Back to Marsha Bates
		Book Review - King Dork Reprinted from July 2006 Issue -by MARSHA BATES Written by Frank Portman, ©2006, Delacorte Press, New York, New York, 344 pages. The cover of this book is a clue to its contents. If you look closely, it resembles loose pages encased in the torn and altered cover of the famous teen angst novel, Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger. Like Salinger’s famous protagonist, Holden Caulfield, Tom Henderson is befuddled, bemused and bewildered by the bullying, psycho-normal kids at his school, his aging hippie mom and her second husband, Little Big Tom, the mysterious circumstances of his dad’s death and the best way to meet girls. Tom and his friend, Sam Hellerman daydream of starting a band, constantly renaming said band, writing clever cover notes for the band’s recordings and lyrics for the band’s tracks. There are only one or two problems. Tom has no guitar and Sam has no bass and they don’t know any drummers. School is a constant battle to maintain dignity and physical safety from the psycho-normals, to avoid joining the cult of Catcher in the Rye fandom and all homework if at all possible while dodging the strange and creepy assistant principal, Mr. Teone. Tom’s mom refuses to answer any direct questions concerning Tom’s dad’s death as a former cop. When Tom finds a secret code penciled on the margins of his dad’s copy of Salinger’s book, he sets out to unravel the clues. Malevolent machinations by friends and enemies alike, lead to some strange romantic encounters, a triumphant band blow-out and a mystery partially unraveled. Portman’s style is entertaining, funny, infuriatingly convoluted and strange. His protagonist’s stream of consciousness flow is loosely grouped by month, but tracks forward and backward at random. Tom Henderson is engaging, but everyone in his universe seems to hoard secrets, except for his step-father, a figure of fun who tries too hard and is stuck in a 70’s mindset. The musical references in King Dork add an additional quirky element to the protagonist’s personality and the imaginary band cover notes are so hilarious the reader will appreciate the listing in the back of the book, along with the glossary of mispronounced vocabulary words and their meanings. This book is not for the fainthearted, but whether you did or didn’t enjoy Catcher in the Rye, Portman’s new anti-hero is worth a try. Due to mature subject matter this book is recommended for older teens in grade 10 through adult. Reviewed by Marsha Bates, employee of the Kennewick Branch of the Mid-Columbia Library System.