Jake CoburnCritiques

Although some might feel as though this was a "depressing" book, it dabbled on some problems that many teens face. I felt that it was real, with vulnerable aspects.

Trust-fund thugs run amok in Manhattan. Over the course of a weekend Nick professes his love to Kris, one of his best friends, and has to bail her brother Danny out of trouble with the MKII gang after he was caught messing with the gangleader's girlfriend. Nick's been out of the life for awhile and really doesn't want to get involved anymore. But Nick is haunted by the time he witnessed his friend Kodak being stabbed by gang members and he froze, unable to jump in and help. Helping Danny out is his way of repenting and putting closure on his old gang lifestyle. Scenes with Kris drag. "Catcher in the Rye" with a hip-hop vibe.

Ted is a former basketball player whose life was turned upside down when he lost his college scholarship, and Erica is a bulimic girl from a wealthy family, determined to go to college despite her father unease about her moving out. Their paths cross when Erica’s father offers Ted the opportunity of a lifetime: keep an eye on Erica and have your college tuition paid for. Through a mix of narrative and e-mail correspondence between characters, readers are taken on the emotional roller coaster that is addiction, and does not shy away from controversial issues like alcoholism and bulimia. Rather than alluding to them, he says them up front: the reader is inside Erica’s head as she binges and purges, seeing her thought process and the euphoria she experiences throughout. The reader is exposed to an accurate depiction of college life, parties, hook ups, explicit language, and all. Love and addiction are not the only elements, though. The two main characters are deeply developed and become rather humorous. Because of their complexity there is an element of suspense toward the end. Coburn does not gives clues as to how the story will end, leaving readers guessing until the last two pages. Readers who are thirsting for love, lust, struggle, controversy, mystery and suspense—here it is!

Ted was a star basketball player with an Ivy League scholarship until he lost his knee in a drunk driving accident. Erika is the only child of a millionaire who has a bingeing problem, but still wants to attend the same Ivy League school. So through an intermediary, Erika's dad offers Ted a scholarship of his own, with one criteria - he has to spy on Erika. Coburn brings together two characters with addictions, and helps them through the recovery process through their love for each other. I liked the rough love story, but kept reading because I knew this huge lie was between them and wondered how it would be resolved. Coburn comes up with a good, messy resolution which is true to the characters and their lives. Well written and not as popular as it should be. I'll start recommending it.

After Ted York's drunk driving accident, he ruined his dreams for getting a basketball scholarship. While attending AA meetings, Ted thinks that nothing is going to get better. Then a man, with a daughter of bulmia, offers him a chance to go to college that'd be pay for as long as he watches his daughter. When Ted meets her though, he finds out that just watching her isn't all that he wants.½

Anthony Gonzales
EDCI 4120

Coburn, J. (2003). Prep. New York: Penguin.

Grade Levels: 9-12
Category: Realistic fiction
Read-Alouds: pp. 5-10 (An introduction to Nick and his first flashback of his life style), 15-20 (Jim and his feelings towards Kris), 112-116 (The struggle to get Danny's issue settled), 175-182 (Gregs departure and the beginning of Nick and Kris' beginning)

Summary: Prep is about a boy named Nick who attends a private school in Manhattan. Nick just got out of the gangs that he was involved in and gave up his street name Thet. He was in love with a girl named Kris who was still talking to her ex-boyfriend. He tried to impress her, but he could not get passed the “big brother” label. Soon, Kris’ younger brother got into some trouble with a rival gang. Nick was determined to help, but he was risking his own life to help him out. He does everything he could and began talking to rival leaders as well as his old crew. After a nasty fight, the feud is finally over, and when Nick was walking home, he decided to go visit Kris.

Themes: This novel teaches the dangers of gangs. Even though these gangs involve prep schools, the dangers are the same as a street gang in East L.A. It teaches how hard it is to get out once in a gang. This novel is a perfect read for teachers teaching about drug abuse as well. This novel can show students the dangers of alcohol and substance abuse as well as the harmful effects they have.

Discussion Questions: Do you think that gangs really exist within prep schools?
Kris is an important character in this novel, but do you think that Nick was wasting his time with this one girl?
How do you think that so many prep school students could hide their “gang” relations so well and how was it provoked?


Reader Response: This novel was kind of hard to relate to because I was really never involved in any gang violence or substance abuse. I think that I related more to Nick and Kris’ relationship. I have been in situations where I really liked a girl, but could not get past the “big brother” label either. It still happens today, and I have learned to accept that and also go along with it and tell myself that I’d much rather keep them as a friend than take it to the next level, have something go wrong and never speak to them again.

Prep is a unique look into the disturbing subculture of wealthy Manhattan prep school gangs. These gangs are explored through the eyes of Nick, a former graffiti artist, who quit after witnessing too much violence. He decides to get involved with the gangs again, and risks his life to help Danny, the brother of a girl he is in love with.

This book is brutally realistic in its portrayal of the harshness of street gangs. What is unique about Prep is that the gangs are wealthy, prep school boys who would not stand a chance if they came up against other gangs that are outside of their small area of Manhattan. This point is briefly mentioned in the book. This book can be useful in the classroom in conjunction with S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders because the prep hoods are really a twenty-first century Soc gang.

This is a very good book which describes what really goes on with NYC prep school kids. It goes on to follow the journey of one boy who wants to get out of the vicious cycle of weekend parties with drugs and alcohol. It is a very good story.