic.
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Read in April, 2008
A good modern take on "Crime and Punishment."
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book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 3.52 (73 ratings) avg rating (this edition): 3.52 (73 ratings) number of reviews: 22
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""É o que têm os segredos, acabam por nos enlouquecer. Mas enlouquecem-nos mesmo. Isolam-nos dos outros. Separam-nos da nossa tribo. Acabam por nos destruir. A não ser que uma pessoa seja forte. A não ser que uma pessoa seja muito, muito forte.""
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