[Sinan AHMAD]

Dear Mr. Korman,

 

I really adored this book from the beginning to the end. It was very dramatic and full of action, but at the same time it taught me a lifelong lesson that everyone should follow. I sat at the edge of my seat throughout the whole book wondering what poor Cap would be subjected to next and how the crowd at ‘C Average’ kept tormenting him.  But throughout his ordeal in the book, he remained truly zen and this quality indeers everyone to him, including Zach Powers (ultimate baddie #1.)

Mr. Korman, did you know I found this book extremely engaging, because it taught me so many lessons about keeping inner peace by staying true to your principles.  Firstly, I am really fond of your use of switching the narration of each character in the story, by mentioning those characters in the chapter title.  This introduced me to many new perspectives and made me understand the characters better.  Each character had a unique personality and made you feel really empathetic with them.

Secondly, I am very moved by your use of language in the story line that makes all the characters relatable to a teenager’s life.  I really felt the frustrations that Cap felt, but more than that, I really was inspired by his innocence and ignorance of the real world.  This made me understand the book more easily, due to my own personal experiences with middle school.

Thirdly, I was very impressed by the way you made the reader learn a very valuable lesson; not to judge people by their looks and to always be kind to others because you never know what will happen to you in the future.  Cap’s relationship with Sophie, Naomi, Darryl, Hugh, and Zach resonates well with this valuable lesson throughout the book.

Lastly, I was riveted by how you used Cap’s genuine innocence in responding to real life situations which made the story really funny and yet also serious.  This made me engaged and want to continue reading all the way until the end.

 

Mr. Korman, if you will please allow me, I have some intriguing questions that I would like to pose to you:

 

1. Can you relate to any of the characters in the story from your own middle school years and if so which characters and why?

 

2. Do you think that there are people like Cap in the real world, going about their daily lives; and if so how should we treat them?

 

3.  If you had to write this book again, what would you do differently and why?

 

4. Why didn’t you write a chapter from the perspective of Rain?

 

In conclusion Mr. Korman, although this book was an English assignment, I had no regrets at all in reading it.  In fact to the contrary I would be very happy to read this book to my own children and let them know how Cap always stayed true to his principles.

 

Thank you,

Yours sincerely,

Sinan AHMAD

[Gordon Korman]

Hi, Sinan,

I'm pleased that SCHOOLED went over so well with you. I'll try to answer your questions:

1. The story is strictly fictional. I can't really relate to any of the characters, least of all Cap. I'm no hippie.

2. I hope there are people like Cap in this world. How should we treat them? Kindly, as we should treat everybody! Even more so because they would be innocent and vulnerable.

3. If I had to write this book again, I wouldn't!!! First of all, I plan VERY thoroughly before I put down a single word, so there would be very little change. I think I would be kinder to Zach Powers, and try to make him more human and less of what you call a "baddie." He's not, really. He's just caught in a peculiar situation.

4. Good question. I didn't write from Rain's perspective because I wanted her to be a relatively unknown person until she makes the ultimate sacrifice of her precious lifestyle at the end. That had to be a surprise, done strictly for her grandson.

OK? Hope that's helpful. Thanks for your comments about the book.             -----Gordon Korman-----