From the first glance at the cover of King Dork, one can already see a correlation between it and The Catcher in the Rye. There is connection not only in the plot but also the mentality and thinking of the protagonists. Some could even argue this book is the modern day version of Salinger's famous 1951 novel. Don't get me wrong, it's not completely the same and the plot and characters are unique but Portman obviously wanted the strong relationship with Catcher… to be obvious.
Because of the first person perspective of the novel, the reader understands the characters as they relate to the distorted view of the scrawny, awkward, slightly pessimistic teenage boy Tom Henderson. Being on the outside of social groups with the exception of his only “friend” Sam Hellerman, he is able to realize the strange characteristics and habits of high school students. Tom goes as far as to call them “psychotic normal people” because he doesn’t understand their behavior and or thought process. The nickname that most people call him “Chi-Mo” (Moe) has a very inappropriate beginning which just furthers his distrust and frustration with his peers. “Still anyone who calls me Moe, even when they may mean no harm, is a potential enemy. That’s just the way it is” (Portman 76). This quote is a great insight into the way he is around people, how timid and defensive he is when people are the slight bit threatening. Even when talking about his only friend Sam, he doesn’t even call him a friend just the closest thing he has to one. He is critical of almost everyone including his mom and his step dad who he sees as people who mean well but take away his stuff that he thinks is perfectly acceptable.
There are several themes that can be found while reading Portman’s novel on the high school experience. Tom and Sam attempt to put a two man band together (minus drums) and for the first half of the book don’t even have instruments. Most of the time they will think of a band name from something they heard somewhere, come up with their nicknames, album names, and create the artwork. Band names lasted anywhere from a few days to several weeks and were something like:
“What do you think of Sentient Beard?” (Me on guitar, Samerica the Beautiful on Bass and upholstery, first album Off the Charts-Way off)” (Portman 289). The band names were almost always a play on words that was inappropriate and against society somehow. Tom’s stepdad would always walk in on them while they were practicing and would say things like “rock on” to help encourage them but Tom thought he was just making fun of their attempts. Throughout the book Tom tries to figure out what the writings in his dad’s old books mean and if they can point him in the direction out of dorkiness. He also has an urge to discover the facts surrounding his father’s death.
The writing style of King Dork is very conversational and doesn’t care much about having the best grammar. In fact, the book reads like it’s a 16 year old’s personal journal which is how the author probably wanted the book to read. The book holds nothing back and has some colorful language that shouldn’t be read by less mature audiences. The book starts with a declaration and acknowledgement by Tom. “They call me King Dork. Well, let me put it another way: no one ever actually calls me King Dork. It’s how I refer to myself in my head, a silent protest and acknowledgement at the same time” (Portman 5). He’s quite sarcastic which is probably to cope with the fact that very few people love or pay much attention to him.
Frank Portman’s King Dork is an interesting, slightly unrealistic look at the life of a high school dork. The insights are an interesting read though. I would have to rate this book a four out of 5 stars because of its uniqueness and enjoyable qualities.
