Monday 15 May 2023

Don't Care High - Gordon Korman

Don't Care High
Gordon Korman
ISBN 9780590425322
eISBN 9780545631839
eISBN 9781443124515
ASIN B00CFTA5JA


I absolutely love reading Gordon Korman books, either by myself or with one or more of my children. This story was originally published in 1985 by Scholastic Canada. It was the fourth stand alone story published by Korman and it was his 10th volume published. The print editions appear to all currently be out of print but there is an eBook edition available. I believe there have been 11 different editions and formats from a few different publishers. 

I have stated in reviews of several of Korman’s books over the last year: almost a year ago, in the summer of 2022, Korman published his 100th book. Yes you read that correctly, his hundredth book. And he has published 1 since then and another come out later in 2023. My introduction to Korman’s works, that I have a record of was the 39 Clues back in 2009. Since then I have read 30 of his books. With each one I read I am entertained and often challenged. My son often reads these books to me or with me. I picked up this to read next because of the title, I have been bouncing back and forth between his oldest and most recent books, for the stand alone, and randomly with the series. At my current pace of about a book a week. In a year and a half I should be caught up, depending on his current output.

The description of this volume is:

“"Don't Care High: It's more than a nickname -- it's a concept." At Don Carey High School, school spirit is so non-existent that nobody even noticed when a highway on-ramp got built over the football field. But new students Paul and Sheldon have a plan to wake the school up -- and Don't Care High will never be the same. Totally off-the-wall, but always good-natured, this hysterically funny book is not to be missed.”

And it is another glorious adventure from the pen of Gordon Korman. I could hardly put this volume down. I stayed up way too late reading because I kept saying ‘just one more page’. I love the new kid from Canada getting pulled into plot after plot at maybe the most apathetic high school in America and definitely the most in New York City. The teachers and educators at other schools even call it Don’t Care High, But Paul and Sheldon are working to change that, and it is done with the help of the mysterious Mike Otis, even if he is not sure what is happening most of the time. A ravished science fair, a demolished gymnasium, and a look alike protest. What wont they inspire in the name of their unknowing leader.  

What a wonderful tale. It is another excellent story from Korman. It will entertain the whole family. This is a great read and a volume I can recommend for the whole family. Here’s to the Mike Otis’s in our own lives. 

Books by Gordon Korman:
MacDonald Hall Series:
The Wizzle War (1982)
         (formerly The War With Mr. Wizzle)
The Zucchini Warriors (1988)
Light’s Camera, Disaster (1991)
          (aka Macdonald Hall Goes Hollywood)
The Jokes on Us (1995)
          (formerly Something Fishy at Macdonald Hall)

Bugs Potter Series:

Jeremy Bloom Series:
The D−Poems of Jeremy Bloom (1992)
The Last-Place Sports Poems of Jeremy Bloom (1996)

Monday Night Football Series:
The Quarterback Exchange (1997)
Running Back Conversion (1997)
Super Bowl Switch (1997)
Heavy Artillery (1997)
Ultimate Scoring Machine (1998)
NFL Rules! Bloopers, Pranks, Upsets, and Touchdowns (1998)

Masterminds Series:
Masterminds (2015)

Slapshots Series:
The Stars From Mars (1999)
All-Mars All-Stars/The Dream Team (1999)
The Face-off Phony (2000)
Cup Crazy (2000)
Ouch I got slapped (2023)
4-in-1 Slapshots: The Complete Collection (2008)

Nose Pickers Series:
Nose Pickers from Outer Space! (1999)
Planet of the Nose Pickers (2000)
Your Mummy Is a Nose Picker (2000)
Invasion of the Nose Pickers (2001)
4-in-1 The Ultimate Nose-Picker Collection (2006)

Island Series:
Shipwreck (2001)
Survival (2001)
Escape (2001)
3-in-1 Island Trilogy Collection (2006)

Son of the Mob Series:
Son of the Mob 2: Hollywood Hustle (2004)

Everest Series:
The Contest (2002)
The Climb (2002)
The Summit (2002)
Everest Trilogy Box Set (2002)

Dive Series:
The Discovery (2003)
The Deep (2003)
The Danger (2003)

On the Run Series:
Now You See Them, Now You Don't (2005)
The Stowaway Solution (2005)
Public Enemies (2005)
Hunting the Hunter (2006)

Kidnapped Series:
The Search (2006)
The Rescue (2006)

Swindle Series:
Swindle (2008)
Zoobreak (2009)
Framed (2010)
Showoff (2012)
Hideout (2013)
Jackpot (2014)
Unleashed (2015)
Jingle (2016)

Titanic Series:
Unsinkable (2011)
Collision Course (2011)
S.O.S (2011)

The 39 Clues Series:
Vespers Rising (2011)
The Medusa Plot (2011)
Flashpoint (2014)

Hypnotists Series:
The Hypnotists (2013)
Memory Maze (2014)
The Dragonfly Effect (2015)

Ungifted Series:
Ungifted (2012)
Supergifted (2018)

Slacker Series:
Slacker (2016)
Level 13 (2019)
...

Non Series Books:
Son of Interflux (1986)
Radio 5th Grade (1989)
Losing Joe's Place (1990)
The Twinkie Squad (1992)
The Toilet Paper Tigers (1993)
Why Did the Underwear Cross the Road (1994)
The Chicken Doesn't Skate (1996)
No More Dead Dogs (2000)
Maxx Comedy: The Funniest Kid in America (2003)
Jake, Reinvented (2003)
Born To Rock (2006)
Schooled (2007)
Pop (2009)
Restart (2017)
Notorious (2019)
War Stories (2020)
Game On (contains The Chicken Doesn’t Skate and The Toilet Paper Tigers (2021)
Unplugged (2021)
Linked (2021)
The Fort (2022)




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