Struck by Lightning

November 1, 2012
High school senior Carson Phillips will get into Northwestern and be the youngest freelance journalist published in all the major outlets, and he's not above blackmail to get there. Although he's single-handedly kept the Clover High Chronicle in print and the Writing Club functioning (by teaching the journalism class, one of many credulity-stretching details) for years, Carson is worried that he won't get into his dream school. The acceptance letter will be his ticket out of the backward town of Clover which, like high school, is peopled by Carson's intellectual inferiors. When his counselor suggests he edit and submit a literary magazine with his application, Carson and his dim, plagiaristic sidekick Malerie hatch a scheme to blackmail a chunk of the student body into submitting work. Colfer's joyless and amateurish satire is little more than a series of scenes that seem to be created as vehicles for lame and often cliched one-liners. Once Carson's bullied his classmates (stereotypes one and all) into writing for him, he develops a soul and dispenses Dr. Phil-worthy advice to his victims--and he's confused when they don't thank him. Carson is so unlikable, so groundlessly conceited that when lightning literally does strike, readers who've made it that far may well applaud. This sophomoric sophomore effort reads like a rough draft for a screenplay...which it may well be. (Fiction. 15-17)

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May 1, 2013

Gr 9 Up-"Yeah, I'm a little bitter because I'm one of those kids: bottom of the food chain, constantly teased, despised, an annoyance to everyone around them...." Carson Phillips just doesn't fit in at his small-town high school. Making matters worse, his home life isn't much better. Despite having a pill-popping mother, a father who abandoned the family, and a grandmother suffering from Alzheimer's, he dreams of going to Northwestern University and becoming a big name in the world of journalism. When a flaky guidance counselor informs him that his work as the president of the Writers' Club may not be enough to impress Northwestern, the teen quickly sets out to boost his application by publishing a literary magazine. The only problem is convincing a school full of students who dislike him to submit their work. The ever-determined Carson soon finds a solution...he blackmails individuals from different social groups into contributing. In the process, he begins to understand them as human beings. His efforts pay off. Unfortunately, his mother throws away his acceptance letter from Northwestern, and he doesn't discover that he was admitted until the deadline to respond has long passed. Just as he accepts his fate and convinces himself that attending community college won't be so bad, the story ends abruptly and tragically. Carson's perseverance and ambition cast him as a prickly but likable character (if readers can relate to his foul-mouthed sarcasm), and his wit and humor make this a fast and engaging read.-Nicole Knott, Watertown High School, CT

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2013
Glee star Colfer writes as ambitious Carson Phillips, Clover High senior and future editor of the New Yorker. To increase his chances of getting into Northwestern, Carson blackmails his intelligence-challenged classmates into submitting to the literary magazine he founded. Carson's contempt for nearly everything is initially jarring, but his abrasive narration soon settles into a sharp and occasionally hilarious satire.

(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)