Schooled

by Gordon Korman

Overview

In this bestselling fish-out-of-water classic, a homeschooled kid must learn how to fit in at his new public school when he's elected to be class president as a prank.

Capricorn Anderson (Cap for short) has never watched a television show. He’s never tasted pizza. He’s never heard of a wedgie. And he has never, even in his wildest dreams, thought he’d live anywhere but the Garland Farm commune with his hippie grandmother and homeschool instructor, Rain.
 
But all this changes when Rain is stuck in the hospital and Cap is sent to Claverage Middle School (dubbed C Average by the kids). Cap doesn't exactly fit in at school, with his long, ungroomed hair and hemp clothes; in fact, he's the biggest nerd around. But when he’s elected eighth grade president as a joke, Cap is more puzzled than ever, and soon the joke grows into something more. Will Cap be the greatest president in the history of C Average or the biggest punch line?
 
Rife with Gordon Korman’s signature humor, Schooled is a heartwarming story about friendship, kindness, and finding your place—which may not always be where you think it is.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781423105169
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	08/26/2008
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	26,468
Product dimensions:	5.02(w) x 7.60(h) x 0.55(d)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Gordon Korman published his first book at age fourteen, and since then he has written more than one hundred middle-grade and teen novels. His favorites include the New York Times bestsellers The Fort, Linked, The Unteachables, and Restart. Gordon lives with his family on Long Island, New York. He invites you to visit him online at gordonkorman.com.

Editorial Reviews

Thirteen-year-old Capricorn "Cap" Anderson has only left the Garland Farm Commune (founded 1967) with his grandmother ("Rain") a few times for supplies. He doesn't know what TV is like, and he's never held money in his hand. When Rain falls from a plum tree and has to spend two months in the hospital, Cap gets his first real taste of the confusing, "real" world of 2007. Fortunately, his caseworker Mrs. Donnelly spent a few of her childhood years at Garland, and she knows what he's in for. Unfortunately, there's this tradition at Claverage (C-average) Middle School in which the eighth-grade class elects the strangest kid and biggest nerd to be Class President. They don't come any stranger than Cap, and Zach Powers and his clique do their level best to make Cap's life hell. Claverage gets a taste of peace, love and understanding it won't soon forget. Korman's novel narrated by the good, the bad and the only slightly involved is his usual smart, funny, slightly skewed realism. Tweens will definitely identify and could view their grandparents in a whole new light. (Fiction. 9-14)

Kirkus Reviews

"Korman’s novel...is his usual smart, funny, slightly skewed realism. Tweens will definitely identify."—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

Capricorn Anderson, raised in a commune, is a child of the ’60s—living in the 21st century. A full-cast production recounts his madcap transition from home school to public middle school. A number of characters tell the various parts of Cap’s story, including members of his foster family and his classmates. Cap himself offers precocious reflections on the problems with modern society. Cap’s character comes across as youthful and suitably naïve, but some of the other adolescent voices sound too old. None of the narrators stand out, but no weak performances mar a seamless, well-modulated production. Older children who enjoy their school stories with tons of humor and heart will warm to Cap’s story. C.A. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

APR/MAY 08 - AudioFile