Wednesday, 5 March 2025

Jake, Reinvented - Gordon Korman

Old School
Gordon Korman
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
ISBN 9781484798423
eISBN 9781423141136
ASIN B00BXQCHWY

Jake, Reinvented - Gordon Korman Current Cover

This book was originally published in 2003 by Scholastic, in has been through numerous reprint since then, The currently available editions are from Little, Brown Books. According to Goodreads there are 20 editions and versions of this volume across at least 4 publishers. Unfortunately the eBook edition is not currently available in Canada. My introduction to Korman’s works was the 39 Clues back in 2009. Since then I have read 55 of his books. Just over half way thorough his canon, but with each one I read I am entertained and often challenged. And I do plan on trying to read them all. My son, who is 17 often, reads these books to me or with me, and he still loves them. 

A description of this volume states:

“There is a mysterious new student at F. Scott Fitzgerald High. Jake Garrett looks like he's stepped out of a J. Crew ad, he's the best long-snapper the football team has ever had, and he hosts the party every Friday night.

All the guys want to be like him, and all the girls want to date him, but Jake only has eyes for Didi, the girlfriend of quarterback Todd Buckley.

Rick Paradis, kicker and back-up QB, tries to stay out of the drama, but that's easier said than done at Fitzgerald High, especially once he gets to know Jake. But it turns out nobody knows the real Jake, and when his secret comes out, his perfectly crafted world might come tumbling down.

In this modernization of The Great Gatsby, beloved author Gordon Korman provides a new look at age-old truths about the desire for popularity and acceptance, and the darker side of human nature

"A compelling investigation of the transience of charisma and the flimsy underpinnings of popularity."
     -Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Korman's reworking of The Great Gatsby places theaction in a modern framework, which makes it more recognizable for today'sreaders and may lead them to the classic. Teens will find deeper issues toconsider about popularity, being true to one's self, and taking responsibilityfor one's actions as they relate to the setting and characters."
     -Booklist.”

This story is an excellent read and one of only a handful of Young Adult novels published to date by Korman. I can be honest and state I never expected a Kegger party, and massive underage drinking in a Korman novel but he really pulls it off masterfully. From the beginning you know the story would be a train wreck. But the premise of the story and how Korman crafted the story is masterful. 

It is another excellent offering from Korman’s masterful pen. I just wish there was an eBook edition available in Canada, I have a dual form of dyslexia and my son has eye tracking issues and we both prefer digital books. A great read I can easily recommend for more mature readers, it is defiantly YA and not MG literature! 

Books by Gordon Korman:
MacDonald Hall Series:
         (formerly The War With Mr. Wizzle)
The Zucchini Warriors (1988)
Light’s Camera, Disaster (1991)
          (aka Macdonald Hall Goes Hollywood)
The Jokes on Us (1995)
          (formerly Something Fishy at Macdonald Hall)

Bugs Potter Series:

Jeremy Bloom Series:
The D−Poems of Jeremy Bloom (1992)
The Last-Place Sports Poems of Jeremy Bloom (1996)

Monday Night Football Series:
The Quarterback Exchange (1997)
Running Back Conversion (1997)
Super Bowl Switch (1997)
Heavy Artillery (1997)
Ultimate Scoring Machine (1998)
NFL Rules! Bloopers, Pranks, Upsets, and Touchdowns (1998)

Masterminds Series:
Masterminds (2015)

Slapshots Series:
The Stars From Mars (1999)
All-Mars All-Stars/The Dream Team (1999)
The Face-off Phony (2000)
Cup Crazy (2000)
Ouch I got slapped (2023)
4-in-1 Slapshots: The Complete Collection (2008)

Nose Pickers Series:
Nose Pickers from Outer Space! (1999)
Planet of the Nose Pickers (2000)
Your Mummy Is a Nose Picker (2000)
Invasion of the Nose Pickers (2001)
4-in-1 The Ultimate Nose-Picker Collection (2006)

Island Series:
Shipwreck (2001)
Survival (2001)
Escape (2001)
3-in-1 Island Trilogy Collection (2006)

Son of the Mob Series:
Son of the Mob 2: Hollywood Hustle (2004)

Everest Series:
The Contest (2002)
The Climb (2002)
The Summit (2002)
Everest Trilogy Box Set (2002)

Dive Series:
The Discovery (2003)
The Deep (2003)
The Danger (2003)

On the Run Series:
The Stowaway Solution (2005)
Public Enemies (2005)
Hunting the Hunter (2006)

Kidnapped Series:
The Search (2006)
The Rescue (2006)

Swindle Series:
Swindle (2008)
Zoobreak (2009)
Framed (2010)
Showoff (2012)
Hideout (2013)
Jackpot (2014)
Unleashed (2015)
Jingle (2016)

Titanic Series:
Unsinkable (2011)
Collision Course (2011)
S.O.S (2011)

The 39 Clues Series:
Vespers Rising (2011)
The Medusa Plot (2011)
Flashpoint (2014)

Hypnotists Series:
The Hypnotists (2013)
Memory Maze (2014)
The Dragonfly Effect (2015)

Ungifted Series:
Ungifted (2012)
Supergifted (2018)

Slacker Series:
Slacker (2016)
Level 13 (2019)
...

Non Series Books:
The Chicken Doesn't Skate (1996)
Maxx Comedy: The Funniest Kid in America (2003)
Born To Rock (2006)
Schooled (2007)
Pop (2009)
Restart (2017)
Notorious (2019)
War Stories (2020)
Game On (contains The Chicken Doesn’t Skate and The Toilet Paper Tigers (2021)
Unplugged (2021)
Linked (2021)
The Fort (2022)
Jake, Reinvented - Gordon Korman Original Cover

Jake, Reinvented - Gordon Korman Current Cover

Jake, Reinvented - Gordon Korman Rebranded Cover

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