Born to Rock

By Gordon Korman

Book Overview

Leo Caraway-high school senior, 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. He's also Leo's biological father. When Leo discovers that his real father is a punk rock legend, he is disgusted.  Not only is Leo not a punk rock fan, but he believes the X factor (the Maggot blood that is running through his veins) is a dangerous time bomb just waiting to explode.  And sure enough it does-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 hatches the crazy plan of going on tour with King Maggot for Purge's summer revival tour, all the while secretly hoping to convince Maggot to pay for his tuition. But life on the road is even crazier than Leo ever bargained for, and before the summer is out, he will finally discover the surprising truth about his dad, his friends, and most important, himself.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786809213
• ISBN13: 9780786809219
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Hyperion Book CH
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 5.5"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 to Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

Born to Rock

Gr 7-10-Leo Caraway is a strait A student, president of the Young Republicans group, and is the biological son of a Punk Rock Star. He didn't know who his bio dad was until be stumbled upon a website that talked about Marion X. McMurphy who's name is listed on his birth certificate. When he is accused of cheating on a test, he loses his scholarship to Harvard. He then decides to try to meet his punk rock dad , aka King Maggot so that he can get closer to him to try to get him to pay for his college tuition. I thought this book was very interesting because it talks about punk rock and has a very good storyline. I would recommend this book to any rocker looking for a good story about punk rock or the difficulty of teenage life and being a roadie. I would recommend this book to the age group of 13 to 18 years. I thought it was the best book I ever read E V E R!!!

This is a great book!

"I'd always blamed my McMurphy DNA for every weird urge and character flaw, but that was just neurotic. Never did I seriously believe that I'd turn out to be so spectacularly right! I mean, a dad in the entertainment industry would have been kind of cool, but this was more like terrorism than show business. The blood of a notorious lowlife flowed through my veins. I was Prince Maggot." Leo Caraway makes this statement in the book Born to Rock by Gordan Korman when he realizes that his true biological father is not who he thought he was. As he finds out it is really front-man of the famous punk-rock band Purge, Marion X. McMurphy. A.K.A. King Maggot. Leo Caraway is a bright, 18 year-old, and president of the Young Republicans. Leo's life is going great for him. He is about to graduate high school and has a scholarship to Harvard. However, while taking a test he is accused of cheating and has his scholarship taken away. His family can't afford tuition and Leo can only think of one person to turn to. King Maggot. The only problem is, King doesn't know who Leo is. Leo is troubled when he is trying to figure out how he will come in contact with King Maggot so he throws a note to him during a press conference. But doesn't know if he will respond. Born to Rock is an excellent story of a young boy trying to connect with his true father and makes you wonder, "what will happen next?" This book is way too exciting to put down. I loved reading about Leo's many adventures and problems while touring with the band Purge like losing a poodle in a nightclub and dealing with his grumpy roommate, Cam, all while discovering the true identity behind King Maggot and waiting for the DNA tests results to come back.

Great!

"I'd always blamed my McMurphy DNA for every weird urge and character flaw, but that was just neurotic. Never did I seriously believe that I'd turn out to be so spectacularly right! I mean, a dad in the entertainment industry would have been kind of cool, but this was more like terrorism than show business. The blood of a notorious lowlife flowed through my veins. I was Prince Maggot." Leo Caraway makes this statement in the book Born to Rock by Gordan Korman when he realizes that his true biological father is not who he thought he was. As he finds out it is really front-man of the famous punk-rock band Purge, Marion X. McMurphy. A.K.A. King Maggot. Leo Caraway is a bright, 18 year-old, and president of the Young Republicans. Leo's life is going great for him. He is about to graduate high school and has a scholarship to Harvard. However, while taking a test he is accused of cheating and has his scholarship taken away. His family can't afford tuition and Leo can only think of one person to turn to. King Maggot. The only problem is, King doesn't know who Leo is. Born to Rock is an excellent story of a young boy trying to connect with his true father and makes you wonder, "what will happen next?" This book is way too exciting to put down. I loved reading about Leo's many adventures and problems while touring with the band Purge and discovering the true identity behind King Maggot and the rest of Purge.

Teach likes punk, too

This is the kind of book that I'd like to do with my class. Funny...and about things that interest teens. It hooked me on page 1. When is the movie coming out?

Born to Rock ROCKS

This book made me laugh; it was great! Poor Leo's confusion, denial, and acceptance over his parentage was well-written and believable. The real eye-opener is when Leo "finds out" who his dad is. The poor boy is in shock. Read the book to find out the rest. I'd give this book 9 and 1/2 stars and would recommend this book to anyone.