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Cheated
Mick Salisbury wonders how he got where he is. For as long as he can remember, people have been saying the same thing about life being a series of choices. The problem is, he's never been particularly good at making the right ones, especially since he was born and raised in Flint, Michigan, where most people are cheated out of all the better options in life.
So when a normal night spent hanging out, drinking with his two best friends, ends in a deadly mistake, individual decisions suddenly seem more important than Mick ever realized. And when he's sitting in the police interrogation room, it will all come down to one choice. But once he heads down one road, will it ever be possible to turn back?
So when a normal night spent hanging out, drinking with his two best friends, ends in a deadly mistake, individual decisions suddenly seem more important than Mick ever realized. And when he's sitting in the police interrogation room, it will all come down to one choice. But once he heads down one road, will it ever be possible to turn back?
208 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2008
13 people are currently reading
248 people want to read
About the author
Patrick Jones
251 books223 followersPatrick Jones is the author of five realistic teen novels, most recently Stolen Car((Walker / Bloomsbury, 2008). His first young adult novel Things Change (Walker & Company, 2004) was named by the Young Adult Library Services Association as a best book for reluctant readers, and was runner-up in the Teen Buckeye Book Award selected by Ohio teens. His second novel Nailed was published by Walker / Bloomsbury in spring 2006 and was a runner-up for the Great Lake Book Award. His 2007 novel, Chasing Tail Lights, is nominated for the Minnesota Books Awards. His most recent (and last) professional publication is Connecting with Reluctant Readers (Neal-Schuman, 2006). In 2006, he won lifetime achievement awards from both the Catholic Library Association, and the American Library Association. Jones is a frequent speaker at library conferences, having visited all fifty states, as well as in Canada, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand. Jones grew up in Flint, Michigan, but now lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Read more at his web page www.connectingya.com, including FAQs about Things Change and Nailed (perfect for book reports!). NOTE: After a bruising experience with another author, he's limited his reviews on Good Reads to only raves as not to disturb the "fellowship" of YA writers.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
November 12, 2008
(Sorry: Really unlikeable characters.)
Patrick Jones is making a name for himself creating characters that act (until the eleventh hour) in their own worst interests. In the aptly titled Cheated, Mick, Aaron and Brody are the champs at screwing up their own lives.
Oh, sure, they each have their demons. Primarily in the form of their equally demonized fathers. Plus, they're really angry, and have a ready supply of alcohol. Stir together, add a convenient target who seems less powerful than they are, and voila! Cold-blooded murder.
Jones uses the theme of "choosing your path" as evidenced by the introductory quotations. I think a stronger theme is repeated throughout: Who do you stick with and who will stick by you: your family or your friends? It is the ultimate choice that Mick makes that answers that fundamental question.
Patrick Jones is making a name for himself creating characters that act (until the eleventh hour) in their own worst interests. In the aptly titled Cheated, Mick, Aaron and Brody are the champs at screwing up their own lives.
Oh, sure, they each have their demons. Primarily in the form of their equally demonized fathers. Plus, they're really angry, and have a ready supply of alcohol. Stir together, add a convenient target who seems less powerful than they are, and voila! Cold-blooded murder.
Jones uses the theme of "choosing your path" as evidenced by the introductory quotations. I think a stronger theme is repeated throughout: Who do you stick with and who will stick by you: your family or your friends? It is the ultimate choice that Mick makes that answers that fundamental question.
July 21, 2016
3.5/5 stars :)
The writing style of the author may have been a little childish in comparison to the content, but the plot was really good, so I enjoyed reading this. :D
The writing style of the author may have been a little childish in comparison to the content, but the plot was really good, so I enjoyed reading this. :D
January 12, 2022
even like him until they are drunk and hook up. Throughout the story i'm not getting very pleasing and interesting vibe from any of these characters, all so angry and bland; full of regret and don't know what to do with themselves but get drunk. Throughout the entirety of the story, there's these questions that mick is asking himself based on the path he's taking in life and the decisions hes making. For example, he was comparing his path to the united states; a plethora of winding roads where you don't know they lead you too. And each one can take you to a different way. So clearly mick is unsure of who he is and what he wants to do with his life, hes fighting off his inner demons and trying not to mess up. For the whole story hes not saying anything or speaking his mind, only speaking of whats in front of him which was frustrating to read to be honest. It was So this story kind of took me by surprise on how he was treating his mother in the beginning. He was telling the story on how prom was coming up and that he cheated on his girlfriend Nicole and they split up. His mom then tries to help him through it and get him to talk to her about his feelings and his overall situation. Nothing has ever been the same since Mick's dad left and got a divorce. Now he wont even talk to his mother about his problems and is always giving her a shitty attitude that she doesn't even deserve. He even thinks to himself inside his head that she doesn't deserve it and he wishes he could talk to her; he described it as some kind of barrier between them that he couldn't get through. This is crazy to me, because hes admitting that hes in the wrong yet continues to do the same thing. Also the whole beginning of the story is very boring; basically him just regretting cheating on his girlfriend, trying to find someone to go to prom to, and now chasing after another girl who doesn't frustrating how he kept making excuse for him cheating on his girlfriend Nicole, yeah sure he regretted it, but he still thinks it wasn't ALL of his fault. His friends weren't any different from him, they always seemed angry just like mick and gave off that snobby bratty type of characters which makes it kind of difficult and almost boring to read. And then what happens? Mick, and his friends get drunk and murder a man because they were stupid. None of them wanted to take responsibility for their actions and kept blaming each other for it, it was honestly just sad how a man was killed because of some teenagers acting silly, and the fact that this happens everyday by all different types of people; you could call it ironic. I found it crazy at the end when they are in interigation and the dad who cheated on micks mom come back when he hears what mick and his friend did. He then only confesses to his mother because she threatened to disown him if he didn't confess and he didn't want to lose his mom. Overall the story was okay, the pacing was slow and the characters werent very likeable, but other than that there were some wow moments near the end that made the story suspensful towards the end.
January 9, 2018
3 / 5 stars for Cheated
To start off the beginning of the story is kind of easy to grasp on because they author come out and describes the characters, but I can’t relate to the main character Mick because I am never as angry as him but i can see where it is coming from but it really doesn’t make the book interesting. Many of the other characters were unlikable because they were all going out on the weekends getting drunk and being disrespectful to their parents. The plot was very slow nothing interesting really happened until the end of the middle of the book was boring. But not all things are negative about this book one thing i really like is all the different quotes, “ When you mess up, you know you’ve messed up, you could just press a button, and whatever you did wrong would go away, but no life is not like that” it just had a lot of inspirational quotes and life advice. It took a long time to come out and say something they put in too much detail to where the point it got to boring to continue reading. In conclusion this is why I rated the book a 3 / 5 because it was a little boring in the middle but it had quotes and the end was very interesting.
To start off the beginning of the story is kind of easy to grasp on because they author come out and describes the characters, but I can’t relate to the main character Mick because I am never as angry as him but i can see where it is coming from but it really doesn’t make the book interesting. Many of the other characters were unlikable because they were all going out on the weekends getting drunk and being disrespectful to their parents. The plot was very slow nothing interesting really happened until the end of the middle of the book was boring. But not all things are negative about this book one thing i really like is all the different quotes, “ When you mess up, you know you’ve messed up, you could just press a button, and whatever you did wrong would go away, but no life is not like that” it just had a lot of inspirational quotes and life advice. It took a long time to come out and say something they put in too much detail to where the point it got to boring to continue reading. In conclusion this is why I rated the book a 3 / 5 because it was a little boring in the middle but it had quotes and the end was very interesting.
August 27, 2021
This was such a quick read. Now, just because it was a quick read does not mean that the story was quick.. because it was actually kind of slow. The first 100 pages, NOTHING was happening. I see how some parts ended up contributing to the climax but overall, it was kinda slow paced. Also the 2nd half of this book had many jaw-dropping moments that helped in me liking this book just a bit.
The main character Mick sucks. He blames everyone but himself for cheating. And the nerve this guy had to even want to tell his bestfriend to "take responsibility for your own actions." Like hellloooo?? Take your own advice?? There really just wasn't anything I liked about him.
When ~the thing~ happened his friends kept blaming him and I was so confused... like how did they not understand they actually all played a part in that? IT WAS ALL OF YALL. Also the end with his Mom?? WOW.
The main character Mick sucks. He blames everyone but himself for cheating. And the nerve this guy had to even want to tell his bestfriend to "take responsibility for your own actions." Like hellloooo?? Take your own advice?? There really just wasn't anything I liked about him.
When ~the thing~ happened his friends kept blaming him and I was so confused... like how did they not understand they actually all played a part in that? IT WAS ALL OF YALL. Also the end with his Mom?? WOW.
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March 19, 2024The fiction book Cheated tells a story about a conflicted sophomore who is under the wrong influence of people. Mick Salisbury -called 151 by his friends- knows what he is doing wrong but can not stop. Mick feels "cheated" by his cheating father, and the way his life is playing out. Mick looks back on his life and wonders where it went wrong and how he has ended up in this spot. On page 10 he says "Want to know what life is like? You ever see a road map of the United States? It's a thousand possible roads, all of them somehow connect to each other". I feel bad for Mick and the things he has gone through. Patrick Jones's Cheated was written for people that start to slip off the grid. It shows people what the consequences could be if you go down the wrong road.
May 17, 2017
I didn't really care for the writing style. I did enjoy the theme because I can relate. People rarely take responsibility for their own actions. It's always the fault of someone else. Mick is 15 years old, and grew up with the blame of his father cheating on his mother. The father didn't see what he did wrong, he blamed his son for telling on him. Mick grew up thinking that hiding the truth is the best way to protect somebody. He thought he was the center, that he was responsibility for picking up pieces. He blamed himself even if he had nothing to do with it. When he was protected, he took it as a betrayal.
May 27, 2017
I read this for a class. It was an ok book. It was difficult at time for me to relate to Mick because I fortunately was not that angry as a teenager. I understood why he was so angry given his circumstances but when I finished the book I didn't really feel anything.
Want to read
October 28, 2019What I think about this story is that it talks about this guy who got cheated on and that he cant get over it and he sees that the girl had moved on.
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January 21, 2026My takeaway: if I ever have kids who seem angry or in pain, I’m signing them up for kickboxing classes and therapy.
May 2, 2014
Setting:I picked this book because I was reading two other books that were by the same person and they both were good so i wanted to read another one. But they all have something in common they were all being told about a kid that always got into trouble and thay lived in a town called flint.
Setting of the book is it takes place in a town named Flint, and its school time in the morning and tehn goes from school to weekends of getting drunk.
Conflict:The crisis of the book is when mick and his friends were drinking one night and things got out of hand and his friends killed a homeless man for ripping them off. The next week or so the police find micks lighter and arrest him and his friends and the investagator is pressuring him to confess of what happened, and his mom and dad are there with him but he won't talk, until his mom comes and tells him either he confesses or he's no longer her son.
Characterization: The character "Mick" is always the type of boy who hides his face and that gets heartbroken when he loses a girlfriend and he likes to drink and get into trouble but he doesn't like lying to his mom about anything, if he had to tell his mom something he would go and tell her what he did and he wouldn't be like his father because his father cheated on his mom and never been a man and admitted that to him or his mom.
Theme: I think the book is really about his childhood maybe he didn't have a good childhood because of the three books i read all the characters were always getting into trouble for something, and always liked a guy or a girl who never liked them back. So the books all have to deal with the characters being alone and dark on the inside.
Strategies: I used predict, because I predicted that they were all going to get caught for killing the homeless man because someone had to have left something behind from when they were running away from the scene. I used visualization because when I first read that mick was in the ivestgating room I pictured him sitting there in the chair scared to do or say anything. I also used monitor because I felt that the situation he was in would only get worse if he didn't confess or say anything to anyone.
What I thought of the book: I thought the book was good, The book talked alot about sex,drugs and alcohol and mostly what all teenagers do sometimes I think anyway, but of all the books I read of the author I thought it was telling a story of his life and what happened as he was a child, and how it was like growing up as a teenager and everything else. But by far the book was good and I enjoyed reading the book
So at the end Mick gives up his friends and tell his mother the entire thing on what happened that night. At first when he was in the investigatin room he didn't want to talk but when his mom told him to be a better man then his father and tell her the truth because if he doesn't confess he'll go to prison living a lie and his friends will get to walk away with nothing on their records. But at the end he did confess.
Setting of the book is it takes place in a town named Flint, and its school time in the morning and tehn goes from school to weekends of getting drunk.
Conflict:The crisis of the book is when mick and his friends were drinking one night and things got out of hand and his friends killed a homeless man for ripping them off. The next week or so the police find micks lighter and arrest him and his friends and the investagator is pressuring him to confess of what happened, and his mom and dad are there with him but he won't talk, until his mom comes and tells him either he confesses or he's no longer her son.
Characterization: The character "Mick" is always the type of boy who hides his face and that gets heartbroken when he loses a girlfriend and he likes to drink and get into trouble but he doesn't like lying to his mom about anything, if he had to tell his mom something he would go and tell her what he did and he wouldn't be like his father because his father cheated on his mom and never been a man and admitted that to him or his mom.
Theme: I think the book is really about his childhood maybe he didn't have a good childhood because of the three books i read all the characters were always getting into trouble for something, and always liked a guy or a girl who never liked them back. So the books all have to deal with the characters being alone and dark on the inside.
Strategies: I used predict, because I predicted that they were all going to get caught for killing the homeless man because someone had to have left something behind from when they were running away from the scene. I used visualization because when I first read that mick was in the ivestgating room I pictured him sitting there in the chair scared to do or say anything. I also used monitor because I felt that the situation he was in would only get worse if he didn't confess or say anything to anyone.
What I thought of the book: I thought the book was good, The book talked alot about sex,drugs and alcohol and mostly what all teenagers do sometimes I think anyway, but of all the books I read of the author I thought it was telling a story of his life and what happened as he was a child, and how it was like growing up as a teenager and everything else. But by far the book was good and I enjoyed reading the book
So at the end Mick gives up his friends and tell his mother the entire thing on what happened that night. At first when he was in the investigatin room he didn't want to talk but when his mom told him to be a better man then his father and tell her the truth because if he doesn't confess he'll go to prison living a lie and his friends will get to walk away with nothing on their records. But at the end he did confess.
April 28, 2022
it was an amazing book and would totally read it again.
May 10, 2011
CHEATED, written by Patrick Jones, tells a convincing story of a boy and his friends who on a November night make a decision that will stress their friendship to the limits. The story is told through the eyes of Mick Salisbury, a teenage boy suffering from a personal demon brought on by his father’s betrayal, a man who he calls his ex-dad. Mick and his friends Aeron and Brody commit a serious crime in which Mick can get out of being punished by testifying against them though his feelings of trust towards his friends keep him on the edge for a long time with no intention of jumping.
The author does a very good job connecting the reader to the main character, Mick by letting us read his thoughts. These almost soliloquies allow us to understand better just how Mick feels about the decisions he has made. Mick also has a life many people can connect to with a father who was unable to be a role model and influential friends though the influence is not a positive one the reader will still feel sympathy for Mick. There is a sturdy feeling of progression built by the connections that Mick’s past have with his present and future especial with his ex-girlfriend and his one-night-stand.
Though there are many good aspects to the book a few things to be wary of is that the author gives Brody a very controlling feeling almost as if he was meant to be the main character instead of Mick, this mix up in character importance leads to several moments where Mick just follows exactly what Brody does. The other thing that the author needs to work on is his style of speech in the book for there were a few times where i found myself rereading a section just to fully understand what is being said by who and what is being thought by Mick. I am not saying that the author is not good he just picked up to many levels of speech in his story. All in all this is a very compelling book with a tragic story and very good draw back making it a hard book to put down.
The author does a very good job connecting the reader to the main character, Mick by letting us read his thoughts. These almost soliloquies allow us to understand better just how Mick feels about the decisions he has made. Mick also has a life many people can connect to with a father who was unable to be a role model and influential friends though the influence is not a positive one the reader will still feel sympathy for Mick. There is a sturdy feeling of progression built by the connections that Mick’s past have with his present and future especial with his ex-girlfriend and his one-night-stand.
Though there are many good aspects to the book a few things to be wary of is that the author gives Brody a very controlling feeling almost as if he was meant to be the main character instead of Mick, this mix up in character importance leads to several moments where Mick just follows exactly what Brody does. The other thing that the author needs to work on is his style of speech in the book for there were a few times where i found myself rereading a section just to fully understand what is being said by who and what is being thought by Mick. I am not saying that the author is not good he just picked up to many levels of speech in his story. All in all this is a very compelling book with a tragic story and very good draw back making it a hard book to put down.
November 13, 2012
Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com
Three hard-partying fifteen year olds form a special friendship. Together, they try to cope with the problems they all face in their home lives. Trust is the bond that cements their friendship. But can this friendship, with even the strongest of bonds, survive the choices they made one dark November night?
Mick Salisbury and his friends, Brody and Aaron, all struggle with personal demons. Their fathers have not turned out to be the positive role models young boys deserve. One is dead, one is in prison, and the other betrayed his family and refuses to accept responsibility for devastating their lives. In response to their unsettled lives, the three boys have turned to rum and Coke and late nights out to ease their pain. Mick knows what they are doing carries a risk of consequence that may be more than he bargained for, but he is powerless to stop.
CHEATED tells about a series of events that lead to the tragic death of a homeless man, and the attempt to cover up the crime and avoid punishment. Author Patrick Jones takes readers into the mind of Mick Salisbury, where they will learn about a love for his devoted, hard-working mother and a hatred of the man he refers to as his ex-dad. Mick feels a sense of betrayal from his parents and a sense of self-betrayal as he deals with his role in this deadly mistake.
Written in a straight-forward, no-nonsense style, CHEATED will have teens and adults alike captivated by the thoughts and feelings of this tortured young man. Readers will no doubt feel a mix of sympathy and horror as a few short weeks of Mick's life unfold on the pages of this well-crafted YA novel.
Three hard-partying fifteen year olds form a special friendship. Together, they try to cope with the problems they all face in their home lives. Trust is the bond that cements their friendship. But can this friendship, with even the strongest of bonds, survive the choices they made one dark November night?
Mick Salisbury and his friends, Brody and Aaron, all struggle with personal demons. Their fathers have not turned out to be the positive role models young boys deserve. One is dead, one is in prison, and the other betrayed his family and refuses to accept responsibility for devastating their lives. In response to their unsettled lives, the three boys have turned to rum and Coke and late nights out to ease their pain. Mick knows what they are doing carries a risk of consequence that may be more than he bargained for, but he is powerless to stop.
CHEATED tells about a series of events that lead to the tragic death of a homeless man, and the attempt to cover up the crime and avoid punishment. Author Patrick Jones takes readers into the mind of Mick Salisbury, where they will learn about a love for his devoted, hard-working mother and a hatred of the man he refers to as his ex-dad. Mick feels a sense of betrayal from his parents and a sense of self-betrayal as he deals with his role in this deadly mistake.
Written in a straight-forward, no-nonsense style, CHEATED will have teens and adults alike captivated by the thoughts and feelings of this tortured young man. Readers will no doubt feel a mix of sympathy and horror as a few short weeks of Mick's life unfold on the pages of this well-crafted YA novel.
March 23, 2015
Overall Rating: ♔♔♔ (3.5)
Suspense Rating: ★★ (2.5)
Action: ➹➹ (2)
Drama: **** (4)
This is a story of about the repercussions of the bad decisions made by a few young men. The story is told from Mick's POV and he is troubled by the fact he caught his father cheating on his mother and has become obsessed with making sure not to hurt his mother like his father did. But he hides everything he does from her and it ends up backfiring when he makes a few too many wrong decisions. Mick is a good kid but he is overwhelmed with his need to impress others and his obsession with some of the girls in his classes. This leads him to cheat on his girlfriend, lose good friend and turn to alcohol. All of these seemingly innocent young mishaps turn out to make Mick look guilty of a crime that will ruin his entire adulthood.
This book was a little too teen centered for my tastes but would make a great read for my teen boys if I had any! Patrick Jones did a great job stuffing loads of information into a short book while still keeping the reading enjoyable. I loved how at the end of each chapter there was a flashback or memory that allowed you to better understand Mick and his thought patterns. Overall I am giving this book a lower rating because of the ending. It to me seemed the last part of the book was very rushed and anticlimactic.
For more reviews and to follow my current reading challenges please join me at http://redheadreadingaddict.blogspot....
Suspense Rating: ★★ (2.5)
Action: ➹➹ (2)
Drama: **** (4)
This is a story of about the repercussions of the bad decisions made by a few young men. The story is told from Mick's POV and he is troubled by the fact he caught his father cheating on his mother and has become obsessed with making sure not to hurt his mother like his father did. But he hides everything he does from her and it ends up backfiring when he makes a few too many wrong decisions. Mick is a good kid but he is overwhelmed with his need to impress others and his obsession with some of the girls in his classes. This leads him to cheat on his girlfriend, lose good friend and turn to alcohol. All of these seemingly innocent young mishaps turn out to make Mick look guilty of a crime that will ruin his entire adulthood.
This book was a little too teen centered for my tastes but would make a great read for my teen boys if I had any! Patrick Jones did a great job stuffing loads of information into a short book while still keeping the reading enjoyable. I loved how at the end of each chapter there was a flashback or memory that allowed you to better understand Mick and his thought patterns. Overall I am giving this book a lower rating because of the ending. It to me seemed the last part of the book was very rushed and anticlimactic.
For more reviews and to follow my current reading challenges please join me at http://redheadreadingaddict.blogspot....
July 2, 2009
Mick Salisbury has cheated, been cheated, and seen cheating being done. But now it's worse than ever--either sell out his friends for his personal gain or betray his mother by acting like his father. He can't lie, but he can't tell the truth.
Rewind! Mick is stuck in the interrogation room, his lawyer on one side, an investigator on the other. They both want to know the truth. A homeless man Mick and his two friends called "the Scarecrow" was murdered, and Mick's fingerprints were found at the crime scene. Mick is innocent of murder, but he knows what went down that night. The only thing stopping him from ratting out his buddies is his determination to be loyal.
What I found most interesting in this novel was Mick's view of the world. Unlike the saying "there are two sides to every story," Mick believed there were always three that completed a triangle. So his father betrayed his mother, he betrayed his father, and all that was left was for his mother to betray him.
Rewind! Mick is stuck in the interrogation room, his lawyer on one side, an investigator on the other. They both want to know the truth. A homeless man Mick and his two friends called "the Scarecrow" was murdered, and Mick's fingerprints were found at the crime scene. Mick is innocent of murder, but he knows what went down that night. The only thing stopping him from ratting out his buddies is his determination to be loyal.
What I found most interesting in this novel was Mick's view of the world. Unlike the saying "there are two sides to every story," Mick believed there were always three that completed a triangle. So his father betrayed his mother, he betrayed his father, and all that was left was for his mother to betray him.
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March 3, 2010 In this book there was a guy named Mick. Mick grew up without his father and lived with his mom. his mom and dad got a divorce. he always was mean to his mother but always new that he could treat her better. Mick and his friends always went out dricking almost every fiday. and on homecoming day he told his mom that he was going but instead went drinking with his friends. and during that mick spilt the beer and then they had no more beer. so mick suggested that they get so from this guy they call the scarecrow. When the scarecrow came back with the beer, he ripped off mick. so brody got out of control and started yelling at the scarecrow and started hitting him with a brick. He was dead. a couple of days latter the cops were at micks house. mick didnt want to rat out on his friends so he didnt say anything to the cops. finally he did and did not have to go to jail. but his friends did
i liked this book, because it keeped me reading. it was very intesting.
i liked this book, because it keeped me reading. it was very intesting.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 16, 2010
A gripping account of the events leading up to a teenager's arrest for murder, and the choice he has to make afterward as to whether to give up his friends and save himself from life behind bars. The three boys in the story were very well-drawn -- you didn't necessarily like them, but you could understand them and why they did what they did. Also well illustrated was the deep bonds of friendship teenagers have with each other. I will have to check out more of this author's work.
October 24, 2010
It was a great book. My favorite part of the book is when Mick, Brody and Aaron are at the club playing pool and Mick saw this pretty girl. When Mick started talking to her, her boyfriend came over and told Mick to back off. Brody was already drunk and he walked over to the guy, that told Mick to back off of his girlfriend and whacked him right in the collar bone. If you were to read it, it would be funny to you, if you understand it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 9, 2008
This one started out a little slow, but picked up momentum until the story was running at a breakneck pace halfway through. For this adult reader, what was coming was pretty clear, but the aftermath was not. A little reminisant of Cormier in the psychology involved. I enjoyed this book, but I think Chasing Tail Lights is Patrick's best so far. Here's to many more.
June 17, 2008
Patrick Jones always captures an authentic voice. When I was at Newark, the teens there loved his characters and this book will be welcome there for sure.
Reserve It
Reserve It
August 9, 2012
This book made me very uncomfortable. I had to read it in small bits because the main characters upset me so much with their decisions and the paths they paved for themselves. But that's what made it so good. I love this man's service philosophy professionally and his writing. Way to go, Patrick!
November 23, 2008
I really liked this book becuause it showed different quotes that I liked in the book. One quote that really stood out to me was "When you mess up, you know you've messed up, you got could just press a button, and whatever you did wrong would be undone, no life is not like that"
The book was basically just about a boy who lied and kept different secrets from his mom, and dad.
The book was basically just about a boy who lied and kept different secrets from his mom, and dad.
November 25, 2009
Mick has been cheated his whole life-whether it was at school, with luck with girls, or at home. Now, he gets cheated just a little and him and his friends do something far worse than you can imagine. Now they all face prison-except for the one who rats out his friends. Will Mick be the rat? Read it to find out!
June 12, 2011
It took me forever to finaly finish this book. The beginning was kind of boring but it got a lot better towards the end even though it moved quickly. The ending is a little bit confusing and I would've hated to be in Mick's position. My favorite parts of the book were when Mick would think what he wanted to say. It showed the real him and made you view him alot differently.
April 17, 2014
Many of my 8th grade students -- particularly the guys -- would find familiarity with Mick Salisbury in the beginning of the novel: divorced parents, relationship gone wrong, etc. The rest of the novel gets very serious for Mick and his friends, serving as a warning to quickly your life can spiral out of control based on a few seemingly harmless decisions.
July 27, 2015
I really wanted to like this book because the premise was very interesting. Unfortunately, it fell short. The plot was slow and the characters were extremely unlikable. Literally nothing interesting happened until the very end. The last 15 pages or so were the best part of the book (hence the second star). I'm surprised I even made it that far to be honest.
February 5, 2016
Although I have never liked a book with this much foul language (shocking to me since it's a teen novel) it had very valuable life lessons in it.
Story wise it flowed good characters were well rounded. The ending was great and sealed a positive spin on the whole book.
Not sure if I would recommend this to a young 12 year old reader but 16 and up I would say.
Story wise it flowed good characters were well rounded. The ending was great and sealed a positive spin on the whole book.
Not sure if I would recommend this to a young 12 year old reader but 16 and up I would say.
July 3, 2008
Mick is bitter and full of self-pity for himself because of his parents divorce and losing his girlfriend. His downward spiral intensifies with drinking and lying. The ending is particularly intense.
October 2, 2008
You're drinking with your friends and everything goes wrong when they kill a man who cheated them. What do you do? Your friends are the one stable part of your life. Would you ruin that by telling the truth? Would you go to prison to keep your promises?
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