Schooled

Reader reviewed by Kyra

(Cap)ricorn Anderson just doesn't fit in. Not that he is trying to. He lived in a hippie communtiy with his grandma Rain. When Rain hurts her hip, Cap is sent off to foster care until his grandma gets better. 

Reader reviewed by mearley

Schooled is the story of Capricorn Anderson, a teenager who grew up on a Hippie compound run by his grandmother, Rain.  He's never met anyone his own age and he's been sheltered from the "evils" of the outside world.  When Rain is seriously injured and taken to the hospital, Cap ends up living with a social worker and attending the local middle school.  Cap knows nothing about the social structure of school, and is totally unprepared for the cruel jokes played on him.  However, his social ineptness ends up working in his favor, and before long the entire student hierarchy is turned upside-down.

I think reluctant readers will be drawn to this because of the very short chapters and the differing viewpoints.  However, the average 8th grader will not have enough background knowledge to understand the Hippie philosophy that Cap has grown up with.  (Unfortunately, they will probably most identify with the bully, Zach.)  Also, some of the pop culture references are dated even though the book is only a few years old: The students play a tape instead of a CD or ipod at their school gathering, and Tom Cruise is mentioned as the hot actor of the day.  (Trust me, today's 8th graders are not interested in Tom Cruise at all!)

Reprinted here with author's permission.

Reader reviewed by Sara Zoe

This book can't help but raise comparisons to Stargirl, but unfortunately the comparisons leave Schooled at a loss. You've got the same sort of free spirit, home schooled kid that changes the hearts and minds of a school full of kids and let's them see the beauty of individuality yada yada yada. Truth be told, Schooled is simply not as good as Stargirl, though it is cute and fun and amusing.

Reader reviewed by mlecompt

Cap lives on a commune, but it's just him and his grandmother Rain left to run it. When Rain breaks her hip, Cap must live with an ex-commune member and her daughter while she recuperates and he gets his first real taste of life outside the commune. He goes to public school for the first time and seems destined to be an outcast, but his sixties attitudes start to sway his classmates from tormenting him to admiring him.

This book was okay. It reads really fast, and Cap's interactions with the daughter are interesting and seem real, but much of the book rang false. I found it hard to believe that an entire middle school would accept someone like Cap. Also, Rain's personality does a total 180 at the end of the book. I would recommend other Korman books over this one (especially No More Dead Dogs and Son of the Mob).