Paranoid Park

by Blake Nelson

now a major motion picture directed by Gus Van Sant ( My Own Private Idaho, Good Will Hunting, and Milk)

It was an accident. He didn’t mean to kill the security guard with his skateboard—it was self-defense. But there’s no one to back up his story. No one even knows he was at Paranoid Park. Should he confess, or can he get away with it? It’s an ethical question no one should have to answer. Writing more intensely than ever before, Blake Nelson delivers a film noir in book form, complete with interior monologue and dark, psychological drama. This is a riveting look at one boy’s fall into a world of crime, guilt, and fear—and his desperate attempt to get out again.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Sports, Crime, Mystery, Teen

180 pages, Hardcover

First published September 21, 2006

About the author

Blake Nelson grew up in Portland, Oregon. He began his career writing short humor pieces for Details Magazine.

His first novel GIRL was originally serialized in SASSY magazine and was made into a film staring Selma Blaire and Portia De Rossi.

His novel PARANOID PARK won the prestigious International Grinzane Literary Award and was made into a film by Gus Van Sant.

His most recent Young Adult novel THE PRINCE OF VENICE BEACH has been shortlisted for the 2015 Edgar Award.

His 2011 novel RECOVERY ROAD has been adapted into a television drama for ABC FAMILY and will premier in January of 2016.

Reviews

[Bryant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine killing someone and having to deal with it for the rest of your life. How do you think you would feel? Well in the book Paranoid Park by Blake Nelson this kid(never say his name) has the courage to go to a park by himself when his friend Jared decides to go get laid.

When he goes to the park he meets new people which lead him into trouble. When he finds out that he accidentally killed a security guard he is really terrified. He is freaking out, he is clueless. The main character's name is never told in the story. He is a very clueless, unself-controlled, and very easily to be bribed to make the wrong decisions. He made the wrong decision by hoping a train which led him to killing a security.

My opinion on this book is that it is a very easy to understand book. It shows how murder wll cause you to freak out and will be able to imagine the dead person you killed. Jared is the main character's friend and he thinks about sex. Jennifer and the main character have sex, then after a short time they break up and huge drama develops. I think that the theme of this book is that you always have to make the correct decisions and don't let other people make the decisions for you because it can cause a serious problem.

[Martina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Acidentalmente, um jovem de dezasseis anos comete um crime. Paranoid Park leva-nos sobretudo ao encontro de um ser humano que não sabe lidar com a culpa e que, por isso, vive a tormenta de não saber o que o espera no dia de amanhã: mais um dia comum ou uma estadia na cadeia.
Apesar de nos começarmos a cansar um pouco desta sucessão e repetição de pensamentos, o autor soube fechar extremamente bem a história, que, diga-se, é um bom assunto para debate: até quando seremos nós capazes de conseguir lidar com o sentimento de culpa?

"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." (pág. 133)

"Mas seria realmente liberdade, aquilo? Tendo eu a cabeça cheia de pensamentos negros, todas aquelas coisas que não podia deitar cá para fora, nem contar a ninguém? Compreendi que se a nossa cabeça não está bem, qualquer lugar podia ser uma prisão. Até uma bonita casa nos subúrbios." (pág. 143)

[Simão Pedro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than the movie.

[Matteo Fumagalli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Videorecensione:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fDcW...

[Jack LaMorte · Rating 4 out of 5]

really good book for teenagers. talks a lot about dealing with anxieties and feeling you have to take the world on by yourself.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unmittelbar nach Zebraland gelesen, das dasselbe Grundthema hat: Wie geht man mit der (Mit-)Schuld am Tod von jemandem um, den man unbeabsichtigt herbeigeführt hat? Dieses Buch hier hat mich jedoch deutlich stärker gepackt, weil es viel persönlicher ist und die emotionalen Folgen stärker betont. Der Autor hat die Ich-Form gewählt: Der jugendliche Erzähler schildert in Briefen, was ein halbes Jahr früher passiert ist und wie es ihm nach dem Vorfall an den Bahngleisen ergangen ist. Man spürt die innere Qual des Jungen und die Last des Geheimnisses, auch wenn er sich langsam an diesen Zustand gewöhnt: "Das Leben ging weiter" und "Immerhin bin ich frei".

"Aber war das wirklich Freiheit? Wenn da all dieses dunkle Zeug in meinem Kopf herumspukte, all diese Dinge, über die ich nie sprechen, die ich nie jemandem erzählen konnte? Wenn im Kopf was nicht stimmte, begriff ich, konnte jeder Ort ein Gefängnis sein."

Gute 4 Sterne für dieses starke Buch!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

The unnamed narrator (no, he's not named Alex -- that's the name he was given for the movie, so those of you who keep saying, "Alex, the narrator" and what have you -- well, guess what, you just tipped your hand and I'm going to tell your teachers on all of you, so FEAR ME) accidentally kills a security guard in a train yard and has to live with the aftermath.

Another very fine, well-written YA from Blake Nelson. Nelson maintains tension throughout while still deftly examining the moral issues surrounding the narrator's predicament. Nelson also shows considerable courage in his dramatic choices: if you're expecting the feel-good, prescriptive Lifetime TV movie ending that tends to accompany books aimed at teens, you should look elsewhere -- Nelson's ending is pleasingly ambiguous.

[Gusreadsbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gutwrenching, thought-provoking.........you'll be forced to turn every page, fearing whats next.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Name: Josh Halat

Book title: Paranoid Park

What I think: the book Paranoid Park is an amazing book that shows characters point of view and what type of situations they are in. the book shows what you might be going through if you were in any type of this situation. I love this book due to it having a great storyline and very good cliffhangers.

Plot: Paranoid Park is a super cool underground street park. He and his best friend Jared love to skate around and do some tricks. Although they are not very good they still have fun riding their skateboards. They both have gone to Paranoid Park and they planned to go back again but something comes up for Jared and they cant go. But Alex goes anyway and something bad happens that he will never forget and may never overcome.

Recommendations: I recommend this book to anyone who likes runaway books. I would also recommend this book to others that are interested in skateboarding and going to skateboard parks.

[Lupe Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personal Response
I really like this book because it talks about a guy that accidentally murdered a police officer and the guy gets really nervous and doesn't want to tell anyone what happened because he doesn't want to go to jail. This book is by far one of my favorite books that I have read. I like how the way of the story is told because it has some interesting parts in the book. It even talks a lot about the characters life and family.
Plot Summary
This book talks about a 16 year old boy who loves skateboarding. He has a friend that is older than him and he looks up to him because of the way he rides a skateboard. One day his friend "Jared" asked the main character "Mike" to go to Paranoid Park with him. Paranoid Park is a skatepark that has a lot of stories. There is one that said that a guy stabbed another person to his death. They ended up going to Paranoid Skatepark but Jared ended up leaving Mike to go hangout at a college party. Mike stayed at Paranoid by himself and he then met a homeless man that was scary but fun. The homeless man "Rob" convinced Mike into hitchhiking a train. Mike was pretty nervous but he ended up doing it. Once they were on the train it started slowing down. There was a police officer at the stop and spotted Rob and Mike. Mike and Rob jumped off the train and tripped. The police officer grabbed Rob so he wouldn't run away. Mike ended up hitting the police officer in the back of the head with his skateboard knocking him out in front of the train and the train ran him over. Mike was scared but he didn't say a thing about him killing a police officer. Mike didn't get caught until a really long time. When he got caught he regretted going to Paranoid Park and meeting Rob. Mike sure learned his lesson
Recommendation
I would recommend this book to people from the age of 14 and up because it is actually a pretty good book and they would enjoy it. They would enjoy it because they might actually be interested in mysterious things. Overall it is a really good book.

[Margot · Rating 3 out of 5]

I heard about this from Fresh Air, during an interview with the author of this now-movie. It's an epistolary novel of unsent letters, similar to confessions in a diary. The protagonist, a high school boy, accidentally participated in the death of a railyard security guard after visiting the infamous Paranoid skate park in Portland. He spends the rest of the novel paranoid about the results of his actions, questioning his guilt/innocence, who he can trust, and how this will effect the rest of his life.
A few favorite passages:
"That night, I ate dinner with my little brother Henry. I watched him read a graphic novel from the library, but he kept spilling milk on it. That was the thing. People did bad things all the time. They wrecked library books. They cheated in school. They beat up the nerdy kids." (64)
"After dinner in my room, I Googled 'confession.' ... Then I found this conspiracy Web site that said the pope was trying to make everyone go into credit-card debt so he could take over the World Bank. Everything I clicked on just got worse and worse. Maybe confession wasn't such a good idea." (66)
"When I was a little kid, I used to dream of going into the mountains and living off the land...But that's not what it would be like if I bailed. It wouldn't be a Disney movie. Running away would be a slow, dirty, gruesome existence...Maybe I could meet a girl somewhere, a Canadian girl. I could live behind her house and we could get married and change our names and...I don't know what...grow vegetables, listen to Bright Eyes, hang out in hammocks." (135)

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 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.

[Vera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ad un giovane americano di sedici anni, amante dello skate succede qualcosa d'irreparabile ed inizia a scrivere un diario per sgravarsi del peso che hanno le cose non dette, le tragedie non spiegabili a voce, i silenzi sotto il peso del senso di colpa.
Ho trovato dei buoni spunti di riflessione per pensare a ciò che può accadere nella testa di un adolescente, per interpretare certi momenti "così" che tutti i giovani prima o poi attraversano. Si nota che il libro è scritto da un adulto che tenta di esprimersi come un ragazzino (senza essere molto credibile). Il racconto, però, è scorrevole ed avvincente.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was truly awful writing. Example: the word "stuff" was used 3 times in a single paragraph. And not for effect. There is almost no plot. It is full of every sexist-promoting stereotype you can think of that might fill a boy's head. The thing that could have been best-- skateboarding-- was pretty much non-existent. The main character either felt nothing or cried: no nuance. I don't think even my male students would like this. Really awful book. I gave it 2 stars instead of 1 because the author was signifying on Crime and Punishment with some degree of success.

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

When a Portland, Oregon teenager is involved in the accidental death of a train yard security guard he is plagued with guilt, fear, and confusion about whether or not he should confess. Nelson has a real talent for bringing teen characters to life. The awkwardness of certain situations will have you squirming in your seat, and the dialogue is peppered with phrases like - "nah, she's just...you know" and "I dunno. You know what I mean".

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

Seriously. This *may* have bested DESTROY ALL CARS for me. I am impressed with Nelson's range of writing and the way he so puts you as a reader into the character's mind. This book reminded me a lot of SCRAWL, but I liked it much better. The writing was stronger and character a little more compelling for me.

Full review here: http://stackedbooks.blogspot.com/2011...

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is about a boy who is a skater and finds himself in a problem when he go's to paranoid park by himself to skate because his friend jarred went out of town. when he go's he mets some exposed people meaning crazy and does anyhting with their life.if u want to find out more about it then go pick it up in the libary

[Jorge R · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book its pretty chill because I want to learn more things about skateboarding.I also like this book because it talks about how he hangs out with his friends and what he did before he went to the "PARANOID PARK" and what he thinked off it when he got their. I havent finished this book so I could not talk too much about this book pretty much.

[Lav · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 My sister and I picked it up at the thrift store and we thought maybe it would be a funny book about typical skaters and in a way it was but it was so much more then I thought, I feel like there was a lot of realism with the main characters guilt and how he kind of pushed people away without even realizing but then it can get you to imagine what’s happening and is very descriptive

[Keli · Rating 2 out of 5]

The concept of the book was great and unique, and there were some tense moments. Nelson created a wonderful sense of hopelessness for the main character. However, the ending was entirely disappointing and far too easy. Very unsatisfying.

[Jana Wagner · Rating 5 out of 5]

perfectly encapsulates what I thought being a teenager would be like when I was like 7 and I love it🤩😝😍🫰 this book in general is the exact kind of nostalgic teenage vibe that I am always on the lookout for🤭🫣😈

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't care that it kept switching from future to past without much logical reason for switch.

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

I remember reading this book! Just kidding -- I've no idea how it ends. I do remember the beginning/premise, though...

[Jacob Maurer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Because Blake Nelson was my first HS library book...

[MarylineD · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't like it at all!

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compelling little YA novel that very accurately captures the thought processes of a 16 year old boy. I know: I used to be one. I guess I should check out the movie…

[commusmism · Rating 3 out of 5]

one of the most 3.5 books of all time

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in like 2 and a half hours it was a very fun and easy read. Gotta rewatch the movie now. I liked the story a lot

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this for my internship at a school because the class has to read it, too. When I was in grade 10, which was... I don't know... 2013?... we had talked about this novel, as well. So I thought "Hey, I thought it sounded cool back then, so why not read it now?" And damn, this was good. It was dark, creepy, gory and so emotional. I just loved it in basically read most of it in two days.

The first chapter is pure insanity and when I read it I felt sick because it was so graphic and shocking. Thanks to my internship I'm also able to look at the passage from the book that we read in our text-book for school - and they left out the most disgusting and gory parts.
It wouldn't have been appropriate to put that into a school-book, I get that.
But still...
WTF?! I have never read a book that starts off like that. I did not want to put it down. What gets you the most is the writing style. The author manages to let the reader feel Alex' emotions, his panic, his shock, the distress, everything. The writing also perfectly fits Alex' development during the book. He calms down slowly and so does the writing. But as soon as he panics, the sentences are shorter, the choice of words changes and it is an amazing book to learn how to create atmosphere and emotions from. If a writer wants to know how to do that, he should definitely read "Paranoid Park".
The book is also quite short (this version had 180 pages) and since the book is such a page-turner, you read it in a few hours.

The protagonist of the story, Alex, is just so interesting to read about. In the beginning, he is just another normal kid with "normal" problems like friends, girls, and his parents' divorce. This, during our times, is pretty normal, if you ask me. And then everything goes downhill for him and he totally freaks out. But what makes him so interesting is how he's able to live with it and fool everyone (except for Macy, maybe). No one ever considers him a suspect for the incident - simply because he is just the typical boy-next-door-who-happens-to-like-to-skate. You can constantly feel how torn he is inside, but he manages to deal with it.
Still, I think going to the police would have been the right thing to do. But, in the end, I can understand why he did not go there.
Another character I loved was Macy. Nobody cared about Alex' feelings, nobody. When he starts to cry in school, his friends just go away and don't want to hang out with him anymore. His "girlfriend" is just an annoying brat and liar and his other friends are not much better.
What I thought was so hilarious is how his girlfriend first says that having had sex is not something you immediately tell all the world. However, when (spoiler) she and Alex have sex (which she pretty much forces him to do) the first thing she does afterward is: she calls her friends and lets them know.
God, I hate that girl.
But Macy was the only one that actually cared and I just love how her and Alex' friendship/relationship develops. The importance of Macy becomes clear on the last 5-ish pages and it was just so cute. That's why I'm not saying too much about her - read it for yourself and you'll get it. Nevertheless, I loved her, her role in the book and especially the end (although I still want to know how the story goes on, it ends with something like a cliffhanger).

Seriously, this book was amazing. I did not expect it to be this good - and I just wished we had read it back in High School instead of just talking about the little (shortened and edited) bit in our school-book. I think it is obvious now that this book clearly deserves a 5/5-rating. It is one of my favorite books this year. The atmosphere, the character development, the writing style and the emotions are so perfect that any rating below 5/5 will be considered inappropriate and intolerable.
But for God's sake, how many times did I want to slap that Jennifer-b*tch...
See? This book made me really emotional!

[William McGinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 and a half stars

I’ve said in past reviews I’m not a fan of short stories, because they tend to not be long enough to have us fully understand and love the characters, and if we do end up growing to like them, their time with us is over too fast. But I only say that to stories so tiny they wasted potential. Paranoid Park is not like that.

Paranoid Park was a first for me, in that we never find out the protagonist’s name. I’m not kidding. The description only refers to him as a Prep. You see, he’s friends with a troublemaking skateboarder named Jared, and he has a new girlfriend named Jennifer (the narrator, not Jared). Paranoid Park is not the official name for a big skating park in the shady part of the city but everyone who hangs around there calls it that. It’s so much cooler than any relegated skate parks at malls. One day, our hero decides to head down there. Jared had other plans so he goes alone. Someone named Scratch convinces him to try out train hitching. He decides to let loose and do something daring. Big mistake.

Some kind of guard spots him and goes berserk. Why we don’t know. But he attacks our hero and the others and there’s no indication he will show mercy or that he won’t kill them. When he goes to strangle Scratch, he manages to hit him hard enough through the head with the tip of his skateboard, and he falls into train tracks as an oncoming train splits and crushes his body. Our prep runs off, bewildered, terrified, never wanting to skate again, and nervous when the police come knocking, his whole life is over even though it wasn’t his fault.

I got this as a Christmas present from my uncle. He saw it in an independent bookstore he lives near and thought it looked cool. There’s also a Gus Van Sant movie it was made into, and from the trailer it looks like a refreshingly independent unpretentious one. Our hero goes through a mental breakdown as he can’t figure out what he’s going to do and what could happen to him in the worst-case scenario of the disaster. He’s not as into boarding anymore, and I can imagine anyone being reluctant to keep doing something they’ve always been devoted to their whole life if it causes their whole life to potentially be destroyed. He also doesn’t feel as lucky with his girlfriend Jennifer anymore.

The movie has a small few chapters, each one displaying a day, with DEAR _______, like a diary except what’s being written down is being addressed to someone, and we’re not supposed to know who. And it doesn’t cross our mind most of the time that it must be someone our hero wants to spill the beans to, but we’re not sure if it’s ever going to be delivered. When all is said and done, it has the grounds for a very small book, which it is, with no protagonist name and caring a lot more about the one instance rather than much else.

A fast read that makes you really not want the hero sent away, Paranoid Park gets the job done of displaying what happens to someone whose life is not completely wrecked by being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but is threatened to be.

- This review was originally published in 2022 on williammcginn.com -