Comedy High — Stephen Manes

From the author of Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days!, a biting satire about growing up contrarian in an all-American town:

Bright lights! Dancing girls! Cheap eats! Gambling (but only if you're over 21). Sun! Fun! The world's third-largest man-made volcano! What more could a guy ask for?

Plenty. Ivan Zellner and his father have just moved to Carmody, Nevada. It calls itself "The Future Entertainment Capital of the World." Ivan calls it "the toilet bowl." To him, the tacky town is an endless traffic jam full of tourists in search of cheap thrills and quick bucks. The air smells like rotten eggs. The tap water can make you sick. And the new high school, in a remodeled hotel, offers courses in performing, sports, hospitality, gambling and comedy--not, Ivan suspects, the finest preparation for college.

Home? To Ivan, Carmody seems more like an alien planet. But when he meets other kids who feel the same was, a funny thing happens on the way to high school--in fact, lots of funny things in a Labor Day weekend like no other.

Once more, the blisteringly funny pen of Stephen Manes has produced a totally original, totally hilarious slice of American life. It's a sure bet: Comedy High is high comedy.