Don't Care High

by Gordon Korman

"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.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Humor, Canada, Childrens, Friendship, Realistic Fiction

256 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 1986

About the author

Gordon Korman is a Canadian author of children's and young adult fiction books. Korman's books have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide over a career spanning four decades and have appeared at number one on The New York Times Best Seller list.

Reviews

[Carey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mike Otis is and always will be my main dude.

[Harun Ahmed · Rating 4 out of 5]

it's korman's first ever YA novel and an unofficial prequel of writer's own "Slacker" series( mike otis is an exact replica of cam boxer.) this novel is slightly stretched but as always, it's great fun to read korman.

[Ferret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely one of Korman's best, the premise is so ridiculous, the plot so extravagant, the characters so sublime... Wonderful story of a high school that learned how to care... about a phantom that didn't care back.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great!

I read this book 30 or more years ago as a kid, came across it and decided to read it again. Still love it.

[Kate McMurry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wacky, middle-grade comedy from 1985, very early in Gordon Korman's career

When Canadian, tenth-grade transfer student, Paul Abrams, arrives at Don Carey High (DCH), he discovers it has the notorious, well-earned nickname, "Don't Care High," because the students, teachers, and even the clocks, all refuse to work. The situation is complete culture shock for Paul, who is accustomed to paying attention in class and completing his homework, and it is only slightly mitigated by the support of a fellow tenth-grader, Sheldon Pryor. Sheldon transferred to DCH nine months ago and has retained a shred of normal, human ambition. He takes Paul under his wing and explains how this strange new world functions, or, more accurately, fails to function.

This famous quote from The Comic Toolbox (TCT) by John Vorhaus could well be the artistic motto of Gordon Korman when writing his humorous middle-grade novels: “There’s no such thing as exaggerating too much.” Vorhaus, a veteran television comedy writer and script consultant, encourages writers to push characters and situations far beyond normal reality for comic effect. In addition to exaggeration, he describes multiple other comedic techniques, including incongruity, surprise, character flaws, and relatable situations. In his hilarious comedies, Korman employs all of these techniques regularly, including in this novel.

In TV and movie comedies, it is typical to see an interplay between comic characters, who range from slightly quirky to grotesquely bizarre, and straight-person characters, who represent rational reality. At DCH, the comic characters are the 2,600 utterly apathetic students and the disengaged teachers and administrators. The straight-man characters are Paul and Sheldon.

The inciting incident of the novel, which kickstarts some forward motion after an extended ode to yawn-inducing passivity, occurs when Sheldon involves Paul in a humorously sneaky plot to bring life to DCH. This familiar comic trope, where a clever, socially outcast character devises a scheme to elevate their social standing, typically involves a nerdy instigator recruiting a slightly less outcast, naive partner. A typical example of this comic dynamic occurs in the teen movie, "10 Things I Hate About You" (1999), when Michael conceives a devious plan to help Cameron date Bianca by paying Patrick to date Kat.

This novel is the eighth book Korman published. His first book was written when he was only 12 years old and published when he was 14. In spite of his extreme youth, many of his earliest books are his funniest. "Don't Care High" is both highly entertaining and a great example of his budding comedic brilliance. Though geared toward children, readers of all ages will enjoy this clever story.

This novel is available in ebook format through Hoopla.

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

It would be easy to dismiss Don't Care High as a light-hearted YA romp. It is that, but it's also much more. It's a brilliant work of post-modern fiction, Catch-22 for the Tik Tok set, and it's a deeply prescient look at the Trump phenomenon. Pretty impressive for a slim volume written for teens in the '80s, right?

Don't Care High is the story of Paul, a hapless Canadian whose family moves to New York, and who is enrolled at Don Carey High School, a place where the school spirit was exorcised decades earlier. Together with his new friend Sheldon, they decide to pull a simple prank - getting a random student elected as student body president, an office that has gone unfilled since time immemorial. Does this simple joke spiral out of control? Well, yeah, of course.

[Madison Norton · Rating 5 out of 5]

My absolute favorite book as a youngster. I must have read it 10 times before I made it to 10th grade. Everything about that book spoke to me and I plan to read it again for nostalgia's sake.

[Joseph Brink · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mike Otis is gone, but his spirit lives on.

WE LOVE YOU, MIKE!

[Melia · Rating 3 out of 5]

the theme in don't car high is together we are stronger then alone throughout the book Paul and his friend sheldon create a plan to unite the school by creating a leader who is mike Otis. Mike Otis could care less about being the school president he could care less about anything his motto is i didn't do it because he actually didn't Paul and Sheldon would do things such as saying mike wants the school to have a basketball team and then make it seem as if mike did it.

[H · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5. Another funny Korman book! Huzzah!

Gordon Korman is another one of my favorite authors. Since I read laughed my way through I Want to Go Home! way back over a decade ago, he has instantly become one of my "must-buy" authors. Unfortunately, he's not very popular in the Philippines so his books are hard to come by. Thankfully, I got some Amazon credits so I was able to buy Don't Care High. Hurrah!

"Don't Care High" is actually a wordplay on the name of the school, Don Carey High School. The students are bizarrely apathetic, and not participating has become quite the norm, even for some teachers. Then new student Paul Abrams arrives from Canada, where he immediately stands out because he's the only one who has any ambition, and even finishes his homework early. Sheldon Pryor, previously a transferee himself, takes him under his wing as a sort of 'guide' towards becoming an inherent apathetic student Don't Care High student. However, it is all under a guise as Sheldon exhibits that he, in fact, has the most drive to make the students in their school take part in all their activities.

Sheldon hatches a plan, which Paul hesitatingly agrees to as a sort of a lark, which turns into a serious matter, and makes Don't Care High become one of the most infamous schools around the district. However, since they were exhibiting participation and eagerness for the first time ever, some teachers have become supportive of them.

Don't Care High has some really weird characters. Sheldon and Paul are normal enough, although Sheldon has a knack for knowing where all the "will make your tummy ache for days" kind of food in Manhattan. He and Sheldon become instant friends and they get through one scrape after another. Their friendship is very reminiscent of Korman's MacDonald Hall series' Bruno and Boots, and even of I Want to Go Home!'s Rudy Miller and Mike Webster. Korman has a knack for creating troublesome duos but whose antics almost always mean well and cause no lasting harm. In this pattern, one is almost always the 'leading troublemaker' (Sheldon, Bruno, and Rudy) while the other is a hesitating accomplice who eventually gets so caught up in the lark of the leader. But instead of being irritated at the leader, you just can't help but laugh! Or at least I can't. I've read I Want to Go Home! and the MacDonald Hall series more than twice already and I can't help but still laugh.

Other notable weird characters are Mike Pryor, who is one of the most apathetic students I've ever met. There are a lot of things in his school he doesn't understand, and he doesn't even care to ask why all these kids are coming up to him, declaring their support for him. He's not lovable (for me, at least), but his no reactions make me laugh.

One thing you should remember when reading Don't Care High (or even Korman's other books), is that these are not meant to be realistic, but more of an exaggerated young adult humorous book. It takes you out of the mundane happenings in real life, and presents to you some funny antics that can make you forget your troubles for the few hours you're involved in the book's world. It doesn't try to be serious at all or reflect black-and-white reality.

Another thing that I love about Korman is that he has this ability to suck you into that world, whether it be in a camp, a forest, a school, a boy's dormitory. This doesn't happen to me for all books, but whenever I'm reading one of his books, I instantly feel that I'm a spectator right there.

Don't Care High is not your typical YA book that is currently de rigeur nowadays. It does not have that romance aspect, and it's actually funny. If you're looking for something different this Christmas, give this one a try. :)

Ciao!

[William Leight · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like all of Korman's best early work, I've read this over and over and still laugh my fool head off every time. Fundamentally, it's a story about a teenager, Paul, finding his footing in a new city (New York City) and a new school, only the school, Don Carey HS -- better known as the titular Don't Care High -- is distinguished by the utter lack of interest of its attendees in anything school-related. The premise doesn't really make sense, of course: at one point, Korman briefly introduces an 8th-grader and has Paul muse about how terrible it will be when she is reduced to the status of his fellow students, without explaining the mechanism by which she, and an entire class of similarly normal students, will lose their ability to care about things. However, the reader never once cares because Korman is so good at mining this premise for jokes, jokes which get even funnier once Paul and his friend Sheldon set about working to make the other attendees of Don Carey care again. As is usually the case in early Korman, the earnest and (initially, at least) diffident (he's Canadian) Paul is the sidekick, with Sheldon being the motivating force, the one boy at Don't Care who still cares: this means that it's easier to relate to Paul, especially as he is self-aware enough to recognize his status. Their campaign -- well, Sheldon's campaign, into which Paul is dragged largely because Sheldon is his only friend in a new school -- to revolutionize the school is quietly brilliant. It begins with the election of Mike Otis, the Don't Care student who cares the least, to the position of student body president, something easily achieved, as it's been years since there was even a nomination for the position. This gives Paul and Sheldon a figurehead they can use -- Mike doesn't know, and doesn't want to know, what's going on -- and they proceed to use him with devastating effectiveness, by provoking the administration into removing him from his position and then rallying the students in his defense. Which is a very dry description of a truly hilarious series of events, with just enough of an anti-authoritarian inflection, and personal growth for Paul, to keep you invested even when you're not falling off your chair laughing. Korman has written a lot of extremely funny books, but this is one of his best.

[nat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another banger from Gordon Korman

Paul & Sheldon in this book are just variations of Bruno & Boots and Rudy & Mike but luckily, that's the exact dynamic I love

[Ania · Rating 3 out of 5]

I originally wanted to read this book as many reviewers on the nets said that it was one of the best, if not THE BEST Gordon Korman book. Having immensely enjoyed A Semester in the Life of a Garbage Bag in the past, I decided to finally give this bad boy a read, as Scholastic Canada has just republished this book with this awesome, yet simple green cover.


Alas, it did not measure up. I did enjoy the book as I tend to enjoy the shenanigans Korman's characters generally get up to in his YA novels.
However, what ultimately didn't work for me was the fact that Mike Otis, became a symbol of unity BUT ultimately he is the very person who doesn't unite with anyone. He never makes a friend, he's never truly a part of anything and in some sense, Sheldon and Paul benignly (?) exploit him for their own gain. Sure their goal was admirable, but they were power-tripping as well as they definitely enjoyed steering the masses the way they wanted them to go.

If you want to check out some of Gordon Korman's YA books do not miss
A Semester in the Life of a Garbage Bag, and after that probably No Coins, Please as both were highly entertaining and hilarious with shenanigans to the max!

If you are interested of reading more about kids who seems invisible or go unnoticed, do not miss The Schwa Was Here.

[Lee Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m legitimately sad this wasn’t longer. I could’ve spent another 100 pages at don’t care high. I also feel like it’s a tragedy that an 80’s movie adaptation wasn’t made.

[Ruby Hollyberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of all the author's books, this may be the funniest. And that is not to slang I Want to Go Home! or the Bruno & Boots books, which are also funny enough to make you inhale a mouthful of raisins. It is a story of New York City and a how a boy from a small town in Canada gets used to all the stimulation and variety. Some of my favorite parts are the neighbors in the high-rise opposite his apartment and the eccentric things he can see them doing (nothing raunchier than a guy who every day puts on a rabbit suit and eats carrots for dinner and nothing scarier than a circus-type fire-swallower practicing his craft). His high school of course is a main character - there is some kind of curse of apathy on it that no one can say how it happened to begin with. The only person in it who cares at all about anything to do with the school is the poor well-meaning guidance counselor, one of the funniest and most sympathetic characters. I can't list all the hilarious individuals who inhabit this school as it would take ten pages, but each is a little miracle of kookoo. The protagonist, along with a friend, manages with some legerdemain to hoodwink the student population into turning around and once they care, there is NO STOPPING THEM. Probably about the most sheer fun I've ever found in one book. And in case parents wonder, these books are extremely clean. The grooviest space cadet in school is addicted to licorice sticks and when you owe the school "gangster" a favor, he wants food in return. Pie, or maybe a melon.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was published in 1985 so it did show its age a little bit. For instance, there is a scene where the two main characters dress in black and in masks, then roller skate through the halls of their high school distributing leaflets. My thought when reading this was surprise the school didn’t get locked down and the SWAT team called in. But in other ways, I found the plot to be relevant to things going on today. The two main characters, Paul and Sheldon, embark on an effort to create a “fake news” persona for a bland and clueless fellow student, first to make him student body president, and then to give him credit for all improvements going on in the school. This eventually snowballs so that this student becomes a school hero and the school population awakens out of their apathetic existence, all because of this false narrative. There is an innocence to this story which might make it a more appealing story to middle schoolers than to high school age, even though the characters are all high schoolers. The book did often make me laugh and I had fun reading it. This is the third Gordon Korman book I have read, and all of them so far have been a lot of fun. I look forward to reading more of his work.

[Kevin Hogg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book from Gordon Korman's early years. It centers around an attempt to increase school spirit at a high school full of apathetic students and teachers. It's got some of the ridiculous moments that made Korman's work so appealing, although it never quite reaches the same level of Bruno and Boots or other books from that era.

Many of the characters are funny and memorable. Secondary characters like Feldstein and Wayne-o were particularly enjoyable. I feel like a few of the others, particularly the teachers, didn't quite get the development needed for them to stand out. Still, the main plot and some of the recurring jokes and side stories were quite good, even if a couple of questions are left unanswered (seemingly deliberately, so I'm not going to hold that against the book).

This appears to be the 10th book that Korman published. I would say that the other 9 are excellent, and this one is good. For me, it wasn't Korman at his best, but it's worth reading.

[Ben Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of the books that I have read that were published before 1990 have been literary classics or Stephen King. Any other "older" book always seemed disappointing to me. I chose this book for my ENG 356 class and I am so pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable this book is! It's hilarious and has such a fun message.

Would I teach this book in Public Schools?
I would definitely recommend this book to students, but I probably would not teach it due to the fact that, while it's a fun story, there is not a lot there.

Warnings: (Really there is nothing in this book that should turn away anyone from reading it.)
Drugs: One teacher shows up drunk to a school dance. It is played for laughs and not disturbing.
Sex: Several boys find one girl particularly attractive. No inappropriate descriptions.
R&R: None. The themes are encouraging and the story is hilarious.
Language: N/A
Violence: Other than comedic violence, like someone falling from a giant safety pin, there is none.

[Conner Lowes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Investment in the plot: 4/5
Investment in the characters: 3.5/5
Character Development: 5/5
Longing to read when I wasn’t reading it: 2/5
Beginning: 3/5
Middle: 2/5
Ending: 4/5
Bonus
Twist(s): 0/1

Final review: 3.4

This book was just a regular book for me. It got boring, and I only read it because it was within arms reach of the couch I was sitting on in the library, because it was on my shelf at home as well, and because they didn’t have a copy of Turtles all the way down, and I foolishly forgot mine at home.

Recommend for 12 year olds.

[Debra Hahn · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Kids That Dared to Crare"

A great story on how a kid that was a ghost in his school. Took on
School president, by two kids that decided to care. They brought change and
spirit to kids that were walking dead.That changed a whole school to make it
alive and charged with electricity, that sparked and egnighted every student
in the whole day through a student so different he brought the the school back to
life. Get this book for your sophomore - high schooler to read it. They will enjoy
It. For They are problem going through the same things as these students.
Debra H.

[Wind · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was pretty good. I didn’t rate it 4 stars because it didn’t keep me fully engaged where I was anxious to find out what happened next. Content was clean; nothing I noticed that would cause me concern for giving it to a kid or young adult. You really can’t go wrong with Gordon Korean books. I can count on him to deliver clean content devoid of the teenage angst in so many other books targeting tweens and teens.

[Juliann Whicker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't believe I haven't added this book. I loved it soooo much when I was young. It spoke to me for reasons I'm not even clear on. I loved the rabbit man. The radio station. The taxi drivers and the hero, Mike. Paul was okay, but mostly a clear narrator. Mike was just the coolest coolest cool dude ever. I <3 him.

[Katy Jean Vance · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh... It was okay... The plot just didn't make sense and the events along the way we're over the top yo the point of not making sense. I read it, but I would have a hard time authentically selling this one to kids.

[LydiaLanguish · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite books when I was in elementary school. It still stands up. I am forever #TeamMikeOtis

[Natalie Fahmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funniest book ever! Check it out!

[Ian Holmes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truly delightful. Funny. A gem.

[Hanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Sometimes ordinary things can be glorious.”

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Former) Library copy

Been doing some rereading of books I have taken off the shelves but can't bring myself to send off into the nether. This is a good example of late 70s, early 80s teen literature; irreverant, snarky, and a little nonsensical. The really interesting thing about it is that Korman, an absolutely prolific writer, seems able to grow and change with trends in literature in a way that some authors never manage. This is also indicative of the change in the last forty years in young adult literature; today, Don't Care High would be considered upper middle grade because there isn't any bad language or questionable situations.

Not as funny as it once was, but fairly amusing still. Unable to part with the copy, still.

[Christopher K · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book is a very interesting piece of writing. It was a cool, unlikely world of "what ifs" and was very fun to read. However, I rated it a 3 because of its ending. I think compared to how strong the story has started, the book ended off very weakly. I have read multiple Gordon Korman books, and so far all the books I have read written by him have a good ending, including books in a series (Swindle), so it was quite confusing to me. In fact, I had to read the book again just to make sure I hadn't missed any important information. Some of the things the main character (Paul) does is also very random and irrelevant to the main topic, which then would be "forced" into the plot, which was very confusing for me. However, overall I think it was a good book to read.