Tales of the Madman Underground

MICHAEL L. PRINTZ HONOR BOOK - This gripping coming-of-age novel takes readers on a rollercoaster ride through the chaotic life of a quirky teen and his misfit friends.

"Darkly comic . . . as troubled, relevant, relatable and hilarious as J.D. Salinger."--Los Angeles Times

"Rarely will you read something so lovingly vulgar, so fiercely warmhearted, and so exuberantly expansive."--Booklist, starred review

If this book was a monologue . . . it would be ****ing censored.

Today is Wednesday, September 5, 1973. Welcome to the life of Karl Shoemaker, which includes:

- getting through his senior year of high school
- getting out of Lightsburg, Ohio, hole of the world
- trying to lose his virginity
- five jobs
- a dead father
- a seriously unhinged drunk mother
- a house that is basically a litter box
- his membership in the Madman Underground (a group of kids forced, for no apparent reason, to attend group therapy during school hours)

Author: John Barnes
Publisher: Speak
Published: 01/06/2011
Pages: 544
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.03lbs
Size: 8.19h x 5.59w x 1.42d
ISBN: 9780142417027

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 5.9
Point Value: 20
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 130996 / Tales of the Madman Underground

About the Author
This is the acclaimed novelist John Barnes's first book for teenagers.