eBook Don't Care High ePub

4.5. Another funny Korman book! Huzzah!

Gordon Korman is another one of my favorite authors. Since I read laughed my way through I Want to Go Home! way back over a decade ago, he has instantly become one of my "must-buy" authors. Unfortunately, he's not very popular in the Philippines so his books are hard to come by. Thankfully, I got some Amazon credits so I was able to buy Don't Care High. Hurrah!

"Don't Care High" is actually a wordplay on the name of the school, Don Carey High School. The students are bizarrely apathetic, and not participating has become quite the norm, even for some teachers. Then new student Paul Abrams arrives from Canada, where he immediately stands out because he's the only one who has any ambition, and even finishes his homework early. Sheldon Pryor, previously a transferee himself, takes him under his wing as a sort of 'guide' towards becoming an inherent apathetic student Don't Care High student. However, it is all under a guise as Sheldon exhibits that he, in fact, has the most drive to make the students in their school take part in all their activities.

Sheldon hatches a plan, which Paul hesitatingly agrees to as a sort of a lark, which turns into a serious matter, and makes Don't Care High become one of the most infamous schools around the district. However, since they were exhibiting participation and eagerness for the first time ever, some teachers have become supportive of them.

Don't Care High has some really weird characters. Sheldon and Paul are normal enough, although Sheldon has a knack for knowing where all the "will make your tummy ache for days" kind of food in Manhattan. He and Sheldon become instant friends and they get through one scrape after another. Their friendship is very reminiscent of Korman's MacDonald Hall series' Bruno and Boots, and even of I Want to Go Home!'s Rudy Miller and Mike Webster. Korman has a knack for creating troublesome duos but whose antics almost always mean well and cause no lasting harm. In this pattern, one is almost always the 'leading troublemaker' (Sheldon, Bruno, and Rudy) while the other is a hesitating accomplice who eventually gets so caught up in the lark of the leader. But instead of being irritated at the leader, you just can't help but laugh! Or at least I can't. I've read I Want to Go Home! and the MacDonald Hall series more than twice already and I can't help but still laugh.

Other notable weird characters are Mike Pryor, who is one of the most apathetic students I've ever met. There are a lot of things in his school he doesn't understand, and he doesn't even care to ask why all these kids are coming up to him, declaring their support for him. He's not lovable (for me, at least), but his no reactions make me laugh.

One thing you should remember when reading Don't Care High (or even Korman's other books), is that these are not meant to be realistic, but more of an exaggerated young adult humorous book. It takes you out of the mundane happenings in real life, and presents to you some funny antics that can make you forget your troubles for the few hours you're involved in the book's world. It doesn't try to be serious at all or reflect black-and-white reality.

Another thing that I love about Korman is that he has this ability to suck you into that world, whether it be in a camp, a forest, a school, a boy's dormitory. This doesn't happen to me for all books, but whenever I'm reading one of his books, I instantly feel that I'm a spectator right there.

Don't Care High is not your typical YA book that is currently de rigeur nowadays. It does not have that romance aspect, and it's actually funny. If you're looking for something different this Christmas, give this one a try. :)

Ciao!

This is one of my three favorite Gordon Korman books, and he was my favorite humor writer when I was in junior high and high school. (The others are Son of Interflux and Don't Care High.) They are still fun to read now, which I can't say for everything I used to read. It reminds me of Walt Disney and his plausible impossible. Sure, this wouldn't happen in real life, but it's just close enough to be believable while you're reading, especially if you remember that cell phones, let alone smart phones, were uncommon in the early 90s.

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'.

I had to buy this book to tutor a middle schooler for summer reading. This book was very interesting in the way it unfolded itself from the characters and it was VERY humourous! I loved all the placating but impossible intercom jokes they made in the mornings. A good read for youth and great for building up on vocabulary.

Awesome and entertaining book.

Gordon Korman usually get 5 stars from me, but I didn't think this was his best work. Still pretty funny.

Geared for late elementary. Story interesting.

If you're in Junior High or just starting high school you may enjoy this book.