Paranoid Park - by Blake Nelson (Paperback)

About the Book

In this dark psychological drama, a boy accidentally kills a security guard with his skateboard. It was self-defense, but there's no one to back up his story.

Book Synopsis

In the heart of a bustling city lies a mysterious skateboard park that hides a dark secret.

The inspiration for the major motion picture directed by Gus Van Sant (My Own Private Idaho, Good Will Hunting, and Milk)

"Nelson breaks new ground with this psychological thriller tracing the chilling consequences of an impulsive act of violence."--Publishers Weekly

"Nonstop page turning until the surprising conclusion."--Booklist

"[This novel] examines the chasm separating moral responsibility from the eternal damnation of keeping a horrible secret."--School Library Journal

It's called Paranoid Park for a reason. It's an outlaw skatepark where Streeters rule and Preps enter at their own risk. But when one Prep braves the scene alone, he gets mixed up in a fight that leaves someone dead. In the sleepless nights that follow, he decides to call the police. Then doesn't. He decides to tell his dad. But can't. Desperate and scared, he puts off making any decision at all. Maybe no one will ever find out. But when a cop appears at his school wanting to question skaters, the pressure begins to build . . . and whether he wants to or not, he'll have to come to a decision he can live with forever.

Review Quotes

"Nelson breaks new ground with this psychological thriller tracing the chilling consequences of an impulsive act of violence."--Publishers Weekly

"Nonstop page turning until the surprising conclusion."--Booklist

"Nelson's natural-sounding teen speak authentically grounds this story. . . . [This novel] examines the chasm separating moral responsibility from the eternal damnation of keeping a horrible secret."--School Library Journal

About the Author

Blake Nelson grew up in Portland, Oregon. His first love was books but he spent several years in his teens and twenties playing in bands.

Blake's first writing job was at Details magazine, where he wrote short humor pieces on the slacker lifestyle. His fiction remained unpublished until Sassy Magazine (cool girl magazine from the 90s) began publishing excerpts from his first novel.

These excerpts generated enough response to get his first novel GIRL published by Simon and Schuster. GIRL (1994) has since been translated into six foreign languages and was made into a feature film.

After GIRL, Blake published two more adult novels, EXILE (1997) and USER (2001). In 2003 he decided to try a Young Adult novel, (a book specifically for teens) and wrote THE NEW RULES OF HIGH SCHOOL. Since then he has published five YA novels, NEW RULES, ROCKSTAR SUPERSTAR, PROM ANONYMOUS, GENDER BLENDER, and PARANOID PARK.

His books have won numerous awards and continue to be translated around the world. A TV movie for GENDER BLENDER is currently in development at Nickelodeon. And PARANOID PARK, is being made into a film by Gus Van Sant and MK2 Productions.
Blake Nelson currently lives with his wife in Brooklyn, NY.