Schooled (novel)

Capricorn Anderson, also named Cap, has been arrested by the police for driving without a license. To their surprise Cap has no idea what is happening. He tells them he was driving his grandmother, Rain, to the hospital after she broke her hip falling out of a tree. He lives with his Grandma and is schooled by her on a commune called Garland and neither understands the concept of a license nor knows the emergency number 9-1-1 Eventually, the police let him go to see Rain in the hospital.

Rain is distraught. She tells the nurses that she cannot go to the hospital for two months because she has to look after Capricorn, who has no one else, and she hates the idea of him being "contaminated" by the real world. The doctors tell her she has no choice and they will have to call social services to find him a home and a school until she gets strong again. Luckily for both Cap and Rain, the social worker given Cap's case is a lady called Mrs. Donnelly. Brought up on Garland herself, she understands what Cap must be going through and invites him to stay with her at her house.

The first person Cap meets is Zach Powers, the school bully and popular kid at school.

Cap tells Rain he wants to go back to Garland. Rain is sympathetic. She tells him that the outside world is an unforgiving place and he should feel sorry for anyone that cannot live like he can.

Cap is voted in as president. Zach and his friends Darryl, Naomi and Lena are having a great time sending Cap on wild goose chases. Naomi leaves notes from "Lorelei Lumley" in his locker.

Meanwhile, Cap's popularity at school rises two-fold. One day on the school bus, the bus driver has a heart attack sending the bus veering towards a dump truck. Cap responds immediately, steering the bus away from the truck and to the hospital, where he is arrested. Despite his arrest at the hospital, the students hail him as a hero and begin helping him out with his duties as president.

Hugh and Zach are the only two people unhappy with Cap's newfound celebrity status. They decide to get together and plot Cap's downfall. At the pep rally, they dress Cap up in the opposing team's uniform and send him out onto the football field, and as soon as he steps onto the field the Claverage players all charge and pile onto him, with Darryl at the front. Later, Darryl, realizing Zach was responsible, approaches him. Zach laughs at him, and Darryl, unable to compete with him in an argument of words, raises his fists to punch him. Unfortunately, Cap has stepped between them without Darryl noticing, and his punch lands directly on Cap's nose. An ambulance arrives for Cap, but it is not to take him to a hospital. Rain has arrived at the school to take him back to Garland.

Sophie is doing her driving test when she realizes that the bracelet she thought her father sent her was not from him, but from Cap. She feels remorse about all the things she said and did to him, and all he did was respond in kindness. As soon as she passes her driving test she travels to Garland, determined to take Cap to the Halloween dance. In Sophie's car, they drive to Claverage Middle School.

When they arrive at the school, Cap and Sophie see everyone in the parking lot holding candles and dressed in hippie clothing. One by one, they all tearfully give small speeches until finally Cap comes forward to reveal he is still alive. Everyone goes wild and Darryl steps forward to lift him through the crowd. At the back of the crowd is Rain, observing everything. A couple of days later, Cap is at working on the commune by himself when a white Mercedes pulls up and out steps Rain. Stylishly dressed and with a mobile phone and a cane, she tells Cap that she has sold Garland for $17 million, bought a condo in the city and enlisted Cap at Claverage Middle School. She insists, however, she has not sold out. They will mostly use the money to help others.

It was the most popular Winner of the 2010 Young Reader's Choice Awards.[1]