King Dork

Thanks to a tip from Shawn, I just finished reading the Young Adult fiction novel King Dork by Frank Portman. As an English teacher, I try somewhat regularly to read YA titles, and this one was a nice treat. First of all, Frank Portman is more commonly known as Dr. Frank, the leader of the San Francisco band The Mr. T Experience. I've heard of this band, but the only song I've actually heard them perform is a pretty rockin' cover of "Unpack Your Adjectives" from Schoolhouse Rock. It is pretty cool. The book itself was a pleasure to read, though I did initially have trouble with its treatment of my all-time favorite book Catcher in the Rye. It largely makes fun of people who claim this as their all time favorite book, but ultimately you realize that a.) it needs to be made fun of some, and b.) in spite of making fun of it, King Dork acknowledges that Catcher is a pretty important and influential and meaningful novel.

My biggest problem with the book is the insanely harsh characterization of high school girls. It's almost bad enough that I would not recommend the book to a high school kid. But the book is entertaining and well written enough that I would still recommend it most adults that I know...well at least the ones that are a little hipster-ish. Check it out!