Blake Nelson
Photograph by Beth Rosenberg
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 His fiction remained unpublished until Sassy Magazine (cool girl magazine from the 90s) began publishing excerpts from his first novel.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.
I was born in Chicago and grew up in Portland Oregon. Growing up I lived on the edge of a big woods that I played in and built forts in. This forest was composed of tall evergreen trees that would sway majestically in the wind. My fondest memories of growing up was during stormy nights my buddies and I would hike through these woods while the trees whispered above us.
"Growing up in Oregon there was an environmental aspect to everything we learned or did as kids. Everyone there was keenly aware of the fact that we lived in an unspoiled area of the world, surrounded by great natural beauty. This theme of environmentalism is key to my book They Came From Below. As is the idea that all the creatures that live in the forest, or anywhere else in nature, are equal and have their own societies and communications among themselves.
"When I graduated from High School I went to Wesleyan University where there was a great tradition of activism and environmentalism though it was more cerebral than what I knew. I also learned to love the peculiar New England environments. This was also the first time I went to Cape Cod, where the book is set, and also got a feel for what a retired professor's life might be like.
"In New York in about 2001, I came upon a reading by Daniel Pinchbeck who writes about contemporary shaman culture. His book Breaking Open The Head, became an important influence. In it he suggests that all living beings, plants included, might have communicative powers that we are unaware of. This was the main influence on my book, They Came From Below. That and my love of interesting aliens-stories."
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Contributor: TOR Publishing
Reviews
Gender Blender
Blake Nelson
A cookie cutter "Freaky Friday" type of story for a new generation of readers. When estranged friends Tom and Emma bang heads while arguing they find themselves trapped in each others' sixth grade bodies. They must find a way to remain inconspicuous until they discover a way to switch back. The more laid back Tom must rush through Emma's hectic, activity-filled schedule, while Emma is aware of baseball tryouts looming in the near future. Along with the general mastering of daily routines, this boy-girl switch leads to an interesting array of knowledge and self-exploration for both genders at the height of adolescent changes. Both characters discover some new and, at times inappropriate, bodily experiences. From struggles with the opposite sex to rumors, friends, school, and sports, long time friends, Tom and Emma, need to find a way to switch back before they run out of time. While this book touches on many issues that young preteens may be curious about, parents please beware that there are some more mature topics brought up in an otherwise childish story. 2006, Delacorte Press/Random House, $17.99 and $15.95. Ages 10 up. Reviewer: Jeanna Sciarrotta (Children's Literature).
Best Books:
Publishers Weekly Book Review Stars, February 6, 2006; Cahners; United States
ISBN: 0-385-74696-2
ISBN: 0-385-90937-3
ISBN: 978-0-385-74696-0
ISBN: 978-0-385-90937-2
The New Rules of High School
Blake Nelson
Max Cadwell is at the end of his junior year in high school. It seems like he has everything he needs and is exactly the person he should be. Suddenly he decides to break up with his supposedly perfect girlfriend, and he is not even sure why. Max makes a couple of new friends--Eleanor the mysterious girl, Lydia the outgoing freshmen and Jill St. John the radical environmentalist. As the editor of his school paper, Max begins to learn about the different types of people in his high school. The book follows Max through his senior year with a brief epilogue. This book is a wonderful account of the emotional changes a sixteen-year-old can end up dealing with. Max has a pretty normal life by most accounts, but he still struggles with certain issues. While the writing style is directed at a slightly younger audience, the topics of college, relationships, sex and alcohol are more directed at preteens. 2003, Viking/Penguin Group, $16.00. Ages 12 up. Reviewer: Caroline Haugen (Children's Literature).
Best Books:
The Children's Literature Choice List, 2004; Children's Literature; United States
Middle and Junior High School Library Catalog, Ninth Edition, 2005; H.W. Wilson; United States
Middle and Junior High School Library Catalog, Supplement to the Eighth Edition, 2004, 2004; H.W. Wilson; United States
Publishers Weekly Book Review Stars, June 23, 2003; Cahners; United States
Recommended Teen Books, 2003; Bank Street College of Education; United States
State and Provincial Reading Lists:
South Carolina Young Adult Book Award, 2005-2006; Nominee; South Carolina
ISBN: 0-670-03644-7
Paranoid Park
Blake Nelson
Paranoid Park is a dangerous skating location where street people and the homeless rule; it's not a park where Preps go to hang out. One day, a 16-year-old boy from the "right side" of the tracks not only finds himself in Paranoid Park, but in the middle of a fight that leads to the death of a security guard on the railroad tracks. The boy doesn't know what to do, or how to find his way out of this nightmare, so he writes a series of letters that begin with the statement, "I don't know how to start." He hopes no one will ever find out he was involved. Yet this hope is crushed when he has to go to the principal's office to speak with a policeman. The pressure begins to build, and the young man loses confidence. Should he pretend like he had no involvement? Will someone who was there that night tell the police? Who can he trust or confide in? Blake Nelson offers a thoughtful, suspense-filled story that takes the reader through the spiraling life of an average teenager who finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, making choices that will affect his life forever. 2006, Viking/Penguin Group, $15.99. Ages 11 up. Reviewer: Suzanna E. Henshon, Ph.D. (Children's Literature).
Best Books:
Book Sense Children's Picks, Winter 2006/2007; American Booksellers Association; United States
Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Readers, 2007; YALSA; United States
ISBN: 0-670-06118-2
ISBN: 978-0-670-06118-1
Prom Anonymous
Blake Nelson
How can you be anonymous at prom? Unless you are a ghost, it would be pretty difficult. Laura, Jace, and Chloe have been friends for a long time. When they got to high school, they grew apart. Laura, the ultimate planner, decides that it would be fun to all go to prom together. Little does she realize it may be a more difficult plan than she imagined. First there is Jace, who wants to go to prom with the new guy--Paul. Paul is shy and on the tennis team. Unfortunately, two problems arise. First, Jace just can't seem to get the courage to ask Paul out, and second, Paul gets sick if he's around too many people. Do they hook up for prom? You will have to read it to see. Then there is Chloe. She's a bit of a geek without a date and does not even want to go to prom. After some mild coaxing, she jumps on board (much to her friends and family's delightful surprise). Chole suggests that Jace and Laura find her a date. Meanwhile, Laura does not seem to have time to take care of herself and her long-term relationship. Is her boyfriend seeing someone else? After all this work, Laura's idea might just be an idea. This book deals with mature issues like drinking, sex, and relationships. 2006, Viking/Penguin, $16.99. Ages 15 to Adult. Reviewer: Kelly Grebinoski (Children's Literature).
ISBN: 0-670-059455
ISBN: 978-0-670-05945-4
Rock Star Superstar
Blake Nelson
Pete is in high school and a bass player in a band. He is invited to play for another band, but he thinks their music is terrible and the lead members are not professional. Pete does not want to join, but when he decides to play with them, he feels their music has a unique beat. He also gets a girlfriend. Sex is dealt with in a very open, casual, but sincere manner. Pete and Margaret mutually agree and use a condom. He remains loyal to Margaret on trips with the band and when the couple temporarily break up and he has sex with another girl, it is devoid of feeling and has no meaning. He would rather be back with Margaret. Dialogue is vague and full of high school lingo. Peter tries to dress in "cool" clothes when part of the band. Margaret and Pete make out and "do other stuff." When the music that he first thought was bad becomes a "confused, noisy, mess," the audience goes wild. The story ends with the two "amateur" members of the band forming a new group while Peter and his friend, Kevin, are left behind. Not all is lost, however. He gets back with Margaret. In this coming of age novel, Pete experiences his first sex and gets recording experience with a band and in the end accepts what he has learned and knows there is more to come. 2004, Viking/Penguin Young Readers Group, $16.99. Ages 15 to 18. Reviewer: Janet L. Rose (Children's Literature).
Best Books:
Best Books for Young Adults, 2005; American Library Association YALSA; United States
Best Children's Books of the Year, 2004; Bank Street College of Education; United States
Capitol Choices, 2005; The Capitol Choices Committee; United States
Publishers Weekly Book Review Stars, September 20, 2004; Cahners; United States
Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Readers, 2005; American Library Association YALSA; United States
Senior High School Library Catalog, Sixteenth Edition, 2005 Supplement, 2005; H.W. Wilson; United States
ISBN: 0-670-05933-1
They Came From Below
Blake Nelson
Seventeen-year-old Emily is thrilled to be spending the summer with her scientist dad on Cape Cod. Her vacation starts on an odd note when a mysterious white blob washes up on the beach, drawing the attention of local scientists and police. But she soon loses herself in the hunt for guys and parties with her best friend Reese. When they meet Steve and Dave, handsome exchange students from Germany, the girls think they have found perfect boyfriends, but it soon becomes clear that something odd is going on: Steve and Dave are connected in some way to the blob on the beach and the increasing number of strange incidents around town. The truth about Steve and Dave is beyond the wildest leaps of Emily's imagination. In getting to know Steve and Dave and witnessing their communion with all forms of life, Emily sees the stark contrast between their lives and the way that humans live with antagonism and aggression toward the environment. Tight, fast-paced prose makes this book appear deceptively simple; in actuality, it is a deep and sad contemplation of humans' relationship with the world and other forms of life. Though Nelson never dives overtly into religion, there are distinctly mystical, quasi-Buddhist undertones to some of his statements about life, death, and human purpose. This would be a great literature tie-in for a unit on environmental studies. 2007, Tom Doherty Associates, Age 13 up, $17.95. Reviewer: Stephanie Guerra (Children's Literature).
ISBN: 0-765-31423-1
ISBN: 978-0-765-31423-9
Added 07/02/07
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