Did you ever have a well thought out plan for your future? What would happen if everything you ever wanted in front of you just disappeared in an instant? Would you just watch what you desire fade away or would you try your hardest to get it back? All these issues were brought into the book Born to Rock by Gordon Korman. From my perspective, I thought numerous aspects of the realistic fiction book were quite entertaining. There were multiple conflicts in the book that grabbed my attention and just kept my mind focused on them rather than what was happening in the world around me while I was reading the book.


This story takes at first place in modern times in the state of Connecticut. Eventually as you become more in depth in reading the book, the setting changes from one location to another across the United States. The protagonist is Leo Caraway which the way the book was written is from his point of view. Leo is a straight A student, top of his class, a very bright man, president of his young republicans club who has a GPA of 4.0. At first he thought he would exit high school and enter the real world with his Harvard Scholarship. However thanks to his black mark that he received before the end of school, his life took a dramatic leap downhill as Leo’s scholarship got taken away. With the help of his best friend Melinda who is a goth person, obsessed with punk rock, Leo discovers that his actual bio father is Marion X. McMurphy who is the lead singer of one of the nastiest, chaotic, and famous bands called Purge. At first Leo was disgusted about finding out who his actual father really was. Throughout the book, Leo tries to get to know, meet, and connect with his bio father hoping that he will help him with the path that lies ahead. “You are the sum of what happens to you, a pinball bouncing from bumper to bumper, hoping the impact of the flippers won’t hurt much.”-Leo Caraway. In other words, this quote might be interpreted as your life is what you make if it. There are always ups, and downs that are involved with life. You have to hope none of that will stop you from living your dream. What makes this quote so significant is the fact that it’s the major lesson Leo is taught in Born to Rock.


In my opinion, the only part about the book I thought could be improved was the very beginning. The start of the plot was uninteresting to me and bored my mind. However, when the book got to about 20 pages in depth, it grabbed my full attention. Quotes that characters said were inspiring and life changing. The characters themselves seemed very realistic and their personalities were all unique in their own way. Numerous parts of the book got me excited to read about what was going to happen next. That build up of excitement made me want to read the book more and more. Also, I love the ending of the book which was pretty epic. Overall, I loved reading this book and I personally think that you don’t have to like rock and roll music to sink your brain into Born to Rock. I recommend Born to Rock to people who have an interest in realistic fiction books. Not only them, but people who are amused by the life style of a rock and roll band and enjoy reading books about an adventure one takes or how a person tries to get their life back to together. People who like shocking surprises should also try to read this book.


In my point of view, Born to Rock was a fascinating book to pick up. The plot of the book really had its bundle of twists and turns. There were many aspects I enjoyed about Born to Rock despite only one point I disliked about it. Born to Rock is one of my favorite books I ever read. If I were able to rate on a scale of one to five on how spectacular this book was, I’d definitely without a doubt would give it a five out of five!