coverHat tip to Patrick Jones for this book. There’s a nice play on the “nail” analogy/ euphemism. Read the book and then think about why the title was chosen. Adults would also enjoy this one as well. Would be a great book to use in a book discussion, especially among teens.

Instead of trying to post a poor excuse of a “book review”, here’s a list of keywords that reminded me of how the story unfolded. I’ve also tagged the keywords using Technorati. In the case of phrases, they are linked to Technorati search results. As in the nature of tagging (folksonomies), some don’t link to any existing tag or post.

WARNING: Like all reviews, they tend to spoil the plot to some extent, so continue at your own risk!

– (the main character, Bret)
– (Bret & his dad)
– (Bret has problems with the Jocks in school)
– (Bret finds love)
–
– (Bret is two-timed!)
– (It’s payback time; reference to the title)
– (revenge doesn’t erase the pain)
– (obviously a refection of current realities)
– (seen as OK & accepted?)
– Bullying in School (Bret is a victim)
– (Would he get kicked out?)
– Makes speech in front of school (Bret’s way of fighting back)
– (Not all teachers are bad)
– (Bret learns what’s real courage)
– Triumph over adversity (Bret discovers who/ what really matters)
– (it’s cool to be anti-establishment, or is it? To what extent?)
– (point made about the need to follow some rules)
– (references to the incident)
– (references to the incident)

chpt 18 quote (p121) – when the main character in the story, Bret, discovers his girl-friend, Kylee, has been two-timing him:

(His friend Alex asks) “What are you going to do? Do you want me to do anything?”
Bret: “I want you to kill him, or me, or maybe Kylee, or maybe all three of us.”
Alex: “What about (band) rehearsal?” (believing the band still matters and will endure.

Categories:
–
–
–

[See entry at RamblingLibrarian]