From Goodreads: There is a mysterious new student at Fitzgerald High, Jake Garret. He seems to have it all figured out. He looks like he just stepped off the cover of the J. Crew catalog, he is the best kicker the football team has ever had, and best of all, he hosts the party to go to 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 alpha male and quarterback, Todd Buckley . As Jake’s friend Rick gets to know him, he at first admires him, then starts to like him, but soon grows to fear for him as he learns Jake’s dangerous secret. From beloved young adult author Gordon Korman, comes a new look at age-old themes about popularity, acceptance, and human nature.
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I originally picked up this novel when I was researching books about sports for my male students. I’m not really interested in football, by any means, but I was really hoping this would be a great football read for students. Unfortunately, it’s not as much about football as it is about throwing vast parties with lots and lots of alcohol, lies, and making out. The library catalog made this novel out to be more or less about the sport, and that’s what I was looking for. That, and the mystery about who Jake really is, which I did find intriguing. But, I thought the big reveal was a little bit of a letdown. I was really thinking it was going to be a big drastic exposure, but it became plain to see the twist prior to it actually being revealed, and it wasn’t all too drastic, in my opinion. People reinvent themselves all the time, and Jake, honestly, is no different.

While I did enjoy this novel, Jake drove me up the wall, especially at the end—he’s a bit… psycho, if you ask me. Which may be the big idea of Jake reinventing himself in the first place. However, I didn’t care for the end of the novel and the way everything panned out, what with the innocent taking the blame and the guilty getting away. Hopefully that doesn’t give away any spoilers, but I don’t think it does. Overall, this was a decent read, but it wasn’t what I expected. Three stars.

I borrowed this novel from the library.