Ratings10
Average rating3.5
Tom Henderson (a.k.a. King Dork, Chi-mo, Hender-fag, and Sheepie) is a typical American high school loser until he discovers the book, The Catcher in the Rye, that will change the world as he knows it. When Tom discovers his deceased father's copy of the Salinger classic, he finds himself in the middle of several interlocking conspiracies and at least half a dozen mysteries involving dead people, naked people, fake people, ESP, blood, a secret code, guitars, monks, witchcraft, the Bible, girls, the Crusades, a devil head, and rock and roll. And it all looks like it's just the tip of a very odd iceberg of clues that may very well unravel the puzzle of his father's death and--oddly--reveal the secret to attracting semihot girls.Being in a band could possibly be the secret to the girl thing--but good luck finding a drummer who can count to four.From the Hardcover edition.
Featured Series
1 primary bookKing Dork is a 1-book series first released in 2006 with contributions by Frank Portman.
Reviews with the most likes.
I liked the narrator, but everything that the reviews on the first page say about the girl characters is true. Maybe I'm going easier on this book because I've read way more un-feminist YA books (I am still mad that I read [b:Cycler 2970898 Cycler Lauren McLaughlin http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255632240s/2970898.jpg 3001136], yes). I enjoyed this, though, and I can see this book being a jumping-off point for readers to find the music and books that are mentioned in it. I don't know if I'll re-read or not, but it was worth the time.Random side note: this was published in 2006, but no one has a cell phone?
I really liked some aspects of this book. The commentary on high school, the commentary on Salinger, and the whole code/mystery thing. And it's definitely funny. The way the protagonist talks about girls is kind of annoying... but then, the way most teenage boys talk about girls is kind of annoying. Overall, pretty funny, but not my fave. Probably teen boys would like this book more than I did.