"Schooled" with Gordon Korman

Smart and capable, innocent and inexperienced (he learned to drive on the farm, but he has never watched television), long-haired Cap becomes the butt of pranks when he is thrust from a sheltered homeschool environment into a large middle school. Author Gordon Korman gives us glimpses into the reactions of an A-list bully, a Z-list victim, a popular girl, the school principal, and a football player (who unintentionally decks Cap twice in one day), and of course into Cap himself, who must determine if the values he has always held true still apply in this strange new world.

Capricorn "Cap" Anderson has never watched television. He's never tasted a pizza. Never even heard of a wedgie. Since he was little, his only experience has been living on a farm commune and being home-schooled by his hippie grandmother, Rain. But when Rain falls out of a tree while picking plums, and has to stay in the hospital, Cap is forced to move in with a guidance counselor and her cranky teen daughter and attend the local middle school.

Cap's long, ungroomed hair, hemp clothes, and Tai Chi practice on the lawn make him the strangest nerd in school. This is great news for Zach Powers, big man on campus. He can't wait to instate the age-old tradition at their middle school: the biggest nerd is nominated for class president—and wins, and is then deliberately driven crazy by the student body. When Cap is elected class president, he is more puzzled than ever. But as Cap begins to take on his duties, the joke starts to turn on Zach. Will Cap turn out to be the greatest president, or the greatest punchline, in the history of their school?

While Cap knows his academics, and a lot about tie-dyeing and Buddhism, no education could prepare him for the politics of public school. Cap is about to be "schooled." Or ... is it main-stream America that will learn a thing or two from Cap?

Praise

"rewarding ... features an engaging main character ... memorable ... comedy, tenderness, and reflection." — Booklist, starred review

About the Author

Born in Montreal in 1963, Gordon Korman has written more than fifty middle-grade and teen novels. Favorites include the New York Times #1 bestseller The 39 Clues: One False Note, The Juvie Three, Son of the Mob, Born to Rock, and Schooled. Though he didn't play football in high school, Gordon's been a lifelong fan and season ticket holder. He says, "I've always been fascinated by the 'culture of collision' in football and wanted to explore it—not just from the highlight films but from its darker side as well." Gordon is currently at work on his six-volume "On the Run" adventure series. He lives with his family on Long Island, New York.

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