Jake, Reinvented is a 2003 young adult novel written by Gordon Korman
In this reimagining of the American classic The Great Gatsby set in high school, football player Rick befriends Jake Garret, the new kid in town. Jake seems to have it all figured out. He throws a party every Friday, is the best kicker the football team has ever had and all the ladies want him. But who is Jake Garret really? One way or another, Rick is about to find out.
This Novel Contains Examples Of
- Adaptational Badass: Downplayed, but while Nick was a bond salesman and writer, Rick is a football player and is much more athletic.
- Adaptational Name Change: All the characters have their names changed from the original work. Nick becomes Rick, Jay Gatsby becomes Jake Garret, Tom Buchanan becomes Todd Buckley, Jordan becomes Jennifer, Daisy becomes Didi, George Wilson becomes Nelson, and Myrtle becomes Mellisa.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: Downplayed. While Todd is still a massive jerk and hypocrite, he lacks the racism Tom Buchanan exhibited.
- Age Lift: A given considering the high school setting.
- Ascended Extra: Dipsy the analog for the Owl Eyed Man has a bigger role in the story than his novel counterpart.
- Bittersweet Ending: Jake manages to avoid jail time but in accordance with the agreement he has to leave town until he's 21, and it's pretty clear he hasn't actually learned much from the experience because he's still pining for Didi even after she abandoned him. Rick gets off on a more optimistic note as he and Jennifer officially get together.
- Deadpan Snarker: Rick, much like Nick Carraway was.
- Did Not Get the Girl: Subverted. Unlike in the original novel where Jordan and Nick break up, Rick and Jennifer sort through their differences and start going out.
- Double-Meaning Title: The title of the book refers to how it's both a reinvention of the Great Gatsby and how Jake the character reinvented himself.
- Grievous Bottley Harm: When Nelson is choking out Jake, Didi smashes him on the head with a glass bottle. As listed in Surprisingly Realistic Outcome it's portrayed a lot more realistically than normal.
- High School AU: It's a take on The Great Gatsby set in high school
- Jerk Jock: Todd Buckley.
- Karma Houdini: Didi lets Jake take the fall for assaulting Nelson for her and gets away with it.
- Love Martyr: Jake takes the fall for Didi bashing Nelson on the head to save her from getting in trouble despite the fact Didi clearly wouldn't return the favor for him. She doesn't even show up to support Jake at his trial.
- Mythology Gag: The High School that Jake, Todd, and Rick attend is named after the author of the original Great Gatsby, Scott Fitzgerald.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Dipsy's real name is never revealed to the audience and Rick admits he forgot it.
- Parental Neglect: While not much is said about the relationship between Jake and his father, the fact his dad is away very often and doesn't seem to talk much to Jake speaks volumes about their relationship.
- Pragmatic Adaptation: A lot of things are understandable changed in order to better fit the new high school setting while still keeping the same general theme and story of the original. For example, Gatsby being a bootlegger is substituted with Jake writing people's college papers for money.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: All of Jake's efforts to win over Didi fail in the end, meaning he spent 2 years of his life preparing to woo her for nothing. As Rick sadly notes, he almost got away with it too.
- Single-Target Sexuality: Despite Rick pointing out Jake could have any girl he wants, Jake is determined to win Didi's heart.
- Skewed Priorities: At the very end the image Jake built for himself is coming apart, his house almost burns to the ground, is possibly risking jail time...and all he can think about is Didi.
- Spared by the Adaptation: The analogues for Jay, Myrtle and Wilson all live through the story, though Nelson does receive some brain damage after Didi knocks him on the head to save Jake.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Nelson is whacked on the head with a glass bottle. It causes him serious injury and possible brain damage.
- Unrelated in the Adaptation: While Nick and Daisy were distant cousins, Rick and Didi don't seem to have any family relationship.
- Wild Teen Party: Jake throws one every Friday in an attempt to impress Didi.
- Will They or Won't They?: Rick and Jennifer have had this dynamic since they were kids.
