Like its predecessor, “King Dork Approximately” is a period piece set in the early 2000s.
Even my reference is old.
This book picks up where the last ended off, with Tom Henderson, our resident King Dork, as cynical as ever. Tom still doesn’t get along with hippie stepfather Big Tom. He still despises “The Catcher in the Rye” despite being a modern day take on Holden Caulfield. He still rocks out with best bud Sam Hellerman, with a band whose name continues to evolve, including Tennis with Guitars, Encyclopedia Satanica and I Hate this Jar.
But then Tom, the quintessential teenage loner, finds his circle of friends drops from 1 – Sam – to none. After Hillmont High’s abrupt closure, the two misanthropic buddies and bandmates are stationed at different schools. Who will Tom start bands with or hate on the “normal” with? Who else will be a hipster before hipsters were a thing with him, hating CDs, loving vinyl and referring to albums by their catalog number instead of titles?
Things aren’t all bad, though. Tom actually makes friends at his new school! He has a girlfriend and is attending prom! It’s a whole new Tom. Well…
“When you say ‘I want to fit in,’ you are essentially volunteering yourself as a victim, and when the thing you want to fit in with is ‘society’ – well, as ‘society’ is just another word for government, you’re basically begging the government to control you and use you as it wishes for its nefarious purposes, which can be pretty damn nefarious, if ‘nefarious’ means what I believe it does.”
Alright, there’s that Tom we know and love.
The first “King Dork” had that great mystery plot. The sequel is more slice of life, so your enjoyment relies more on whether or not you find these characters fun to spend time with. But if you share Portman’s sense of humor and love of music, you’ll have a great time with this installment.
For me, Tom and Sam are basically every friend I had in high school, so this book is the closest thing I have to time travel without a Flux Capacitor.
But let’s be honest here – the best part about this book? It got the Mister T Experience back together! Writer Frank Portman reunited his pop punk group to record their first album in 12 years, and it’s available now as a free download when you purchase the book.
-Emily Matview
Frank Portman will be appearing at the Windmill Library in Las Vegas on Oct 22 for a concert and book signing. More information for this event can be found on Facebook.
You can purchase King Dork Approximately here or check it out from any Las Vegas-Clark County Library here.
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