Eight years after Frank Portman's highly entertaining debut, King Dork, the author--and 15-year-old Tom Henderson (aka King Dork)--picks up where he left off.
Despite an abundance of references to the previous book and Portman's ability to fill in readers new to Tom Henderson's world with funny asides and quips, readers will most enjoy this book if they've read the first one. Tom continues to make his way through his deceased father's library, but without a mystery to solve, this sequel is weighted more toward Tom's nerdy charm and less toward plot. Roughly 50 pages in, Tom learns that the scandal he uncovered in book one has precipitated the closing of Hillmont High School, and he and Sam Hellerman (his alphabetically destined best friend) must head to different locations. But this gives Tom fresh fodder for his keen observations, as when his fellow band member Celeste ascends the social ladder at Tom's new high school, Clearview: "Occasionally, it's true, a given girl could move beyond her station, by being especially mean, or loud, or funny, or by sucking up to the higher-ranked girls. But there was a limit... one false move and back down the ladder you went."
Readers who lapped up the first book will find the intelligent, sarcastic humor just as razor-sharp here. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness