Nailed [Hardcover]

Patrick Jones (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 4, 2006

The nail that sticks out farthest gets hammered the hardest.

Flint Southwestern High School is run by a cult: the jockarchy. And Bret Hendricks could never fit into their conformity cult. Bret doesn't mind standing out from the crowd when he's on stage acting or singing in his band. And he feels at home in his funky girlfriend's arms because sticking out together doesn't seem as hard.

But loyalties aren't what Bret thinks they are, as his safe havens seem to disappear one by one, and he learns that sometimes you just have to risk getting hammered in order to build a great future.

For any teen who feels that standing out is harder than just conforming. Patrick Jones's second novel nails the real truth about the high price of hiding one's true self.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up Bret does most things the hard way, according to his father, and the teen is sure his dad hates him. He's more interested in acting than sports and covers his long green-tinted hair with a fedora. It takes Bret most of his junior year to understand what his dad always told him: the nail that sticks out the farthest gets hammered hardest as he struggles to deal with the jockarchy at school and their constant taunts (mostly being called a faggot or a homo because he's a born artist). As in Jones's Things Change (Walker 2004), the father/son relationship is central to this story. While readers may feel a bit hit over the head with the nail imagery, tension and frustration build naturally. Subplot relationships are believable and well developed, such as tender sexual moments with Kylee, Bret's girlfriend, and language is realistically raw to reflect Bret's anger and frustration. Issues of free speech, conformity, and the power of the in-crowd all surround Bret as he begins to buck the school's establishment and to stand up for himself. References to pop culture such as WWF, The Green Mile, and Austin Powers will attract many teens. Without being too preachy, Jones gives Bret several mentors: his theater teacher, his school counselor, and, yes, even parents, who help him sort out the roller-coaster ride of his life. Kelly Czarnecki, Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg, NC
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 9-12. Sixteen-year-old Bret Hendricks personifies his father's adage: "The nail that sticks out the farthest gets hammered hardest." He's an actor in a school that worships jocks, a semi-intellectual in a blue-collar family, a kid with a ponytail in a school that values conformity. Although he secretly longs to be normal, he just can't bring himself to give up his love of theater--or his argumentative tendencies. The consequences of his aggressiveness are great: school suspensions, loss of his driving privileges, and a potential lawsuit for damaging a former buddy's car. This is a raw novel, filled with intolerance and pain, and many readers will recognize and identify with the small, everyday horrors that Bret endures because he can't or refuses to conform. Using multidimensional characters, Jones ably explores the dynamics of raising successful, independent children, at the same time exposing the difficulty faced by an educational system charged with celebrating independent thought and individual differences while enforcing rules and keeping kids safe. A tough, revealing book worthy of discussion. Frances Bradburn
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Walker Childrens (April 4, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802780776
• ISBN-13: 978-0802780775
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #711,787 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Author of teen novels Things Change (Walker, 2004) and Nailed (Walker / Bloomsbury, 2006).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MY FAVORITE BOOK OF ALL TIME, May 8, 2006

By 

Darzak Rose (WSPFLD,MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nailed (Hardcover)

Hey everyone my name Is Darzak and I'm currently in high school.This book's main character is a un-popular high school junior named Bret.He goes through alot during this book including getting into fights,having crushes on girls,losing and also gaining friends and much more.This book is a must for any kid who is in high school because it deals with the problems that a regular kid would go through.I can't tell you much more because I don't want to ruin the book ,but if you want to know [and I know that you do] go out and buy this book it's an excellent well written book that any person who has gone through high school has faced.By the way the book Things Change by Patrick Jones is also a must have.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not too bad, June 27, 2006

By 

Laurellz - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nailed (Hardcover)

As far as Young Adult novels go, this one was fairly good. Most of the YA novels I've read are girls drooling over boys while trying to fit in, but this one was written as a boy having girl troubles and fitting in troubles. It was refreshing.

There is drama thrown in from all sides-- Bret's homelife, his friends, his girlfriend, his school, he never seems to catch a break. But through this book we're taught the importance of rolling with the punches and that taking the hard road has challenges, but sometimes it just needs to be done.

I would recommend the story, but warn you that it's definitely not PG-rated.

5.0 out of 5 stars Nailed by Patrick Jones, September 5, 2011

By 

L. Peets - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nailed (Hardcover)

I originally began reading this book for a school project but by the conclusion of the book I had forgotten it was required because I was reading it for fun. I had trouble putting it down because the main character, Bret, was an average high school kid who was just overlooked by everyone. He speaks of his school in awful ways, saying how the entire school was based upon the "Jockarchy". According to Bret, this means that the jocks of the school got all the attention while the little guy was forced to put up with all of the harassment and be shunned by other classmates. Bret wasn't alike the rest of the kids his age. He was an individual spirit, who would say what he wanted when he wanted, much like myself. He was in a band with his friends, much like me. He was always looking for girls, much like me. He was such a free spirit that he was even called a hippie, also much like me. So when reading this book, I felt as if Bret were myself. So if you are reading this review and are a normal teenage kid who is free spirited, this book is for you because Bret will really speak to you. I rate this book very highly because it is not often that I will read a book out of sheer enjoyment rather than the fact that have no option other than to read it. I will be looking for more of Patrick Jones' novels from now on.