Schooled


Schooled by Gordon Korman is by far one of the best books I have read. It is about a hippie named Capricorn Anderson (Cap for short) who lives on garland farm with his hippie grandmother, Rain. Since he became an orphan as a result of his parents dying while on a peace mission. On Garland farm there are no electronics like computers, televisions, or even a home phone. Then one day, Rain falls out of a tree and needs to go into the city to the hospital. While Rain is at the hospital, a social worker, Mrs. Donnelly, takes care of Cap and sends him to a regular school something that Cap has never experienced before. Previously, Cap had been homeschooled by Rain.


When Cap goes to school, most of the eighth grade students pick on him, playing a prank by nominating and electing him for class president. As a class president Cap needs to know almost two thousand students by name and plan a dance, something Cap had never even heard of before. Meanwhile, Cap’s genuine spirit of forgiveness of others, regardless of their actions, change his classmates’ attitude toward him.


I would rate this book a ten on a scale of one to ten, ten being the best. I enjoyed the themes, one of which is how people nowadays will step on others to elevate their own status, only to find that one can gain the position but lose the respect and relationship with others. Another theme is how many people value temporary materialistic possessions rather then lasting relationships. In addition, Korman reinforces that popularity at school isn’t worth anything if it is at the expense of others. Last, but not least, is that people’s motivation should be driven by reaching out to others rather than to gain money, popularity, or recognition. I highly recommend this book to teens because it has and can be used to help better lives.