Eleven-year-old Lenny Syms is about to start college—sort of. As part of a brand-new experimental school, Lenny and four other students are starting sixth grade on a university campus, where they’ll be taught by the most brilliant professors and given every resource imaginable. This new school is pretty weird, though. Instead of hunkering down behind a desk to study math, science, and history, Lenny finds himself meditating, participating in discussions where you don’t even have to raise your hand, and spying on the campus population in the name of anthropology.
But Lenny just lost his mom, and his Latin professor dad is better with dead languages than actual human beings. Lenny doesn’t want to be part of some learning experiment. He just wants to be left alone. Yet if Lenny is going to make it as a middle schooler on a college campus, he’s going to need help. Is a group of misfit sixth graders and one particularly quirky professor enough to pull him out of his sadness and back into the world?
Schooled is a heartfelt middle-grade coming-of-age story about grief, belonging, and new friendships. The story follows Lenny Syms, an eleven-year-old boy still grieving his mother’s death months earlier, who relocates with his father (a Latin professor) to a university campus. There, he joins the experimental sixth grade “Copernican School,” where students attend college lectures, meditate, conduct self-directed studies, and pursue solo end-of-year projects. Resistant to change, Lenny initially rebels but then slowly connects with other classmates and befriends a spirited professor with a fairy-tale class.
Lenny Syms is an emotionally complex, intelligent, and highly sensitive protagonist. Right from the start readers will recognize his sarcasm and wit that belie his age and make him very likeable and amusing. Mourning his mother and struggling to connect with his distant (and clueless) father, Lenny becomes very cynical about his new unconventional school and its eccentric parent-teachers. He quickly becomes detached and spends his days roaming the campus aimlessly—until he develops an unexpected friendship with an older professor, VW, whose lectures fascinate him.
The bond that forms between Lenny and VW is one of the highlights of the story. Their dialogue is heartfelt and compelling as they share their stories and experiences of grief. By the end, VW becomes a mentor figure who inspires Lenny to reconnect with his creativity and grief in transformative ways. Lenny also gradually opens up to his fellow classmates and gains much-needed acceptance and support. All of the parent/student side characters have vibrant, unique personalities that make the dialogue interesting, funny, and emotionally resonant!
The quirky “Copernican School” is a really unique backdrop for the story—its diverse, tightly knit group of personalities and family dynamics brilliantly mirror Lenny’s emotional journey. The unconventional school also poses thought‑provoking ideas about creative learning and institutional flexibility—not all readers will be on board with such an independent education approach for 6th graders, but it serves this story perfectly as a metaphor for finding one’s own path!
The writing is moving, poignant, and fresh. The story has some heavy themes of loss, grief, absent fatherhood, and miscommunication—but it’s all woven into a heartfelt and accessible story that is suitable for middle grade to adult readers. The story is well-paced throughout, and readers get a good glimpse into the major happenings of Lenny’s school year. His grief and gradual transformation all unfold in a very authentic and engaging manner—a true sign of great writing! After such a moving tale, the ending feels a bit rushed—there could have been a bit more detail on Lenny and his father’s resolution and the future of the quirky learning environment.
Overall, Schooled is a thoughtful, emotionally resonant take on middle‑grade grief, identity, and belonging. It’s an emotional story that will have readers tearing up, laughing, intrigued, and feeling hopeful—all while giving an insight into complex family and friendship dynamics. Readers who enjoy character‑driven, coming-of-age stories with heart will really enjoy this book!
Narrator Performance
The audiobook of Schooled is a heartfelt, engaging listen narrated by Mark Sanderlin, who’s renowned for his narration of middle grade fiction!
From the very first chapter, Sanderlin brings protagonist Lenny vividly to life, with a cynical, sarcastic tone that wonderfully captures the character’s intuition and intelligence. As seen in his other works, Sanderlin is very talented at bringing empathy and emotional nuance to characters dealing with grief or angst—and this book is another good example! Lenny’s inner monologues, where he processes rage and grief from his mother’s death, come across as authentic, relatable, and emotionally riveting!
The dialogue between Lenny and Professor VW is one of the highlights—in these scenes Sanderlin shifts his performance of Lenny from cynical and closed off to intrigued and communicative, and the special bond forming between them is quite heartfelt! Leny’s relationship with his father is another focal point of the story—the scenes later in the story where they are finally forced to discuss their shared grief are especially powerful and moving—so be sure to have tissues on hand!
Sanderlin also does a fantastic job with all the character voices—each of Lenny’s classmates and teachers is given a distinct, animated voice and personality, giving the audiobook a cinematic feel. In particular, Sanderlin’s portrayal of Henrietta, who empathizes with Lenny the most of all his classmates, is especially expressive and endearing!
Overall, this emotionally layered story is superbly narrated by Mark Sanderlin with complexity, warmth, and authenticity that will keep listeners engaged throughout. Fans of character-driven coming-of-age stories and emotionally compelling audiobook performances will find this a memorable and moving listening experience!
Narrator Performance
The audiobook of Schooled is a heartfelt, engaging listen narrated by Mark Sanderlin, who’s renowned for his narration of middle grade fiction!
From the very first chapter, Sanderlin brings protagonist Lenny vividly to life, with a cynical, sarcastic tone that wonderfully captures the character’s intuition and intelligence. As seen in his other works, Sanderlin is very talented at bringing empathy and emotional nuance to characters dealing with grief or angst—and this book is another good example! Lenny’s inner monologues, where he processes rage and grief from his mother’s death, come across as authentic, relatable, and emotionally riveting!
The dialogue between Lenny and Professor VW is one of the highlights—in these scenes Sanderlin shifts his performance of Lenny from cynical and closed off to intrigued and communicative, and the special bond forming between them is quite heartfelt! Leny’s relationship with his father is another focal point of the story—the scenes later in the story where they are finally forced to discuss their shared grief are especially powerful and moving—so be sure to have tissues on hand!
Sanderlin also does a fantastic job with all the character voices—each of Lenny’s classmates and teachers is given a distinct, animated voice and personality, giving the audiobook a cinematic feel. In particular, Sanderlin’s portrayal of Henrietta, who empathizes with Lenny the most of all his classmates, is especially expressive and endearing!
Overall, this emotionally layered story is superbly narrated by Mark Sanderlin with complexity, warmth, and authenticity that will keep listeners engaged throughout. Fans of character-driven coming-of-age stories and emotionally compelling audiobook performances will find this a memorable and moving listening experience!
The audiobook of Schooled is a heartfelt, engaging listen narrated by Mark Sanderlin, who’s renowned for his narration of middle grade fiction!
From the very first chapter, Sanderlin brings protagonist Lenny vividly to life, with a cynical, sarcastic tone that wonderfully captures the character’s intuition and intelligence. As seen in his other works, Sanderlin is very talented at bringing empathy and emotional nuance to characters dealing with grief or angst—and this book is another good example! Lenny’s inner monologues, where he processes rage and grief from his mother’s death, come across as authentic, relatable, and emotionally riveting!
The dialogue between Lenny and Professor VW is one of the highlights—in these scenes Sanderlin shifts his performance of Lenny from cynical and closed off to intrigued and communicative, and the special bond forming between them is quite heartfelt! Leny’s relationship with his father is another focal point of the story—the scenes later in the story where they are finally forced to discuss their shared grief are especially powerful and moving—so be sure to have tissues on hand!
Sanderlin also does a fantastic job with all the character voices—each of Lenny’s classmates and teachers is given a distinct, animated voice and personality, giving the audiobook a cinematic feel. In particular, Sanderlin’s portrayal of Henrietta, who empathizes with Lenny the most of all his classmates, is especially expressive and endearing!
Overall, this emotionally layered story is superbly narrated by Mark Sanderlin with complexity, warmth, and authenticity that will keep listeners engaged throughout. Fans of character-driven coming-of-age stories and emotionally compelling audiobook performances will find this a memorable and moving listening experience!
