America's Report Card: A Novel

by John McNally

Having written a scathing essay about her disgust with the government's standardized testing process, Jainey skips her final weeks of high school, while part-time test scorer Charlie reads Jainey's essay and recognizes her as a person needing help.

Genres: Fiction

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

John McNally is the author of three novels (After the Workshop, America's Report Card and The Book of Ralph) and two story collections (Ghosts of Chicago and Troublemakers). He's written two books on writing: Vivid and Continuous: Essays and Exercise for Writing Fiction and The Creative Writer's Survival Guide: Advice from an Unrepentant Novelist He's edited six fiction anthologies, on subjects ranging from superheroes to baseball. He also writes screenplays and held a Chesterfield Writer's Film Project fellowship, sponsored by Paramount Pictures. A native of Chicago's southwest side, he presently lives and teaches in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Reviews

[Marvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brutal satire--sometimes effective, sometimes juvenile (sometimes both at the same time)--of post-9/11 Republican-style big government. There are two intersecting stories. In one, a recently minted U of Iowa film student MA takes a job at the "American Testing Center," with brutal satire about ACT. The other story focuses on a bright but troubled 18-year-old girl in suburban Chicago who fears that her favorite high school teacher's suicide was really a government execution. She draws political cartoons, including one about Bush's "No Child's Behind Left Untouched" program, and fears that she, too, is being watched by the government. Eventually the two stories intersect and, near the end, the girl takes over the guy's apartment in Iowa City (he does not return), where she quickly feels at home. There are fascinating descriptions of Iowa City, one of which offers a nod to Paul Ingram at Prairie Lights Bookstore. It's good to see him in a novel after all he does to promote them!

[Tom Birkland · Rating 5 out of 5]

My mom gave my wife, a would-be school teacher, a copy of this book. It is absolutely hilarious. I won't give much away, since I don't have a copy in front of me, and I don't want to write spoilers, but I will say this: it's an indictment of standardized testing, the way schools (from elementary through graduate school) breed ennui, and of the Bush administration's policies, broadly considered. One does have to suspend disbelief at times, but it's a bitingly funny book. One of the best Iowa Writer's Workshop books I've read (not that I have read that many).

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel is set around 2002-2005 and explores a conspiracy-theory type thesis about the Bush presidency through the lens of the no child left behind act, specifically using standardized testing as a tool to psychologically profile all US citizens. Fascinating, humorous, and a pretty light read, considering the subject matter. Highly recommended!

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again, McNally comes out with a nice book which doesn't seem to be getting the attention from the public that it deserves. I first came across his work in his solid debut short story collection "Troublemakers"; and his subsequent novel, "The Book of Ralph", was one of my favorite reads of 2004. I suspect that this latest book is perhaps suffering from an altogether bland cover, one that gives no indication as to the story inside nor any clue as to the tone. Hopefully the publisher will commission a full redesign for the paperback so that McNally's entertaining writing gets the packaging it deserves.

In any event, set in the summer before the 2004 presidential election, the story follows two separate protagonists. Charlie Wolf has just completed a useless Masters in Film Studies at the University of Iowa and is settling into a leisurely summer with his sexy Russian girlfriend. The couple take hourly wage jobs as test scorers with the massive corporation who runs the titular high school standardized exam. McNally once worked as a tester for such a company, and thus has plenty of ammo for a fairly wicked satire of the Dilbert/Office Space sweatshop inanities of such a workplace. Meanwhile, outside of Chicago, 17-year-old Jainey struggles to cope with her family life (father in jail, mother in a nicotine-fueled fugue, paranoid brother barricaded in the attic). The only adult she can even partially relate to is her art teacher, a woman who is sure the government is out to kill her. When Jainey discovers the art teacher dead, she pours her fears into the essay she writes for the standardized test which is eventually read by Charlie.

For reasons I don't wish to spoil, Charlie and Jainey meet and become allies of sorts. Without giving anything away, the story takes them deep into X-Files turf as they contemplate the notion that the bland standardized tests have a nefarious purpose. This plot element meshes somewhat with a somewhat awkward satire of the post 9-11 Bush administration. While it's refreshing to see such an unabashedly political stance (cf. the dedication to Ann Coulter, "America's Iago), this aspect would have benefited from a somewhat lighter touch. For example, Jainey discovers her art teacher's final project, a life-sized Osama Bin Laden dummy whose face peels off to reveal that of George Bush -- not exactly subtle. However, to be fair to McNally, satire is probably the hardest thing for a writer to pull off without it seeming forced, and at least he's stabbing his pen in the right direction. As usual, his characters are flawed and sympathetic souls you can completely root for, and there's a great sense of humor behind it all. Good stuff which hopefully more people will start to check out.

[Reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really fun book, which is not something you usually say about literary fiction. It was easy to read, very engrossing, and did a fabulous job of capturing 2004 in all its horrific political and social splendor. I think the only person who wouldn’t like this book would be someone who voted for George W. Bush 😂.

[Brian O'Leary · Rating 1 out of 5]

good premise, bad book.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a fan of metaphors and similes, so it is frustrating that "America's Report Card" defies those kinds of descriptions. It has a kind of indie film aesthetic but not reminiscent of anything I've seen before. It's smart and biting in a McSweeney's kind of way but without the pretension and heir of superiority that sometimes plagues writers who attempt that style.

But, never mind all that, the point is that it is good.

Underneath all this wry satire about our post-9/11 America, where an art teacher believes the government is spying on her and a standardized test is used to profile citizens and mollify its workers, is a realism that is often quite striking.

The motivations of the characters -- these characters that seem both cartoonish and very real, scarily real in some cases, not unlike our President -- are never their politics. They make moves based on love and loss and while this big machine of corruption and absurdity is chugging along all around them, the curtain is never pulled. The focus is on average folks trying to make sense of the looney tunes time they live in.

Sure, by the end, McNally has run out of interesting ideas and falls on some predictable and well-treaded plots but the journey to get there is enjoyable and thought-provoking.

Recommended.

[Yvonne O'Connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jainey O'Sullivan is in her last year of high school in Burbank, IL and realizing she has no idea who she is or what matters anymore. Charlie Wolf is a graduate student in Iowa living an idyllic pseudo-bohemian life with his girlfriend, Petra. When Charlie takes a job scoring standardized tests, he reads a scorn-filled essay by Jainey. When Petra leaves him for a doctor in Chicago, something clicks for Charle and he goes in search of Jainey and Petra. What follows is a whirlwind of conspiracy theories, rants on GW Bush, standardized tests, and morality in general. In the end, Charlie gives is IA apartment to Jainey and she begins a new life there.

While transparently written with a left-wing agenda, the book builds to an addictive crescendo. The level of detail to plot and scene is amazing. McNally gets his point across, but in a totally comfortable way. It doesn't matter that the characters are over the top, the story needs it, and it works. The sub-plot of the Osama -Bush Lycanthrope is brilliant. Jainey's father and brother seem like normal southwest suburb "freaks". Most of all, the repeated inter-twining of all the character plots is well-crafted and keeps the reader coming back for more.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fictional account that takes the No Child Left Behind act and creates a very unique spin on it. The author tells the story of national testing from two points of view. Charlie Wolf is a college graduate who needs a job and ends up grading national tests (America's Report Card). Jainey is a teenager who is in her senior year and has just taken her last test. Jainey's unique response comes across Charlie's desk to be graded and he sets out to meet her after his life has fallen apart. As the story unfolds, Jainey becomes more and more politically minded and discovers that the tests she has taken since grade school are really a way of the government creating a psychological profile for each individual... including the President and other prominent figures. The author does a great job of telling both sides of the story as well as making their meeting and relationship believable. The only part that I felt took away from the book was the story of Jainey's father. It was superfluous and unnecessary. It seems as if the author added this to enhance the ending but it would have been a good read without it.

[Jen McGovern · Rating 4 out of 5]

picking this book up, i thought it had been miscategorized in the fiction section. being in the field of educational publishing myself, the novel's focus on testing drew my attention. i was quite surprised to find myself in the world of a test-scorer (since honestly i never think about the tests being scored) running into the world of a test-taker (a high school senior). the book posed the conspiracy theory that the standardized tests american students take all their lives are used by the government as psychological profiles assessing the potential threat they pose to the government. very interesting, with a couple quick turns of perspective (the narration is third-person, but shifts its focus between characters) that i wasn't expecting along the way.

[Susan Kattwinkel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charlie scores standardized tests. There's some interesting insight into that world - its randomness, rules, complete disconnect from any real evaluation. When Charlie's girlfriend breaks up with him he goes to Chicago, partly because that's where she's gone, but also because that's where Jainey lives, and he was intrigued by her test. They become friends. Charlie still works for the company, but guarding the tests. Why do they need to be guarded? That's the big mystery, and the fact that the most closely guarded test is George W. Bush's shows their importance.
But the intrigue of that got lost in the relationship issues between Charlie and Jainey, as well as her personal problems. It seemed like the better book got overshadowed by the more sensationalist/emotional one.

[Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

I almost didn't review this book, because, I won't lie, I didn't complete it. I consder myself a liberal, and am certainly not pleased with No Child Left Behind or different aspects of George W. Bush's performance as president, but this book was just too much for me. I couldn't finish it because of the way it read. I understand that it is supposed to be a very biting social satire, but this was still too much of shove my agenda down your throat type writing. So, I apologize, maybe my opinion would have been different if I continued to read, but I decided to find a different book that I found more entertaining instead.

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

i read this book for the upcoming S&S monthly book club. and because my imprint published it. and because John McNally was my brother's creative writing teacher at GW. it was pretty good--the writing wasn't anything to write home about, but the story was compelling enough that i almost missed my subway stop on three separate occasions.

[Alexa Hamilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I never, never, ever read satire. Not usually. But this book grabbed me, somehow, and it made me laugh, and though it got bizarro satire by the end, it made sense. Also, I really would love to see Jainey "Lloyd the Freakazoid" cartoons drawn out.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

an interesting read. shows how ridiculously stupid nation-wide standardized testing is.

[Jodi · Rating 5 out of 5]

hilarious! i loved this book.... talk about an intresting story so pertinent to the work that i do! would suggest it to anyone that has a sense of humor and is intrested in standardized tests

[Bridget · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. Can't wait for John McNally to write another. From the dedication on, brilliant."To Ann Coulter, America's Iago." Brilliant!!!

[Mercedesh2o Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

I met the author and he is very nice. But this book was kind of eh... The female character was not believable to me.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun book. Not as good as it was long, however.

[Maxx Spiess]

its really good so far.