Off and running with Rebecca Caudill

Every year I try to read all of the books nominated for the Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award, and every year...I'm in a hurry at the end. So I'm starting now with the 2011 nominees. Wish me luck!

In Schooled by Gordon Korman, Capricorn (Cap) Anderson lives with and is homeschooled by his hippie grandmother on a commune; he's never had pizza, never watched TV... you get the idea. After she's injured and has to stay in the hospital for a while, Cap is sent to live with a counselor and her obnoxious teen daughter, while he attends Claverage Middle School (aka C Average). His long bushy hair, tie-dyed clothes, and overwhelming cluelessness about how his classmates live earn him the "honor" of biggest nerd and, according to tradition, the presidency of the 8th grade class. Each chapter is told in a different voice: Cap, the counselor or her daughter, Zach (big man on campus), Hugh (the previous biggest nerd), and others. This is one of those books for which I have mixed feelings. The story moves well, some parts are funny or touching, and Cap's view of life was pretty interesting, but the voices of the 8th graders didn't seem authentic to me, and I had a hard time getting past that. I'd love to know what middle schoolers think of this book!