The New Rules of High School

Fiction by Blake Nelson
Reviewed by Tricia S.
Not in the NVHS collection as of this post


Max Caldwell is the star writer for his school newspaper and has managed to receive straight A’s all through his high school career, but during his senior year everything seems to change. Max’s overachiever personality stoops to an all time low once he starts hanging out with the kids downtown, who don’t exactly put their smartest thinking into action when making choices. Yale is the college in mind but a car crash after driving home drunk might be the end to that dream. To top all this off Max is faced with conflict in his love life. Cindy and him had been going out for two years and all of a sudden everything changes between them and he has to decide what in his life takes priority. The Owl consumes nearly all of Max’s free time, since he became the editor of the paper. A mysterious and bold freshman takes her role as the writer for the social column, which everybody loves. She brings out a side of Max that he tries to hide for the longest time but cannot succeed.

Blake Nelson really portrays the mysterious life of an everyday American teenager to his best ability. This fiction really taught me a lot about how quickly the world can change around you if you let something slip. Not only did, The New Rules of High School give me advice on how to deal with these problems and the consequences while being a teenager, but it opened my eyes to the toll it can take on my future. I am recommending this strong and powerful novel to anyone who is interested in how to deal with problems they are having whether it be in school or outside in your family life.