Born to Rock » (Unabridged, 5 CDs, 5 hours)

Gordon Korman is one of the most beloved contemporary authors of today with more than 40 middle-grade novels to his credit. He published his first book at the wee age of fourteen, which turned into the Bruno and Boots series- still in print! Also a tireless self-promoter, Gordon travels across the country and even travels abroad to promote his books. Originally from Toronto, Gordon and his wife, a teacher, now live on Long Island with their little boy.

Leo Caraway - president of the Young Republicans club, 4.0 GPA, future Harvard student - had his entire future perfectly planned out. That was, until the X factor. As in Marion X. McMurphy, aka King Maggot, the lead singer of Purge, the most popular, most destructive band punk rock has ever seen. As in Leo’s biological father.

At first, Leo is horrified to find out his real father is punk rock’s most notorious bad boy. Not only is he not a punk rock fan, but he believes the X factor (the Maggot blood in his veins) is a dangerous time bomb just waiting to explode. And sure enough it does - when Leo stubbornly defends the unlikeliest of people, thereby getting himself falsely accused of cheating on a test.

Because of the blemish on his record, the once-star pupil finds his scholarship to Harvard taken away. So he accepts a job as a roadie with Purge’s summer revival tour, all the while secretly hoping to convince King Maggot to pay his tuition. But life on the road is even crazier than Leo bargained for, and before the summer is over, he will finally discover the surprising truth about his dad, his friends, and most important, himself.

Publishers Weekly

Though Hammond gets off to a slightly bumpy, halting start, he soon catches the fun rhythm and youthful energy of Korman's latest novel, a fresh spin on the fish-out-of-water tale. Leo Caraway leads a charmed life as a fairly straight-laced Young Republican and A-student headed for Harvard on a scholarship. But then he finds out that his biological father is none other than Marion X. McMurphy (aka King Maggot), lead singer of the wildly popular punk band Purge. As Leo expects, this shocking bit of information brings with it some bad karma, and a misunderstanding costs him his Harvard scholarship. Only one out-there option makes sense at this point: Leo will work as a roadie for Purge, and get his father to cough up the tuition money. But life on a rock tour is even freakier than Leo imagined, and the truth he learns about dear old dad is freakiest of all. Rock fans will appreciate the short riffs at chapter breaks and the intriguing music-centric premise. Ages 12-up. (Apr.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.