Jake Riley: Irreparably Damaged [Hardcover]

Rebecca Fjelland Davis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 3, 2003

Jake Riley is a nice guy.
Jake Riley is a loser.
Jake Riley is a good friend.
Jake Riley is dangerous.

Everyone has a different idea about Jake. Lainey's friends think he's her boyfriend. Lainey's mother thinks he's sad. Lainey's guidance counselor thinks he is a bad influence on her.

None of these people really know the truth about Jake. Not even Lainey.

By the time Lainey learns the truth about Jake, she no longer has to wonder about one thing.

She knows he's dangerous.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up-Lainey, 14, is being tormented by the son of a worker on her dad's Iowa farm, a boy who has been labeled in his high school counselor's file as "irreparably damaged." Jake's emotional maturity was badly stunted by his experiences in a juvenile-detention facility and he seems to be incapable of acceptable social interaction. When Lainey expresses her fears about him, her mother won't take her seriously and her father assigns both of them chores, believing that hard work is the cure for all the world's ills. Readers are drawn into a drama that feels real despite the novel's flaws-of which there are a few. Early on, Jake rescues a squirrel from certain death by amputating its leg; it's unclear whether this is an act of cruelty or kindness. Jake's threats against Lainey (both sexual and physical) are vivid and menacing for her as well as for sympathetic readers. The school counselor's coldness and the English teacher's insensitivities show Lainey's unreliability as a narrator, while, at the same time, her perceptions seem like those of a scared ninth grader. Her friends run the gamut from one who is socially and emotionally naive to another who becomes sexually active in spite of her own better judgment to a new girl who fascinates Lainey because of her apparent self-assurance. Arcadia's arrival on the scene and her connection to Jake seem tacked on rather than smoothly integrated. Nonetheless, this is a compelling read with credible and complex main characters. An excellent discussion choice.
Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 7-10. Is it too late for Jake Riley? The school counselor thinks so, saying the 15-year-old is irreparably damaged. But Jake's neighbor and only friend, Lainey, isn't so sure. She has seen his nice side, but now she's also beginning to see something else, something dangerous. Then friendship gradually turns to fear and to hatred as Lainie discovers how damaged--and dangerous--Jake can be. Part psychological thriller, part sexual rite of passage, and part rural realism, the novel is an odd mixture of elements that don't quite cohere, and the psychology, which is so important to character development, seems borrowed from soap operas and Sunday supplements. The story is, however, compelling enough to command attention to the end, and the aspects dealing with rural life in Iowa come across as both authentic and richly realized. Michael Cart
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: HarperTeen (June 3, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060518375
• ISBN-13: 978-0060518370
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,617,967 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Rebecca Fjelland Davis writes and rides her bike in Southern Minnesota. She also spends time with her Newfoundland dog Freya, and as much time as possible with her grown children who live too far away. She also spends time teaching, grading papers, and forcing students to try new books and new places (like Italy or an art museum). She is two-time winner of the women's division of the National 24-Hour Challenge bike race in Michigan, rides her bike a few thousand miles a year, and tries to avoid being hit by cars (it happened once). Becky lives in an old farmhouse and teaches English and Humanities at South Central College in North Mankato.

Visit her online at www.rebeccafjellanddavis.com or at her blog: www.rebeccafjellanddavis.blogspot.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just when you think you have it figured out . . . ., July 24, 2003

By 

PERRY PAWELKA (MADISON, WI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jake Riley: Irreparably Damaged (Hardcover)

To borrow the theme from the book's tag line:

Jake Riley keeps you guessing.
Jake Riley keeps you reading.

I agree with the other reviewers - this book is exciting, fast paced and the characters are involving. But I want to mention the complexity of the plot.

Rebecca Davis has woven a mystery that focuses on 'whoishe' instead of 'whodunit' and the resulting story stays one step ahead of the reader. When you aren't trying to figure out who Jake really is (or following the other character's attempts to figure him out), you're immersed in the dynamic daily life of Lainey - a young teen's life that has something everyone can relate to.

Overall it's a great read for all ages.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jake Riley: Irreparable Damaged, June 5, 2003

By 

Mary Schnell (Grand Rapids, Minnesota United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jake Riley: Irreparably Damaged (Hardcover)

I couldn't put the book down until I read the last word. The characters are well developed and realistic. The plot is excellent and I want to congratulate Rebecca Fjelland Davis on a wonderful and well written book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mystery and Romance, September 28, 2005

By 

vtown (Versailles, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jake Riley: Irreparably Damaged (Hardcover)

In this book we have two main characters with total different attitudes, thoughts, actions, and many more. This book focuses on one person named Jake who has a big problem. Jake here has a problem that no one ever knew. Lainy, a fourteen year old girl that lives on a farm that Jake and his dad lives on is now a victim of Jake's. Lainy finds herself in a decision only she can make nobody else can. When Lainy finds out about Jake she's running for her life, but finds out that she can't run because she cares about Jake. Putting herself in danger, Lainy is getting more and more threats sexual and physical, she finds it deep in her heart to stick up for herself against Jake to do something about it.
My likes and dislikes about this book are that this book is very interesting, There is action all the time. It's never boring. When you stop on a page, you always are thinking about what's going to happen next with Jake and Lainy are going to do next. I really don't have any dislikes about this book but one thing is that it makes you think that this same thing in this book happens everyday in the world. Me, it makes me mad because people need to stick up for themselves no matter what. If you are a person who gets made fun of, stick up for yourself o something about it.
I would really recommend this book to someone who loves mystery and conflict. There is defiantly a lot of mystery between Jake and Lainy. I hope for all people who read this, go to the library and check this book out. I guarantee you that you will love it.