Customer Reviews

Don't Care High

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

All of Gordon Korman's work is a variation on the Bruno and Boots theme: two boys, one timid and responsible, the other adventurous, imaginative, and maybe crazy, forge a friendship. The Boots character never changes much, so I suppose that that's what Korman's really like. The Bruno character has a greater range, and that range is an exploration of the imaginative, "crazy" trait. In Bruno, this craziness takes the adolescent form of juvenile rebelliousness. Sometimes the craziness resembles genius, as in Bugs Potter, that kid from I Want To Go Home, and that money-maker from No Coins Please (I forget the names); sometimes it's closer to delusional, as in Our Man Weston and Raymond Jardine. At the heart of this craziness, is, I think, an unwillingness to be part of society. As Korman got older, Bruno's rebelliousness became in other characters ways of rejecting or escaping the world. Mike Otis, in Don't Care High, is the closest Korman ever came to writing about what this craziness really is. Otis is absolutely unable to comprehend reality, or maybe he just can't deal with it, so he creates his own. He builds his own car from scratch; his self-sufficiency is mystifying to all who witness it. He's totally alone in his reality, and that's the key to Korman: his most imaginative character is his loneliest. I wonder whether this may have been a hard book for Korman to write. There's this terrific and moving scene, in which all the students of Don't Care High gather to consider Mike (I won't give away any details). A lot of Korman's books have great scenes near the end, and there's always a lot going on in them, so they tend toward the spectacular, the crowd-pleasing. But this scene seems more... I don't know. Religious, maybe. I know that sounds like a weird thing to say. It's the only thing I can come up with. Anyway, Korman was one of my favorite childhood authors, and I think this book is his purest, that is, it comes closest to what he always wanted to do. Bruno is fascinating to Korman, because I think that Korman is probably Boots, an essentially timid guy who watches and is caught up in the adventures of others. But deeper than that, I think he's fascinated by that "crazy" quality of rejecting or escaping the world. He's not going to do it, but he may want to.

I have read this book at least twice a year ever since I discovered it in 9th grade. Almost 10 years later, I still think it is the funniest, most honest book about the alienation every kid feels in high school, and people that you wished were by your side through it - not because they were perfect or always knew exactly what to say, but because they were more human than most of the people you had to go to school with. I remember reading the book out loud to my mother on car trips, and she stole the book from me just so she could read it faster, she liked it so much. It transcends age groups.

This book is great for young adults, I was sixteen when I read it. I began under what I think is the best possibly condition: I had no idea what it was about or what to expect. Someone had suggested the author to be becase of his humor, so I got a copy of what I could find...let's just say my copy didn't exactly have a cover.

I was hooked from the start and finished the whole thing in a few straight hours, which is a rare occurance for me. Gordon Korman really knows how to spin an engaging and creative story, with plenty of laughs and an interesting cast of characters. The story is about a weird high school full of kids who just don't care, they're semi-zombies oblivious to almost everything around them, because they just don't care. I know it sounds crazy. Our hero is new in town and has just transferred to this stange school. I won't spoil the rest for you, the surprises are what make the story so much fun to read. I'll definitely be grabbing any other young adult books I can find by the author.

When Paul Abrams moves to NYC from Saskatoon, Saskatchawan, he finds that things are not as he thought. His school, Don Carey High (dubbed Don't Care High), is just as crazy as its nickname. Along with his new friend Sheldon Pryor, they decide to turn the dead school into the best known in the area.

I discovered Gordon Korman in Jr. High and now as a college student his books continue to make me laugh. Often out loud. This book is classic Gordon Korman, and I think anyone would find it worth reading over and over again.

This is a tale of teenage apathy taken to its most extreme point and the mission of several students to change the world around them; to make their fellow students care about their school. It begins as a joke and grows into a mission.

As usual, Korman manages to mix realistic teenage attitudes with slightly absurd situations - no school like this could really function. The characters get into situations that are impossible, but they do it in probable ways. Korman is the master of the snowballing disaster - one small thing inevitably leads to chaos.

This book is among his best along with 'Son of Interflux' (my personal favorite), 'A Semester in the Life of a Garbage Bag', and 'I Want to Go Home'.

this book may be absolutely perfect! the story of a misplaced transfer student coping with the most apathetic high school ever created is fantastic! paul, our hero, and sheldon, his guide to "don't care high" create a fictional persona for the most apathetic student in the high school and use it to transform the lives of everyone around them. even the side stories of auntie nancy and her disasters in suburbia and the outrageous neighbors outside paul's windows are unforgettable! read this book as soon as you can get your hands on it!

Fantastic!That just about sums it up,but since I have to tell you why...Well, first of all it's humor isn't stupid,disgusting or dry.It is however simple,straight-forward,clean and...well FUNNY! Which as strange as it may sound is growing harder to find.The plot is so...um different you won't be able to guess this books ending.For these reasons and a few more ,this book is highly recommendable!

Although I have read all of Gordon Korman's books this is my favourite! I had the privilege of meeting Gordon at my elementary school about seven years ago and he is as funny in person as he is in his books. Don't Care High is priceless. Paul, Sheldon, Daphne and the others ESPECIALLY MIKE are some once in a lifetime characters. Although A Semester in the Life of a Garbage Bag, Son of Interflux and all his others books are treasured by my entire family, this and I Want to Go Home! are our favourites. MacDonald Hall rules too.

Though I'm in my 20s, I've kept more or less up to date with Korman. I consider this Korman's last funny book. He was starting to get weaker even before this book was published (such as "No Coins, Please"), but he somehow managed a last gasp.

One interesting thing about this book is that though it still shows Korman's weakness as a writer (it's another collection of vignettes made into a story), the vignette angle is less obvious, and the central story is stronger. There are also some very interesting characters. For some reason, I found the character of Mike Otis fascinating, and I still wonder about him to this day. Credit to Korman for managing to make this "boring" character so memorable.

While this isn't Korman's greatest work (that would go to "I Want To Go Home", it's still funny enough that fans will enjoy it. However, anything Korman published after this book is to be avoided, except maybe for the newer Bruno & Boots books.

This is a wonderful book. I bought it ten years ago and I still love it. Gordon Korman is a comedic genius.