Jake, Reinvented

Jake, Reinvented retells the American literary classic The Great Gatsby (1925) through the lens of the modern high school experience. Canadian author Gordon Korman published Jake, Reinvented in 2003, and the American Library Association named it one of that year’s Best Books for Young Adults. Korman is a prolific writer for children and young adults, having published over 100 books over his four-decade career as an author.

Korman’s adaptation of The Great Gatsby brings that narrative about the 1920s into the 21st century, making the original novel’s characters and themes accessible to a modern audience. By reinterpreting the original narrative, Korman’s teenage story reveals the persistence of The American Dream, the struggle of Appearance Versus Substance, and the dangers of overindulgence, whether that be in the Jazz Age or in a modern world of High School Hedonism.

This guide uses the 2013 Kindle e-book edition of Jake, Reinvented for its references and page numbers.

Content Warning: The novel and this guide discuss abortion.

Plot Summary

The novel opens with Rick Paradis—a high school senior and the story’s narrator—as he attends an unsupervised teenage house party hosted by a mysterious newcomer to the school named Jake.