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Kung Fu High School: A Novel
“[An] ultraviolent, dystopian debut novel from Ryan Gattis, the spawn of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Cormier.” ― Publishers Weekly
High school is brutal, but Jen B. has learned to pick her battles. Except the first one―that one is mandatory. At the Good Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King High School, aka “Kung Fu,” everyone gets beaten to a pulp in their first week. Getting “kicked in” helps Ridley, the drug kingpin who runs the school and everyone in it, maintain order. He's the reason that 99.5 percent of the students know some form of martial art, and why they suit up in body armor and blades before class.
Jen’s life is savage but simple until the day her cousin Jimmy, a world-famous kung fu champion, shows up. Everyone at Kung Fu wants a piece of him, especially Ridley, but Jimmy’s made a promise never to fight again―a promise that sends the whole school hurtling toward a colossal clash, ending in an epic bloody showdown.
Ryan Gattis’s dystopian satire, Kung Fu High School , is a cult classic in the making―a darkly comic, gleefully graphic, barbaric opera about loyalty, survival, and the horrors of high school, which earned comparison with the works of such icons as Chuck Palahniuk, Richard Price, and Anthony Burgess.
High school is brutal, but Jen B. has learned to pick her battles. Except the first one―that one is mandatory. At the Good Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King High School, aka “Kung Fu,” everyone gets beaten to a pulp in their first week. Getting “kicked in” helps Ridley, the drug kingpin who runs the school and everyone in it, maintain order. He's the reason that 99.5 percent of the students know some form of martial art, and why they suit up in body armor and blades before class.
Jen’s life is savage but simple until the day her cousin Jimmy, a world-famous kung fu champion, shows up. Everyone at Kung Fu wants a piece of him, especially Ridley, but Jimmy’s made a promise never to fight again―a promise that sends the whole school hurtling toward a colossal clash, ending in an epic bloody showdown.
Ryan Gattis’s dystopian satire, Kung Fu High School , is a cult classic in the making―a darkly comic, gleefully graphic, barbaric opera about loyalty, survival, and the horrors of high school, which earned comparison with the works of such icons as Chuck Palahniuk, Richard Price, and Anthony Burgess.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
19 people are currently reading
691 people want to read
About the author
Ryan Gattis
23 books268 followersRyan Gattis is the author of Safe, Kung Fu High School, The System (July 2020), The Big Drop novellas (Homecoming & Impermanence) and All Involved, which won the Alex Award from the American Library Association and the Lire Award for Noir of the Year in France. He lives and writes in South Los Angeles, where he is a member of art collective UGLARworks, a founding board member of arts non-profit Heritage Future, and a PEN America Prison Writing Mentor.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
December 26, 2017
Unbelievably stupid
February 23, 2008
I was kinda disappointed by this. I read the first chapter in the book store and thought it was a new slant on an old theme. It turned out to be a neo-violent slant (which I don't mind per se) on an old theme (teen angst). I thought it would play deeper than it did but it was like a Jackie Chan movie transcribed by Kurt Cobain.
October 19, 2014
while the premise is interesting, the treatment is very juvenile. it ends up being a twilight meets jackie chan meets mills n boons!! its like a corny B grade movie where a hundred goons cnt defeat one hero...n by the end of it, the over the top, non stop fighting just gets tiresome n boring. fine for a easy read on ur day off, but something that u wud probably forget by the next weekend
November 16, 2007
I consider this to be sort of an American version of Battle Royale: brutal violence involving teens used as a simile for growing up.
Kind of like Lord of the Flies. But with kung fu instead of a wild boar.
Kind of like Lord of the Flies. But with kung fu instead of a wild boar.
December 28, 2017
I received this book as part of a giveaway from Ryan Gattis and FSG books.
Kung Fu High School is about a school so overrun by gang violence that every single student has some sort of expertise in martial arts. Most students, and even the principal, are in the pocket of a drug kingpin. A new kid moves to town - the archetypal kung fu master who has sworn never to fight again - and his presence kicks off a sequence of events that throws a wrench into the status quo.
PROS:
I've never read a book like this. It's premise is similar to Hunger Games and Battle Royale - teenagers fighting each other - but there is no all-powerful government entity forcing students into this situation. Students have created their families and the school themselves. Also, I've never read a story with martial arts central to the writing. The fight scenes are fast-paced and creative. The action is descriptive and precise. I know very little about martial arts and I could picture the moves in my head.
It reminds me of when I was in school and thought to myself, "What would I do if someone tried to kill me right now? Where could I hide? What could I use as a weapon? How could I have an advantage?" This mindset of survival is unfortunately a reality of schools today. Gattis satirizes the American culture of violence by cranking it up to 11 and diving in with full commitment.
CONS:
The universe of this high school can't seem to decide if the adults do or don't care about the violence. Police, teachers, administrators constantly leave the room or look the other way when there's violence in the school. Officials are bribed by the kingpin. Murders are an open secret. Fistfights happen out in the open air on a regular basis. On the other hand, the students are also constantly trying to hide it. Alliances are kept secret, police are avoided, and blood stains are bleached off of homework. Everyone is in on it except the people who aren't.
Every character except the protagonists feel disposable. In a book about violence, it's not shocking when things turn violent. Deaths feel empty. Betrayals don't feel motivated. It feels like most of the scenes boil down to "Wouldn't it be badass if THIS happened now?"
As a character, I don't even like Jen. I feel like her decisions don't drive the story. Even though she participates in the action, the reins are always being held by Cue and/or Jimmy. They are the ones who take actions that drive the plot forward. Jen is more of a spectator. Even when she does have big character moments, it's when she's being influenced by her brother or cousin.
OVERALL:
Exciting and creatively written, but hollow in terms of character, story, and philosophy.
Kung Fu High School is about a school so overrun by gang violence that every single student has some sort of expertise in martial arts. Most students, and even the principal, are in the pocket of a drug kingpin. A new kid moves to town - the archetypal kung fu master who has sworn never to fight again - and his presence kicks off a sequence of events that throws a wrench into the status quo.
PROS:
I've never read a book like this. It's premise is similar to Hunger Games and Battle Royale - teenagers fighting each other - but there is no all-powerful government entity forcing students into this situation. Students have created their families and the school themselves. Also, I've never read a story with martial arts central to the writing. The fight scenes are fast-paced and creative. The action is descriptive and precise. I know very little about martial arts and I could picture the moves in my head.
It reminds me of when I was in school and thought to myself, "What would I do if someone tried to kill me right now? Where could I hide? What could I use as a weapon? How could I have an advantage?" This mindset of survival is unfortunately a reality of schools today. Gattis satirizes the American culture of violence by cranking it up to 11 and diving in with full commitment.
CONS:
The universe of this high school can't seem to decide if the adults do or don't care about the violence. Police, teachers, administrators constantly leave the room or look the other way when there's violence in the school. Officials are bribed by the kingpin. Murders are an open secret. Fistfights happen out in the open air on a regular basis. On the other hand, the students are also constantly trying to hide it. Alliances are kept secret, police are avoided, and blood stains are bleached off of homework. Everyone is in on it except the people who aren't.
Every character except the protagonists feel disposable. In a book about violence, it's not shocking when things turn violent. Deaths feel empty. Betrayals don't feel motivated. It feels like most of the scenes boil down to "Wouldn't it be badass if THIS happened now?"
As a character, I don't even like Jen. I feel like her decisions don't drive the story. Even though she participates in the action, the reins are always being held by Cue and/or Jimmy. They are the ones who take actions that drive the plot forward. Jen is more of a spectator. Even when she does have big character moments, it's when she's being influenced by her brother or cousin.
OVERALL:
Exciting and creatively written, but hollow in terms of character, story, and philosophy.
October 20, 2007
I was excited, you got your kung fu, your high school and the author's name is Ryan. what a letdown. the female narrator is not pulled off. it also doesn't captialize on the idea, which could have been pretty sweet. they're making a movie, it will probably be better than this slush.
January 10, 2020
good book so far but it gets a little boring at some spots
January 27, 2020
Loved the concept, very well done
November 20, 2009
The story starts off describing the main setting of the novel, which is a high school. Martin Luther King High School, but later known as Kung Fu High School, may be expected to be the perfect school, hence the name is named after Martin Luther King, but however it is not. In this high school, there is a series of gangs/families, in which most of them are under the leadership of Ridley, the antagonist, and a lot of brawls stirs up between those gangs. An everyday school life always had action-packed events all the time and the administrations cannot stop it because they are corrupted by Ridley, especially the principal. Everyday, the students would go through an experience of trying to survive and endure the danger in the school.
Throughout the story, it is narrated by Jenny, who in the beginning is weak minded. She fights when she has to but she ends up losing all her fights. She is not as strong as her cousin, Jimmy, her brother, or anyone. As the story gets deeper, her brother, Kyuzo, is killed by his own friend. Jenny then feels betrayed and avenges her brother’s death by stepping up and leading her brother’s gang, the “Waves”. Soon, she forgets about her emotion and fights, continuing to injure herself. With her mentality in the way, she faces obstacles that consist of her forbidden feelings for Jimmy and her heartache for her mother whom is dead.
Jimmy is always there for Jenny throughout the novel. His character comes in the story, holding back his will to fight no matter what happens. Jimmy is known as a legendary fighter, and his vow to not fight is tested when he arrives to the high school for the first time. His change to not fight comes in when Jenny's brother is killed by his own member in the pack. He steps up to protect himself, Jenny, and his family (the “Waves”) since it was always Kyuzo protecting them. Jimmy must go through obstacles to save Jenny and himself against the school. Jimmy can be portrayed as a protagonist along with Jenny, because throughout the novel, it is not just about Jenny but about the both of them together and it is mainly him taking the actions in each event all the way through the novel.
The central conflict of this novel is man vs. man. Jimmy is faced with a dilemma against Ridley, to save the “Waves” and Jenny, and to survive against him and his gangs. It was up to him to face Ridley and to end the torture for all students to live in fear everyday. The theme is to not result in violence for good or bad, because once you do, there will be consequences, no matter what your reason is for carrying out bloodshed. A motif from the novel can be the idea of gangs being families, and to watch each other’s back through everything. There were not a lot of symbols in the novel because the author’s style of writing was more of a free writing. He does use imagery to create an image in the reader’s mind of the bloodshed and bloodbaths happening in the novel. But the language he uses in his book is a little bit explicit, not really into details, but also graphic.
I chose this novel to read because the title of the book appealed to me, and as I read the back of the book, it sounded really interesting. To me it wasn’t like any other book, it really intrigued me each time I read it, to read further more in. For this book, I would recommend it to people who would be interested in reading about fighting or just into action packed novels. It is a fiction novel, which means it is not based on a true story. I don’t recommend it for young readers who are under the age of 16. Parents should consider if this book is appropriate or not because it can desensitize a young one’s mind with the language is used and the vivid description of martial arts combats.
Throughout the story, it is narrated by Jenny, who in the beginning is weak minded. She fights when she has to but she ends up losing all her fights. She is not as strong as her cousin, Jimmy, her brother, or anyone. As the story gets deeper, her brother, Kyuzo, is killed by his own friend. Jenny then feels betrayed and avenges her brother’s death by stepping up and leading her brother’s gang, the “Waves”. Soon, she forgets about her emotion and fights, continuing to injure herself. With her mentality in the way, she faces obstacles that consist of her forbidden feelings for Jimmy and her heartache for her mother whom is dead.
Jimmy is always there for Jenny throughout the novel. His character comes in the story, holding back his will to fight no matter what happens. Jimmy is known as a legendary fighter, and his vow to not fight is tested when he arrives to the high school for the first time. His change to not fight comes in when Jenny's brother is killed by his own member in the pack. He steps up to protect himself, Jenny, and his family (the “Waves”) since it was always Kyuzo protecting them. Jimmy must go through obstacles to save Jenny and himself against the school. Jimmy can be portrayed as a protagonist along with Jenny, because throughout the novel, it is not just about Jenny but about the both of them together and it is mainly him taking the actions in each event all the way through the novel.
The central conflict of this novel is man vs. man. Jimmy is faced with a dilemma against Ridley, to save the “Waves” and Jenny, and to survive against him and his gangs. It was up to him to face Ridley and to end the torture for all students to live in fear everyday. The theme is to not result in violence for good or bad, because once you do, there will be consequences, no matter what your reason is for carrying out bloodshed. A motif from the novel can be the idea of gangs being families, and to watch each other’s back through everything. There were not a lot of symbols in the novel because the author’s style of writing was more of a free writing. He does use imagery to create an image in the reader’s mind of the bloodshed and bloodbaths happening in the novel. But the language he uses in his book is a little bit explicit, not really into details, but also graphic.
I chose this novel to read because the title of the book appealed to me, and as I read the back of the book, it sounded really interesting. To me it wasn’t like any other book, it really intrigued me each time I read it, to read further more in. For this book, I would recommend it to people who would be interested in reading about fighting or just into action packed novels. It is a fiction novel, which means it is not based on a true story. I don’t recommend it for young readers who are under the age of 16. Parents should consider if this book is appropriate or not because it can desensitize a young one’s mind with the language is used and the vivid description of martial arts combats.
November 10, 2017
This book was more of a 3.5⭐ for me.
Kung Fu High School is very creative. It's social commentary on school violence, but set in a world where that violence is pretty much encouraged, and isn't really punished. It was unique, and it definitely caused me to think.
I wish the action would have been a bit more spread out. Not much occurred during the first portion of the book, and then everything went crazy at the end. I'm also not a huge action reader, so I was a little overwhelmed with the second half.
I liked Jen, and it's always interesting to have a main character who makes questionable / odd choices (you'll have to read to find out). I appreciate that she really doesn't care what people think of her.
This is a perfect book for you if you like the high school setting, but want something much grittier and darker. I wouldn't classify this as YA. It's an adult book for sure.
Thank you to FSG Originals & Ryan Gattis for my copy of Kung Fu High School!
Kung Fu High School is very creative. It's social commentary on school violence, but set in a world where that violence is pretty much encouraged, and isn't really punished. It was unique, and it definitely caused me to think.
I wish the action would have been a bit more spread out. Not much occurred during the first portion of the book, and then everything went crazy at the end. I'm also not a huge action reader, so I was a little overwhelmed with the second half.
I liked Jen, and it's always interesting to have a main character who makes questionable / odd choices (you'll have to read to find out). I appreciate that she really doesn't care what people think of her.
This is a perfect book for you if you like the high school setting, but want something much grittier and darker. I wouldn't classify this as YA. It's an adult book for sure.
Thank you to FSG Originals & Ryan Gattis for my copy of Kung Fu High School!
Read
May 27, 2019Kung Fu High. I, a total book lover, actually threw it away. My spouse thought I had lost my mind. The first half was pretty good, but it quite suddenly went so far down that it might as well have taken the reader right straight to hell. I kept reading it thinking "it's got to get better any paragraph now, but it didn't. After reading it I wanted to burn every copy. I AM A BOOK LOVER! This was so horrifying, and I've read some terrible books, including some that actually traumatized me, but this one is still the one that stands out by itself as the only book I ever threw away, and the one I tell people " never read this book". ZERO stars from me
August 1, 2011
A fun read. Very graphic in its descriptions. It almost feels like a Tarantino film with the brutality and attention given to the smallest detail. If you have a strong imagination and a weak stomach, I suggest not reading this one. However if you enjoy bone-cracking, skull smashing action then grab this book and start reading!
August 26, 2009
I found this book has no real good plot. I found it only a book that listed different fights, and there really was no conclusion. At the end it sorted out some things, but there was nothing really interesting.
April 21, 2013
Ultra-violent. Absurd. With flashes of the sublime. A Tarantino movie in novel form.
April 24, 2009
Outstanding satire on high school violence.
March 27, 2018
An excellent example of "don't judge a book by its cover" (or title). I figured this would be some funny / dumb high school book, maybe something like the show Video Game High School... After reading the author's note at the beginning, it was clear that it was going to be more serious than that, but I was still unsure of exactly how serious / messed up it was going to be... The answer to that was "very".
I'm normally not a huge fan of stories where the characters, particularly younger / teenage ones, try to act so tough, but in this one, it worked. At times, I still felt it was kind of comical how tough some of the kids were trying to be, but once Cue was killed, I began to view the author / book with a lot more respect. This is a tough situation to be in or write about, I think, but I liked how this was done. Despite the author's note that he checked with a doctor to be sure his book was as accurate as possible, I'm still not convinced that all of this is realistic, but I've never been in a fight anything like what these kids do, so my opinion on that probably doesn't matter much.
The one thing I am unsure of my feelings on is Jimmy and Jen's relationship... On the one hand, I think it is so adorable that they wanted no one but each other despite being apart for so long, and how they handled it. On the other... they are cousins, so that makes me cringe a little bit. But still, I was oddly okay with their romance.
There was also one thing I didn't like... That was Jimmy being blamed for everything, and being thrown in jail for the rest of his life. It's just incredibly sad. It seems weird to me that EVERYONE would just accept that. Him, maybe, especially if he was trying to keep Jen out of trouble... But his mom? I'm not buying it.
All around better than I thought it would be, though.
Note: I received this book for free through Goodreads Giveaways.
I'm normally not a huge fan of stories where the characters, particularly younger / teenage ones, try to act so tough, but in this one, it worked. At times, I still felt it was kind of comical how tough some of the kids were trying to be, but once Cue was killed, I began to view the author / book with a lot more respect. This is a tough situation to be in or write about, I think, but I liked how this was done. Despite the author's note that he checked with a doctor to be sure his book was as accurate as possible, I'm still not convinced that all of this is realistic, but I've never been in a fight anything like what these kids do, so my opinion on that probably doesn't matter much.
The one thing I am unsure of my feelings on is Jimmy and Jen's relationship... On the one hand, I think it is so adorable that they wanted no one but each other despite being apart for so long, and how they handled it. On the other... they are cousins, so that makes me cringe a little bit. But still, I was oddly okay with their romance.
There was also one thing I didn't like... That was Jimmy being blamed for everything, and being thrown in jail for the rest of his life. It's just incredibly sad. It seems weird to me that EVERYONE would just accept that. Him, maybe, especially if he was trying to keep Jen out of trouble... But his mom? I'm not buying it.
All around better than I thought it would be, though.
Note: I received this book for free through Goodreads Giveaways.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 5, 2017
I think you have to look at the historical context of the time that this book was written. Kung fu films were beginning a revival with the bulletproof monk and Jackie Chan movies being real en vogue at the time. Hong Kong movies were beginning to wane in popularity and you have to remember that the Matrix had been coming out. So all in all, I think that this book seems to have been influenced by this. If you can remember Treat Williams in the Teacher. Very evocative of that with the urban warfare and class warfare shrunk to the microcosm of an inner city school. Is it a good book, yes with caveats, It may seem like an action book but I really think its one of the earlier dystopian young adult books that were put out there. I'm sure if it was written now, the publishers and editors would have wanted it to be fleshed out more into a 3 book serial which given the bones of this story, it could have been with several subplots and arcs put in. Other reviewers have compared it to Battle Royale. The bloody manga about a yearly lottery of high schoolers selected to "battle" in a remote island location in order to allow society to let off steam. "Mockingjay" anyone?
I tend to go more old school and think Lord of the Flies. Here the themes of isolation and an absence of adult authority coupled with the natural inclination of groups forming cliques and strong preying on the weak become more relevant.
The other theme can be angst. Teen angst present in the changing maturity of bodies, changing relationships with parents, changing friendships, changings identities from child to adult. All of these present a milieu of feelings and discordancy that is perfect for this book.
I tend to go more old school and think Lord of the Flies. Here the themes of isolation and an absence of adult authority coupled with the natural inclination of groups forming cliques and strong preying on the weak become more relevant.
The other theme can be angst. Teen angst present in the changing maturity of bodies, changing relationships with parents, changing friendships, changings identities from child to adult. All of these present a milieu of feelings and discordancy that is perfect for this book.
April 9, 2023
I picked it up based on the title and nothing else; thinking it'll have a Disney filter throughout the book, and boy, was I wrong.
I get the fact that the book is supposed to be jam-packed with action and fight scenes, but to classify this as a young adult book and having the actual demographic read this feels very off-putting.
The story itself was kind of bland and felt Jennifer/Jen/Jenny could have a better role instead of fighting for her life in order to survive a brutal attack.
I get the fact that the book is supposed to be jam-packed with action and fight scenes, but to classify this as a young adult book and having the actual demographic read this feels very off-putting.
The story itself was kind of bland and felt Jennifer/Jen/Jenny could have a better role instead of fighting for her life in order to survive a brutal attack.
December 19, 2024
I think the book was interesting but kind of boring. The concept was cool but it didn't really connect to my interests like I thought it would.Its kind of reminds me of karate kid with its plot. The book could have been better by focusing more on character development because some characters don't really feel any different than when they were introduced.I would recommend this to some, but to others I wouldn't
June 4, 2023
All Involved, Safe, and The System are much better books by Ryan Gattis. Check those out instead. If you want to read a story about angsty killer high schoolers, read the comic book series Deadly Class.
August 11, 2023
A brutal book but one that I personally enjoyed and found interesting. I wouldn't recommend it to all of my friends but if you are into pulp and fighting it may be a book that you really enjoy. I haven't found another one like it so far.
November 17, 2024
The concept and possible story sound awesome.
Once you get going, it just keeps getting worse.
Some things had such detailed explanations, but the actual story did not have some attention paid to it.
It was a big stage that was set up but then ended early and incomplete.
Once you get going, it just keeps getting worse.
Some things had such detailed explanations, but the actual story did not have some attention paid to it.
It was a big stage that was set up but then ended early and incomplete.
October 12, 2017
This book was really good, the action was awesome and I highly recommend to readers.
May 16, 2018
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. This is not my typical read but it was weirdly interesting.
June 12, 2021
Insane and full of dramatic descriptions of Kung Fu violence, the opening prologue contains a stick drawing to show you just how awesome a move was which really captures the spirit of the book.
September 25, 2018
20180910
February 16, 2019
I had to read this book for a school assignment and I hated it. Its plot wasn't great and overall it wasn't interesting enough to pull me into the story.
January 5, 2015
Fans of Battle Royale (Koushun Takami) and Severance Package (Duane Swierczynski) should definitely add this their reading pile. It is fast paced and keeps you on the edge of your seat. It doesn’t hurt that it is chock full of kid-like drawings showing you how to reinforce your daily clothing with plastic, giving you more protection from knives with out setting off school metal detectors.
This book may not be suitable for some readers. do not assume Pokemon or other cutesy text due to the name. this is a bloody violent unrelenting novel.
A quick summary-
Everyone knows some form of martial arts at Martin Luther King High School. This is where the locals get the nick name Kung Fu High. Defensive, offensive, a mishmash of street styles, suicide would be thinking you didn’t need to know anything in order to make it through a day. It is more like a “out-patient” prison psych-ward than a school. Avoiding a fight just means that the fight will come find you, and that you will be unprepared when it arrives. It is better if you go searching for the fight yourself, at least then you have a chance at catching it off guard.
Jen and her older brother Cue are both students at Kung Fu High. Their cousin is coming to stay with them after some concerns at home. Jimmy is a prize winning martial artist, who had promised his mother that he would no longer fight, after hospitalizing four men in self defense. Unfortunately for Jimmy, the people at Kung Fu High expect that he will be kicked in, and Jimmy being the champion he is, is a big target for a lot of fools to come after.
The thing about Kung Fu High is that you need to establish your boundaries very quickly. Your first day on campus, you need to find the biggest, baddest mofo on the quad and pick a fight, then you get “kicked in”, losing that fight. Getting your ass handed to you means that no one needs to take you down a peg as the new person, one needs to prove anything by hunting you down. It also shows that you cant just be pushed around, you are not afraid of taking a beating for the hell of it. Avoiding being kicked in means that it will be 10 times worse. a first day kick in could simply be a broken nose, avoidance could put you in the hospital.
Jimmy fails to establish this boundary.
Kung Fu High is a cesspool, unofficially run by drug lords and roving gangs. Cash goes to the city to keep the area less than nice, to keep the lights on, and to ensure that the cops only show up as figureheads when appearances are required.
Concerned parents can opt to take a child out of the school district and place them in private school, but what’s the point? Unless they move, they will still have to traverse the local streets and deal with the public school kids. Would you rather have a child that permanently eats through a straw, or one that might be able to avoid that fate with a little bit of extra-curricular face bashing? Better to let them slug it out in fear than guarantee they are screwed up for life.
This is one of the bloodiest books I have ever consumed. The descriptions of broken bones, contusions, bruises and trauma was enough to make me queasy at points. The school described here is one that I can imagine out of a post apocalyptic future, but t is intended to exist in the story line with in the next ten years.
There is no subtext here, so don’t look for it. Everything is black and white, the theme is spelled out for you using the teeth of your enemies.
As an aside, did you ever notice that subtext is an anagram for buttsex?
Read into that all you want to!
--
xpost RawBlurb.com
This book may not be suitable for some readers. do not assume Pokemon or other cutesy text due to the name. this is a bloody violent unrelenting novel.
A quick summary-
Everyone knows some form of martial arts at Martin Luther King High School. This is where the locals get the nick name Kung Fu High. Defensive, offensive, a mishmash of street styles, suicide would be thinking you didn’t need to know anything in order to make it through a day. It is more like a “out-patient” prison psych-ward than a school. Avoiding a fight just means that the fight will come find you, and that you will be unprepared when it arrives. It is better if you go searching for the fight yourself, at least then you have a chance at catching it off guard.
Jen and her older brother Cue are both students at Kung Fu High. Their cousin is coming to stay with them after some concerns at home. Jimmy is a prize winning martial artist, who had promised his mother that he would no longer fight, after hospitalizing four men in self defense. Unfortunately for Jimmy, the people at Kung Fu High expect that he will be kicked in, and Jimmy being the champion he is, is a big target for a lot of fools to come after.
The thing about Kung Fu High is that you need to establish your boundaries very quickly. Your first day on campus, you need to find the biggest, baddest mofo on the quad and pick a fight, then you get “kicked in”, losing that fight. Getting your ass handed to you means that no one needs to take you down a peg as the new person, one needs to prove anything by hunting you down. It also shows that you cant just be pushed around, you are not afraid of taking a beating for the hell of it. Avoiding being kicked in means that it will be 10 times worse. a first day kick in could simply be a broken nose, avoidance could put you in the hospital.
Jimmy fails to establish this boundary.
Kung Fu High is a cesspool, unofficially run by drug lords and roving gangs. Cash goes to the city to keep the area less than nice, to keep the lights on, and to ensure that the cops only show up as figureheads when appearances are required.
Concerned parents can opt to take a child out of the school district and place them in private school, but what’s the point? Unless they move, they will still have to traverse the local streets and deal with the public school kids. Would you rather have a child that permanently eats through a straw, or one that might be able to avoid that fate with a little bit of extra-curricular face bashing? Better to let them slug it out in fear than guarantee they are screwed up for life.
This is one of the bloodiest books I have ever consumed. The descriptions of broken bones, contusions, bruises and trauma was enough to make me queasy at points. The school described here is one that I can imagine out of a post apocalyptic future, but t is intended to exist in the story line with in the next ten years.
There is no subtext here, so don’t look for it. Everything is black and white, the theme is spelled out for you using the teeth of your enemies.
As an aside, did you ever notice that subtext is an anagram for buttsex?
Read into that all you want to!
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xpost RawBlurb.com
February 12, 2013
Martin Luther King High School once a place of higher learning , now taken over and ran by the gangs all trained to fight in various forms and styles. Don't look to the teachers for help for they all know the rules, as for the principal and his chief enforcer forget it, they get 15% of the take to let things run as is.
The Police are on the take as well and parents, well the parents are at a loss to save the school, the community or their kids. They have tried calling the police, the school board, anyone that would listen to intervene but their pleas fell on death ears and so they have rescind themselves to knowing one day their sons and daughters will come home no more.
Then one day Jimmy comes to school. The top competitor in the world with more trophy's than anyone could imagine and his skill is legendary.Jimmy could tip the odds but Jimmy has made a promise to his mother, he will not fight no matter what.
In this hell hole no one can sit on the side lines, will Jimmy fight or become just another statistic?
This was not a bad read but not a great one either. In today's society in areas one could imagine such a scene and there are lessons to be gleaned from it but outside of the very graphic details, there are language issues that would keep it from being placed in the school library's at the age level it would target. If your public library has it pick it up and give it a try.
The Police are on the take as well and parents, well the parents are at a loss to save the school, the community or their kids. They have tried calling the police, the school board, anyone that would listen to intervene but their pleas fell on death ears and so they have rescind themselves to knowing one day their sons and daughters will come home no more.
Then one day Jimmy comes to school. The top competitor in the world with more trophy's than anyone could imagine and his skill is legendary.Jimmy could tip the odds but Jimmy has made a promise to his mother, he will not fight no matter what.
In this hell hole no one can sit on the side lines, will Jimmy fight or become just another statistic?
This was not a bad read but not a great one either. In today's society in areas one could imagine such a scene and there are lessons to be gleaned from it but outside of the very graphic details, there are language issues that would keep it from being placed in the school library's at the age level it would target. If your public library has it pick it up and give it a try.
July 19, 2007
This book caught me with the narrator's almost gleeful account of how her school came to be. The once decent Martin Luther King, Jr. High School’s swift descent into the legendary Kung Fu High sets the stage and summarizes the story (and with it, perhaps, a lot the current urban education crisis.)
Doubtless reading this during the school year helped me completely buy the premise of this novel: a school run nominally by maniac gangs, partially by a shot-gun toting principal and madly-truly-deeply by Riley the twenty-five-year-old high school junior/California Drug lord mastermind. And wholesale buy-in makes the novel much more enjoyable.
I thought the illustrations more gimmick than merit and the narrator unconvincing as a high school girl. But I maintain the ending wholly saved the book, and racketed it up into recommended reads. People can disagree. They usually do. But it's summer, and the readin' is easy. Take a stab, and by the buy, you can get it at Daedulus.
Doubtless reading this during the school year helped me completely buy the premise of this novel: a school run nominally by maniac gangs, partially by a shot-gun toting principal and madly-truly-deeply by Riley the twenty-five-year-old high school junior/California Drug lord mastermind. And wholesale buy-in makes the novel much more enjoyable.
I thought the illustrations more gimmick than merit and the narrator unconvincing as a high school girl. But I maintain the ending wholly saved the book, and racketed it up into recommended reads. People can disagree. They usually do. But it's summer, and the readin' is easy. Take a stab, and by the buy, you can get it at Daedulus.
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