Customer Reviews

Tales of the Madman Underground

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Karl Shoemaker has one goal for his senior year: be normal. He plans on taking it one day at a time, and his quest for normalcy includes letting go of the abnormal in his life. This involves intentionally avoiding his best friend Paul, actually taking college-track classes, meeting new people (girls especially), stopping enabling his alcoholic mother, and staying afloat with his five jobs. Above all else, Karl is looking to punch his ticket out of what he believes is really holding him back: group therapy.

For some reason, teachers in the '70s thought school-mandated therapy was the best response for kids with problems. With 17 counselors (and counting) over the past five years or so, the Madman Underground certainly has their share of problems. One of the members talks to a stuffed rabbit she carries around, another has crying jags over the littlest things, and the file grows thicker for every other person in the group. Not even a brand new member, a girl named Marti who Karl immediately hits it off with, can keep Karl from wanting to return to the place where "normal" is left at the door. Karl wasn't always a part of group therapy, though, and he believes there is hope for leaving Lightsburg, Ohio --- and his family's past --- behind.

The Shoemaker name is famous in Lightsburg, and no one will let Karl forget it. His father, Doug, was a widely popular mayor until an unfortunate political scandal and then an even more untimely death. His mother never quite recovered, and her already heavy drinking led to full-blown alcoholism. Karl never knows what kind of mother will show up on a daily basis and usually manages to tiptoe around her drunken rages. He spends most of his time checking his hidden money caches for IOU's from his mother and cleaning up the mess of her numerous cats. He cannot wait for the day that he can leave his family scandal behind, but first he must finish his senior year.

TALES OF THE MADMAN UNDERGROUND covers the first six days of Karl's senior year with numerous flashbacks to cover the history of every situation. He is enticed with a get-out-of-group-therapy card from one his teachers, which falls perfectly into his Operation: Be Normal plan. As the days progress, he continually struggles with his desire to overcome his shortcomings and the fact that his identity is firmly planted with the other madmen. Where do his allegiances lie, and was there ever really a possibility that he actually could be normal?

John Barnes never shows whether or not group therapy in school is effective, but he does help readers realize the power of friendship in healing some of life's problems. The author also shows us that no matter how much we hope or try, it is sometimes impossible to escape who we really are and that is not necessarily horrible. If you're looking for an upbeat story of a teenager beating the odds, TALES OF A MADMAN UNDERGROUND isn't necessarily your book. Instead, it is a realistic look at how teenagers cope with whatever life has dealt them.

--- Reviewed by Benjamin Boche

Karl Shoemaker is a high school senior with a plan to be normal in order to avoid being assigned to group therapy for his last year of high school. The glitch in his plan is that it involves avoiding his fellow Madmen and Karl's heart is too big to abandon his friends. His friends are disturbed and desperate at times, but endearing and faithful. The adults in Karl's life are alternately outrageous and heroic (from his Crazy Cat Lady mom to a ranting teacher and a dirty old man upholsterer and helpful shopkeepers.) Karl's view on the world is appealing and hilarious and, at times, heartbreaking. His creative use of profanity and analogy is laugh-out-loud funny.

A terrific book for older teens who are not intimidated by its length and intelligence and a tender and funny reminiscence for adults who grew up in the 70s and like a good read. My 14, 16 and 18 year old kids all enjoyed this book and we had to take turns having custody of the book.

I thought this book would be my kind of book and I was right. This coming-of-age story set during the first six days of the school year in 1973 in a blue-collar town in Ohio had everything I like in a YA novel: angst-ridden teens who are actually trying to better their lives; superb writing which is humorous and poignant in turns; historically accurate; characters who are multifaceted-- not just one-dimensional; and dialogue which seems real and well-timed.

Karl Shoemaker wants his senior year to be 'normal' rather than one dominated by the drama associated with the forced therapy group he has been a part of since 4th grade. As he tries to distance himself from the group he realizes that he can't and doesn't want to distance himself from the friends he has made in the group, The Madman Underground. This rag-tag group of kids who all have pretty hefty problems are truly his support network. Adults, like his hippie, cat-loving, alcoholic mother, may let him down but the members of the Madman Underground never do.

The subtitle of this book is: A Historical Romance, 1973. I was in high school in 1973 so I was on the lookout for authentic, accurate cultural references and the book was full of them. Here are a few that I found charming/funny: Karl sprayed his pits (he put on deodorant); the hoods came in the bathroom to smoke (the drug-users, hard-core kids--most schools at that time period had a smoking area but often the hoods would come inside and smoke in the bathroom when the weather was bad outside); Marti drove a Ford LTD (I think half of my friends' parents had LTDs when I was in high school); she was such a J.D. (juvenile delinquent); platform wedges (shoes that gals wore that made them about five inches taller); references to Kent State and Vietnam (The National Guard killed four students on the campus of Kent State who were protesting the Vietnam War.) Barnes did a great job placing the plot accurately in the early 1970s.

Common Sense Media, an organization which reviews books and films and gives them an age-rating for appropriateness (rather than ban or censor them), grades this book as 16+. I would agree that this is a book for a mature, older teenager. There is quite a bit of profanity and talk of sexual issues. But I think that readers of Marcus Zusak (I Am the Messenger); John Green (Looking for Alaska; Paper Towns); and Libba Bray (Going Bovine) will enjoy this book also.

This book is 530 pages long but it felt like a short book. I didn't want it to end. It's that good.

[...]

Tales of the Madman Underground

Gold Star Award Winner!

Karl has a plan for his senior year. It's to be normal. Or at least to appear to be normal. Forever he has been known as slightly crazy and a target of harassment.

There are a ton of obstacles that will make it difficult to pull of the "normal" appearance. First of all, he has to avoid his very best friend in the world. Not to mention the fact that he has to work endless hours to help support his mother and himself. (She has been off the deep end ever since his dad died.)

And there's the cats. So many of them in his house. Karl constantly has to clean up their messes and even bury the ones that die before his mother sees him. (He never knows what is going to set her off.) He can't even keep his earnings in a bank because his mother would have access to them and she would spend it all. (And hiding his money around the house only works occasionally.)

He also has to find a way to get out of the "Madmen" class - required counseling for students identified as "troubled." How can anyone appear normal under those circumstances?

But Karl takes it one day at a time. If he can make it through the first day of school appearing normal, then he can make it through the first week. Once a week of appearing normal passes, he'll be able to begin the next week.

Even though Karl has plans to work around his known obstacles, he has several other hurdles to overcome. Is the best friend he was going to avoid actually avoiding him? And what about the new girl? The one whose mom likes to party with his?

Will Karl be able to shed his madman reputation? And how important is it to appear normal?

Read TALES OF THE MADMAN UNDERGROUND and experience six days of Karl's life in 1973. It'll be a trip.

Reviewed by: Dianna Geers

Tales of the Madman Underground, by John Barnes, is about teenage friendships and the struggles of a working high school student. I enjoyed reading this book because, as a high school student, I was able to relate to Karl, the main character, and his struggle with friends. The writer does a good job creating conflict between Karl and his best friend since they consistently get in fights, and then become friends again quickly. This situation often occurs in high school where friends learn to forgive quickly in order to maintain their friendships. At the beginning of the book Karl does not want to be in his therapy group because he doesn't want to be singled out as being different. Throughout the story, he soon realizes his only friends are in therapy and therefore remains in therapy to keep these friendships.
Karl works five jobs in order to make enough money for him and his alcoholic mother. Younger workers do not make a lot of money at each job so he had to have several to support his family. The author brings into view the struggles of not only having to support yourself but also another person. I found it hard to believe that Karl was able to complete his nightly homework in the short amount of time he had between his jobs and school. I need more than one hour to complete my homework every night. This book highlights the amount of money needed to support a family. Ungrateful kids realize how easy their life is after reading this book. This is a great book for any junior high or high school student.

As a teenager I read "Catcher in the Rye" because it was supposed to be THE GREAT coming of age story. After reading it, I could never figure out what the big deal was. It didn't speak to me or help me figure out anything. I couldn't even figure out why anybody would want to ban it.

This is the book I wanted "Catcher in the Rye" to be. I wish I had been able to read it 25 years ago.

This is a pleasant read. The author develops characters nicely. Although a few characters act out of character on occasion, this may be intentional because, after all, we are dealing with unpredictable teenagers. Overall, the novel takes us on an interesting look into one teenager's angst dealing with troubled family life. Nothing too earth-shattering here, but an enjoyable book to spend a few hours with.

From the very first paragraph, this book really grips you! Filled with humor and even a cerain degree of tradegy, this book will keep you turning pages wondering what will happen next. A great little book!

I have read virtually all winners of the Prinz Award since its inception. This book is not appropriate for many of the target audience. You will have to search hard to find a page without repeated use of the "f" word. Barnes has pushed the boundary on what is acceptable as Young Adult Literature. I am even concerned about the makeup of the Printz Committee as both the Winner (Going Bovine) and this Honor book are strange beyond measure. Please be cautious in reading this book.

I realy wanted to read this book on my Kindle, but I can't justify paying MORE for my Kindle edition than the paperback edition! I know the publisher set the price, and usually I approve of that (writers have to make a living too). However, by setting the price for the e-book version higher than the published version, the publisher is pretty much guaranteeing that no one is going to buy it, thereby depriving the author of income from the e-book. Very shortsighted, and a disservice to both authors and readers. Come on, publishers - stop pushing readers in the direction of illegal downloads and set reasonable prices for your books through legitimate outlets!