Schooled by Gordan Korman
Audience: 11 and up
Rating: B+
Synopsis:
School, friends, pizza, tv, Starbucks… these may be part of everyday life for a normal teenager, but not for Capricorn Anderson. Cap has spent the first 13 years of his life living on a commune and being homeschooled, but now he’s forced to go to attend a public middle school. When Cap’s unusual looks and clothing make him the target of an elaborate teasing scheme, he’s not sure how to react, or even why others are being so mean.
Chatter:
(Spoiler Alerts! ) Great suggestion, Mrs. Schmidt’s class. This funny book reminds me a lot of Zen and the Art of Faking it too! They are both really funny and deal with kids trying to fit in at a new school. My favorite part of this book was when Cap gets so upset while watching Trigonometry and Tears that he’s talking to the TV and Sophie keeps yelling at him to stop. What was yours?
I liked how this book was told from different perspectives. In some ways, the different narrators were necessary to tell the story because Cap’s lack of worldly knowledge didn’t really make him the most reliable narrator. The reader needed to see how others were treating and viewing him to understand the whole story. One thing I did wonder, however, was if Cap fully understood how people were treating him differently and being meaner to him than to others. My guess is he didn’t, especially since he assumed that the spitballs were paper molecules that collected in his hair.
I was surprised how quickly Rain seemed to re-adapt to modern life. To show up in designer clothing and a Mercedes seemed a bit uncharacteristic. I would have predicted that she would buy a hybrid car and wear organic cotton sundresses. It seems extreme that she would go from completely invested in Garland to spending excessive money on luxury items. What did you think of her transformation?
Questions:
What will Cap miss most about the commune?
Do you think it was right for Rain to sell Garland?
Do you think C Average school will change Cap?
What lesson did the C Average students learn from Cap?
What should Zach and Hugh do now?
Keep reading!
-Paige
Mrs. Schmidt's class Says:
we think it was right and wrong to sell Garland. it was right to sell it because Cap got really used to the world outside Garland, but wrong because Cap and Rain were born there so it was probably hard for them to leave, especially since Cap was always thinking about Garland.