Paranoid Park

I became interested in "Paranoid Park" because I found out that Gus Van Sant made a film version of a book by the same name. I am not a fan of Van Sant, but I love skateboarding and the plot intrigued me, so I decided to pick up the book. The story revolves arounds a young skater prep who decides to visit an underground skatepark for street kids called "Paranoid Park". It is upon his visit alone that a horrifying accident occurs out of what was meant to be no more than a thrill ride on a freight train. The ride ends up in an accidental death of a security gaurd, and the rest of the book revolves around how he deals with the fact that it was partially his fault that a man was brutally killed. The images play over and over as he tries to cope with everyday life and figure out if he should call the cops or keep quiet. He soon realizes that life is more than sleeping with woman and just coasting through life, and he wants to figure out what that life can be if he isn't imprisoned for the rest of his life. This book is short, and is a very quick read. What makes it so intriguing is that the main character feels like someone that you might know, and the other characters, even the stereotypical ones come off as real and people that might be in your school. Our lead character struggles with enjoying life and severe trauma. Can you enjoy life knowing that tomorrow you might be senetenced to life in prison? These are questions that kids shouldn't have to deal with, but there are so many children who struggle everyday to live and just enjoy life. This book is not for young children or for squeamish people, it does not spare the gorey details at all. God Bless ~Amy

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 jump a train car with one of the Streeters. When they are discovered by a security guard, an unfortunate "accident" causes the horrific death of the guard. The Streeter takes off, leaving the Prep with the guard's remains and the decision of what to do next. What should he do? Tell the police, tell his parents, tell a friend? He decides to keep the truth to himself, but mixed in with his parents' impending divorce, his girlfriend issues, plus school and grades, he may have more than he can deal with. Nelson's PARANOID PARK is described as a psychological thriller, and I couldn't agree more. If you are a fan of getting into the mind of the characters, this is just the book for you. With its attention-grabbing title and its cool skateboard cover, it will be flying off young adult shelves. Reviewed by: Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"

PARANOID PARK is a dark and intense psychological thriller of a novel that puts a normal teen in a very difficult situation. Written as a confessional letter, it starts after a fateful night at a Portland, Oregon skatepark known as "Paranoid Park." Paranoid is "an underground 'street' park, which means there are no rules, nobody owns it, and you don't have to play to skate." But Paranoid is also "kind of a street-kid hangout. There's all these stories, like how a skinhead got stabbed there once. That's why it's called Paranoid Park. It has a dangerous, sketchy vibe to it." After going to Paranoid Park with his older friend Jared, the narrator (who remains unnamed throughout the book) is enthralled by the experience. Skating at Paranoid meant you were in the "big leagues." The boys planned to return to the skatepark together that weekend, but plans changed when a college girl invited Jared to a party. Still lured by the thrillride of Paranoid, the narrator returns on his own. At the park, the narrator finds himself hanging out with a "streeter" named Scratch and a bunch of other street-kid types. Scratch tells stories about how he lived up and down the West Coast, hopping trains and living in bus stations. Somehow, our "prep" narrator gets talked into hopping a local train with Scratch and the evening turns into even more of an adventure. The fun stops abruptly when a security guard gets thrown in the mix and a teenage adventure becomes the cause of a crime. With a dead body and no witnesses, the narrator is paralyzed with fear. What should he do? Who will he tell? Will anyone believe him that this truly was an accident? Trapped by his own paranoia and the possible consequences of one night on the rest of his life, the narrator spends the remainder of the novel in a CRIME AND PUNISHMENT-like dilemma. Author Blake Nelson, best known for his lighter works like ROCK STAR SUPERSTAR, THE NEW RULES OF HIGH SCHOOL and the seminal GIRL, does a phenomenal job portraying the raw and troubled emotions of a teen in turmoil without casting judgment. It's up to readers to decide how they feel about the character and the moral dilemma he faces. PARANOID PARK is in pre-production with director Gus Van Sant, known for films like Elephant and Good Will Hunting. It will be interesting to see how this haunting novel translates to the big screen. --- Reviewed by Kristi Olson

The plot of this book is very simple. An innocent skater kid gets in a scuffle with a psycho security guard and accidentally kills him. That's when the tension starts. What should he do? He thinks his family is too screwed up anyway, to risk putting them through a possible murder charge. Plus no one was there, no one who could tell on him anyway. But what about his conscience? And what about the girl he loves? And how is he ever going to look people in the eye with the innocence he started his life with. This book asks some big questions and gives no easy answers. It is also a page turner that will keep you up long into the night. Nelson has an ear for dialogue that is so clear you will think he used a tape recorder. Great book to make you think.

Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for Reader Views (9/06) When the narrator, a sixteen-year-old goes to Paranoid Park to skateboard, he never expects to be responsible for someone's death. Paranoid Park "is an underground street park, which means there are no rules, nobody owns it, and you don't have to pay to skate.... It's also kind of a street-kid hangout.... It has that dangerous, sketchy vibe to it." On that fateful evening the narrator meets a fellow skateboarder, Scratch, and the two decide to hop a train just for the fun of it. They didn't plan to go far, just a quarter mile. When a security guard spots the two, the ride no longer seemed like such a good idea. The guard comes at them with "his black nightstick in his hands." The guard was vicious and brutally swung the stick at Scratch with all his might, the frightened narrator fights for his and Scratch's life by slamming his skateboard into the back of the guard's head, the guard stumbled and fell underneath the train. Scratch runs and the narrator struggles with what to do. His mind is bombarded with thoughts of fear, does he call 911, his uncle, just hope nobody connects him with the body or should he go to the police and confess. "I had a revelation then, lying in bed in the dark: I was a bad person." "In my mind I went through every bad thing I had ever done. I'd lied to people, I'd stolen stuff, I beat up Howie Zimmerman in fourth grade, I threw a shopping cart in the Clackamas River my freshman year. I kicked the side mirror off a car once when I'd crashed skateboarding. The list was endless. It covered every stage of my life. I had just that weekend had sex with a girl I didn't even like." While the narrator is suffering guilt and fear, those around him are living life as usual. His friends seem to think his parent's recent separation is why he's acting weird. No one realizes how close to suicide this young man is walking. "Paranoid Park" is a well-written book, the story flows smoothly, and the plot could have been taken out of the headlines. The characters come to life and seem to jump off the pages. These are characters that you truly care about. You want to help the narrator in some way. You want to shout that it was self-defense. Blake Nelson has the unique ability to reach inside the mind of a teen and understand what they are living and thinking. This book is a dark look into the life of a teen. I highly recommend this book to young adults 13 and over.