If there's anything I learned from Capricorn Anderson it's that good values never go out of style.
Capricorn Anderson is the hero of Schooled by Gordon Korman. He grew up on a commune that was back from the sixties and he has never seen a television, eaten a pizza, or been to school. He knows how to drive though, and throughout the novel gets arrested three times for driving. Mind you, he is only thirteen.
When his grandmother and sole caregiver breaks her hip when she falls out of a tree while picking plums, Capricorn moves to the city and spends two months at a real school where he is exposed to all the realism and cruelty of modern North America. The school he goes to is called Claverage Middle School, but the students call it C Average, and they have a tradition: every year they elect the biggest "loser" as the school president. It's one big prank because they then make life very difficult for their elected president and completely enjoy watching him/her make a complete fool of themselves all year. Well this year, Capricorn gets elected class president. But really, if a kid showed up in your grade eight class wearing tie-dye and day glo with corn leaf sandles and long hair, we'd automatically think "LOSER" too, wouldn't we?
Capricorn doesn't get that it's a prank. He's naive. And as time goes on and he still doesn't realize that it's a prank--things just don't faze him, it doesn't occur to him that people are trying to hurt and degrade him because, to his mind, that would be completely unrealistic--his classmates try harder and harder to break him. What they're hoping to see is a huge nervous breakdown or something. But Capricorn with his innocence and good heart takes everything they dish out and turns it around and makes it good.
I loved this book. It was very refreshing to read a school comedy with so much heart. You know, usually school is portrayed with a lot of cynicism and negativity but Gordon Korman takes a very realistic approach to school in this book: it's like he's trying to say, "Yeah, man. School sucks, it's a terrible place ... BUT!!!! it doesn't have to be if you just approach it with the right kind of heart."
Capricorn Anderson is the hero of Schooled by Gordon Korman. He grew up on a commune that was back from the sixties and he has never seen a television, eaten a pizza, or been to school. He knows how to drive though, and throughout the novel gets arrested three times for driving. Mind you, he is only thirteen.
When his grandmother and sole caregiver breaks her hip when she falls out of a tree while picking plums, Capricorn moves to the city and spends two months at a real school where he is exposed to all the realism and cruelty of modern North America. The school he goes to is called Claverage Middle School, but the students call it C Average, and they have a tradition: every year they elect the biggest "loser" as the school president. It's one big prank because they then make life very difficult for their elected president and completely enjoy watching him/her make a complete fool of themselves all year. Well this year, Capricorn gets elected class president. But really, if a kid showed up in your grade eight class wearing tie-dye and day glo with corn leaf sandles and long hair, we'd automatically think "LOSER" too, wouldn't we?
Capricorn doesn't get that it's a prank. He's naive. And as time goes on and he still doesn't realize that it's a prank--things just don't faze him, it doesn't occur to him that people are trying to hurt and degrade him because, to his mind, that would be completely unrealistic--his classmates try harder and harder to break him. What they're hoping to see is a huge nervous breakdown or something. But Capricorn with his innocence and good heart takes everything they dish out and turns it around and makes it good.
I loved this book. It was very refreshing to read a school comedy with so much heart. You know, usually school is portrayed with a lot of cynicism and negativity but Gordon Korman takes a very realistic approach to school in this book: it's like he's trying to say, "Yeah, man. School sucks, it's a terrible place ... BUT!!!! it doesn't have to be if you just approach it with the right kind of heart."
amen! i loved this book - it was so funny and happy and good - even though poor cap had a lot of mean stuff thrown at him.
ReplyDeleteon top of the really refreshing flavour of this book, i'd just like to add that Gordon Korman's writing style is back to his MacDonald Hall BEST in this book. three cheers for Schooled!