Books: The Revenge of the Dork

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Even after the cutting and streamlining, the book is deeply nuanced--a teen novel in the way that Mark Twain wrote teen novels. Or J.D. Salinger. In fact, the punk conceit of King Dork is that the main character rails against "the cult of Catcher in the Rye." The cover of King Dork is a faux red Catcher cover, with the title and Salinger's name erased and replaced by Portman's. "I always felt a lot of people might have been faking the adulation of it, to impress their parents or their teachers," says Portman. Plus, he knew that writing about a disaffected, sensitive young man with father issues would invite comparison. "So I said, 'What if the character made it a symbol for everything that is wrong in the world?' I thought it would be funny."

So did Will Ferrell. Chris Henchy, a writer and producer who works at Ferrell's production company, said it bought the film rights to King Dork because of the darkly comedic way Portman captured how hard high school is. "There's nothing funnier than biking to your first sexual experience," Henchy says. "Do you know how far you will ride on your bike for your first sexual experience? There is no answer. Because you will just continue to go." And the video clip that Portman, experienced at self-promoting from years in an indie band, put on YouTube to publicize his book helped Ferrell's company see it as a film. But not a film for teens, says Ferrell's writing partner Adam McKay. "I wouldn't want my 14-year-old reading King Dork," he says. "It's pretty severe."

Portman is already deep into his next teen novel, which takes place in the same location as King Dork--a fictionalized version of the Bay Area town he grew up in. This one centers on a group of girls who are obsessed with fortune telling. So Portman has put aside his lifelong dream of rock stardom. "I'm focusing on books right now," he says. "It's a much better gig."