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Comedy High
Welcome to Carmody, Nevada! Bright lights! Dancing girls! Cheap eats! Gambling (but only if you're over 21)! Sun! Fun! The world's third-largest man-made volcano! What more could a guy ask for?
Plenty. To Ivan Zellner, the tacky town is an endless traffic jam full of tourists in search of cheap thrills and quick bucks. The air and the tap water can make you choke.
And Carmody High just might make you sick. Its courses in casino management and stand-up comedy look suspiciously like fast roads to dead-end jobs.
But when Ivan hooks up with other kids who agree that Carmody is truly the Planet of the Weird, they discover how to turn the town's craziness upside down in uproarious ways - and make hilarious thing happen on the way to high school!
Plenty. To Ivan Zellner, the tacky town is an endless traffic jam full of tourists in search of cheap thrills and quick bucks. The air and the tap water can make you choke.
And Carmody High just might make you sick. Its courses in casino management and stand-up comedy look suspiciously like fast roads to dead-end jobs.
But when Ivan hooks up with other kids who agree that Carmody is truly the Planet of the Weird, they discover how to turn the town's craziness upside down in uproarious ways - and make hilarious thing happen on the way to high school!
Paperback
First published August 1, 1992
10 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Manes
34 books24 followersStephen Manes (born 1949) wrote the "Digital Tools" column that appeared in every issue of Forbes until recently when he took a break. He is expected to return in the future. He is also co-host and co-executive editor of the public television series "PC World's Digital Duo," a program he helped create.
Manes was previously the Personal Computers columnist for the Science Times section of The New York Times and a regular columnist for InformationWeek. He has been on the technology beat since 1982 as a columnist and contributing editor for PC Magazine, PC/Computing, PC Sources, PCjr, and Netguide. The now defunct Marketing Computers named him one of the four most influential writers about the computer industry and called him "a strong critical voice."
From April 1995 to December 2008, he also wrote the "Full Disclosure" column, anchoring the back page of PC World.
Manes is coauthor of the best-selling and definitive biography Gates: How Microsoft's Mogul Reinvented an Industry--and Made Himself the Richest Man in America. He also wrote The Complete MCI Mail Handbook and programmed much of the Starfixer and UnderGround WordStar software packages.
Manes is also the author of more than 30 books for children and young adults, including the Publishers Weekly bestseller Make Four Million Dollars by Next Thursday! and the award-winning Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days!, which was adapted for the public television series Wonderworks. His books include the cult favorites Chicken Trek and The Obnoxious Jerks and have won a commendation from the National Science Foundation, International Reading Association Children's Choice awards, and kid-voted awards in five states. His writing credits also include television programs produced by ABC Television and KCET/Los Angeles and the 70s classic 20th Century-Fox movie Mother, Jugs & Speed.
Manes is currently serving his fourth term as an elected member of the National Council of the Authors Guild, the country's oldest organization of book authors. Born and raised in the hills of Pittsburgh, he now lives in hillier Seattle.
Manes was previously the Personal Computers columnist for the Science Times section of The New York Times and a regular columnist for InformationWeek. He has been on the technology beat since 1982 as a columnist and contributing editor for PC Magazine, PC/Computing, PC Sources, PCjr, and Netguide. The now defunct Marketing Computers named him one of the four most influential writers about the computer industry and called him "a strong critical voice."
From April 1995 to December 2008, he also wrote the "Full Disclosure" column, anchoring the back page of PC World.
Manes is coauthor of the best-selling and definitive biography Gates: How Microsoft's Mogul Reinvented an Industry--and Made Himself the Richest Man in America. He also wrote The Complete MCI Mail Handbook and programmed much of the Starfixer and UnderGround WordStar software packages.
Manes is also the author of more than 30 books for children and young adults, including the Publishers Weekly bestseller Make Four Million Dollars by Next Thursday! and the award-winning Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days!, which was adapted for the public television series Wonderworks. His books include the cult favorites Chicken Trek and The Obnoxious Jerks and have won a commendation from the National Science Foundation, International Reading Association Children's Choice awards, and kid-voted awards in five states. His writing credits also include television programs produced by ABC Television and KCET/Los Angeles and the 70s classic 20th Century-Fox movie Mother, Jugs & Speed.
Manes is currently serving his fourth term as an elected member of the National Council of the Authors Guild, the country's oldest organization of book authors. Born and raised in the hills of Pittsburgh, he now lives in hillier Seattle.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 2, 2018
Sometimes, you just need to revisit a book and remind yourself that your taste in books wasn't all that great. Still, it was a nice palate cleanser.
April 22, 2016
I remember reading this book in middle school and it made me wish I grew up in a town that could be called a Planet of the Weird if only the town's economy didn't hinge upon gambling and bars. The characters teach a relatively healthy perspective about the alcohol and gambling environment and manage to avoid the vices in excess while working in the adult gaming industry. It's still a little seedy in places just because the setting is decorated with these elements. Also, it's a bit light on comedy writing education, rather just telling kids cracking jokes is a remedy for a life situation that stresses you out. Dear kids: If you want to learn to write comedy, get a Twitter account to post jokes on when not practicing with friends (or if you are just shy but want to meet comedians!) and read Comedy Writing Step By Step by Gene Perret. Also, you don't have to perform in bars anymore and can make Youtube videos or perform at bookstores or library open mics for immediate audience reactions. But the book is very funny much like Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days. I was hoping for more reviews here to jog my memory!
January 1, 2013
Ivan is not thrilled to move to Carmody, Nevada. And all the hype from his cousin and the city boosters has not convinced him that he can expect much of an education from the new high school that is being built in one of the older town casinos.
So, this is a book about changing attitudes, and there is no preaching. In fact, you'll enjoy that Ivan and his friends seem to be a lot more concerned about the quality of their education than the people who are supposed to be teaching them.
Carmody is an interesting city, and Ivan may never get used to the heat, but he does come to appreciate the different approach his fellow citizens take to life. It is all a gamble, after all.
So, this is a book about changing attitudes, and there is no preaching. In fact, you'll enjoy that Ivan and his friends seem to be a lot more concerned about the quality of their education than the people who are supposed to be teaching them.
Carmody is an interesting city, and Ivan may never get used to the heat, but he does come to appreciate the different approach his fellow citizens take to life. It is all a gamble, after all.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews