Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie
Encyclopedia
Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie is a 2005 young adult novel by David Lubar
. It is a story about the high school
experiences of a fourteen-year-old boy named Scott Hudson. The narration is peppered with lists, journal entries and Scott's creative writing attempts. While generally light-hearted in tone, the novel explores heavier subjects such as bullying, peer pressure
and teenage suicide
.
and protagonist
of the story. He is a high school freshman with a love for words and a somewhat impaired social life. He has integrity
and a good sense of humor to him, and can find something good in the worst of things. He is a little too impulsive when it comes to handling his crush, which results in taking part in way too many extracurricular activities such as stage crew, the school's newspaper and the student council. Besides literature
(in particular "spooky stuff"), his interests include fishing and hanging out with his older brother Bobby. In the end, Scott's good sense of humor earned him new friends and a new respect from his parents and Bobby.
; To Kill A Mockingbird
; Bunnicula
; Kubla Khan
; The Giaour
; Dorothy Parker
's The Waltz; The Princess Bride
; Tuck Everlasting
; Sideways Stories From Wayside School
; The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
; Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher
; Hatchet
; Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
; A Spell for Chameleon
; Dragonflight
; Understanding Comics
; The Gift of the Magi
; The Lottery
; The Outsiders
; and others.
. Some include:
David Lubar
David Lubar is an author of numerous books for teens. He is also an electronic game programmer, who programmedSuper Breakout for the Nintendo Game Boy, and Frogger for both the SNES and Game Boy. As a game designer, he designed the game Frogger 2: Swampy's Revenge for the Nintendo Game Boy Color...
. It is a story about the high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
experiences of a fourteen-year-old boy named Scott Hudson. The narration is peppered with lists, journal entries and Scott's creative writing attempts. While generally light-hearted in tone, the novel explores heavier subjects such as bullying, peer pressure
Peer pressure
Peer pressure refers to the influence exerted by a peer group in encouraging a person to change his or her attitudes, values, or behavior in order to conform to group norms. Social groups affected include membership groups, when the individual is "formally" a member , or a social clique...
and teenage suicide
Teenage suicide
Teenage suicide in the United States remains comparatively high in the 15 to 24 age group with 4,000 suicides in this age range in 2004, making it the third leading cause of death for those aged 15 to 24...
.
Scott Hudson
Fourteen-year-old Scott Hudson is the narratorNarrator
A narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...
and protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
of the story. He is a high school freshman with a love for words and a somewhat impaired social life. He has integrity
Integrity
Integrity is a concept of consistency of actions, values, methods, measures, principles, expectations, and outcomes. In ethics, integrity is regarded as the honesty and truthfulness or accuracy of one's actions...
and a good sense of humor to him, and can find something good in the worst of things. He is a little too impulsive when it comes to handling his crush, which results in taking part in way too many extracurricular activities such as stage crew, the school's newspaper and the student council. Besides literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
(in particular "spooky stuff"), his interests include fishing and hanging out with his older brother Bobby. In the end, Scott's good sense of humor earned him new friends and a new respect from his parents and Bobby.
"The Three Musketeers"
Scott calls his company "The Three Musketeers", despite the fact that there are four of them. Although he says there are only three.- Kyle has been Scott's friend since kindergarten and is a fearless but obnoxious teenager. He eventually makes the wrestlingWrestlingWrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
team, starts hanging out with the jocks and dumps Scott. He is usually pessimistic, and later hangs out with Vernon, and becomes Scott's enemy. - Mitch has been Scott's friend since sixth grade. The best-looking of the "Three Musketeers," he leaves the quartet early in the story when he gets a girlfriend at least a year older than himself and starts to spend all his time with her.
- Patrick is the friend that stays with Scott before moving to Texas, which upset and saddened Scott. He is the only one of the three to have had a close friendship with Scott. Has been Scott's friend since the second grade.
Friends at the end of the book
- Wesley Cobble Jr.- high school senior. Always calm and collected, he helps "relieve" freshmen of their spare change, drives a Mustang, rarely abides to speed limits, comes out from fights unscathed, steals soda from vending machines, smokes, never pays for his gas, skips class, steals knives and saltshakers from restaurants and often modifies his file to remove his misdeeds from the permanent record. Despite his rowdy behavior, he abides by a set of his own principles (which Scott can't figure out). He eventually befriends Scott and repeatedly stands up for him. Wesley helps Scott out a lot throughout the story. Wesley's father is the owner of "Wesco" a company that rents limosLimousineA limousine is a luxury sedan or saloon car, especially one with a lengthened wheelbase or driven by a chauffeur. The chassis of a limousine may have been extended by the manufacturer or by an independent coachbuilder. These are called "stretch" limousines and are traditionally black or white....
, snowmobiles and jet skis, which Wesley sometimes "borrows". Wesley likes hot chocolateHot chocolateHot chocolate is a heated beverage typically consisting of shaved chocolate, melted chocolate or cocoa powder, heated milk or water, and sugar...
with little marshmallows.
- Lee is a new girl at the high school, transferring to Zenger in the beginning of October. She sits with the popular girls (though she ignores them and vice versa). She is not afraid to be herself and to step from the safety of her chosen identity if the situation demands it. Lee has many piercings, including one on her tongue, and her hair is dyed green (later black and, later yet, orange). She has rather morbid interests, a deadpan sense of humor, a love for books and a zest for life. Lee creeps Scott out but he finds himself talking to her more and more nevertheless. They are friends by the end of the book, and most likely dating, since at the last dance, Scott says that he likes dancing with her more than Julia. Lee is a daughter of a phlebotomist and a lawyer whose specialty is getting around antipollution laws.
- Louden "Mouth" Kandeski is an annoying motormouth and Scott's neighbor. He reviews books for the high school newspaper. At the school dances, he roams around the gym asking every girl to dance with him to no avail. Nobody likes him, but he seems oblivious to the fact and seems to be incorrigibly optimistic until the day he has had enough and unsuccessfully tries to commit suicide by hanging himself. After that he's transferred to another school, but stays in touch with Scott, who was always nice to him.
- Julia is Vernon's ex-girlfriend and Scott's crush for the whole year and finally gets up the courage to talk to her at the end of the year dance where they dance and discovers that she really does remember that they were friends in kindergarten. Although she dumps Vernon, she doesn't date Scott. Nevertheless the friendship between the two rekindles during the dance.
Scott's Family
- Bobby Hudson: Scott's big brother; His high school experience was a nightmare for his parents, since he skipped history seventeen times in a row, was caught making out nine times with nine different girls and dropped out of school half a year before his graduation. Bobby is tall, strong and good with tools. He also has trouble reading; he figured none of his teachers would notice that if he caused enough trouble, which turned out to be the case. Bobby is also a talented guitarist and eventually joins his old band, who all soon get their lucky day and are offered to perform as an opening act in a tour. He loves his brother, and doesn't want Scott or Sean to end up like him.
- Scott's dad: tall and good with tools. Never went to college. Likes fishing and repairing his CorvetteChevrolet CorvetteThe Chevrolet Corvette is a sports car by the Chevrolet division of General Motors that has been produced in six generations. The first model, a convertible, was designed by Harley Earl and introduced at the GM Motorama in 1953 as a concept show car. Myron Scott is credited for naming the car after...
. Works in auto repair. He reminds Scott of Atticus FinchAtticus FinchAtticus Finch is a fictional character in Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus is a lawyer and resident of the fictional Maycomb County, Alabama, and the father of Jeremy Atticus "Jem" Finch and Jean Louise "Scout" Finch. Atticus is a central character in the novel...
since he's quiet, but not a wimp. - Scott's mom: kind. During her pregnancy, often gets cravings. She likes cooking and never went to college.
- Sean Hudson is Scott's younger brother, born at the end of the book. In the Journal he was known as "Smelly".
High School Students
- Mandy: a senior and an editor of the high school's newspaper. She wears "killer tops".
- Terry Swain: a good-natured jock who is on both the basketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and the football teams. According to Scott, he is so fast he burns the field, and the girls think he's sweet. He is nice to both Scott and Lee. - Sheldon Murmbower: an unpopular freshman who the older students always hit on the head on the bus (referred to as "a game of Smack the Sheldon"). Scott sits behind him for months to avoid getting smacked.
- Ben: a skinny, acneAcneAcne is a general term used for acneiform eruptions. It is usually used as a synonym for acne vulgaris, but may also refer to:*Acne aestivalis*Acne conglobata*Acne cosmetica*Acne fulminans*Acne keloidalis nuchae*Acne mechanica...
-faced student in charge of the stage crew. He usually sits around playing pokerPokerPoker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
and makes the freshmen do most of the work. He later has new respect for Scott. At the last high school dance of Scott's freshmen year, he comes to Scott's aid against Vernon by keeping him from beating Scott up. - Vernon Dross: The quarterback for the football team, and Scott's rival for Julia. He was originally Julia's boyfriend, but she dumped him after realizing how much of a jerk he was. He beats up Scott for liking Julia. During the dance, he tries to beat up Scott again, but Scott gets protected by his new friends.
The Staff of Zenger High
- Mr. Franka teaches Honors English and quickly becomes Scott's favorite teacher. A natural in his field, he educates without analyzing literature works to the point where they are boring. He can make his class fun without any gimmicks or jokes, and the books he chooses for his lessons range from well-known classics and poetry to graphic novels and movie scripts.
- Mr. Cravutto teaches gym. He often pushes his students to the limit and regularly insults them, calling them "sissies" and "wimps." When the school is short a Spanish teacher he fills in (even though he doesn't know a word of Spanish and has the students do push-ups in class).
- Mr. Perchal directs the school musical (A Tale of Two Cities). After Scott auditions for a part (another vain attempt to hang out with Julia), he asks Scott to join the technical theater crew.
- Ms. Pell is the good-natured life skills teacher.
- Ms. De Gaulle is Scott's first SpanishSpanish languageSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
teacher. She is FrenchFrench peopleThe French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
and speaks Spanish with a French accent. - Mr. Kamber is Scott's second Spanish teacher. He speaks with a thick AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n accent and reassures the class with a "N'warries, might" (meaning "No worries, mate") when they say they don't understand him. - Ms. Phong is Scott's third Spanish teacher. She is VietnameseVietnamese peopleThe Vietnamese people are an ethnic group originating from present-day northern Vietnam and southern China. They are the majority ethnic group of Vietnam, comprising 86% of the population as of the 1999 census, and are officially known as Kinh to distinguish them from other ethnic groups in Vietnam...
and doesn't know English. - Ms. Cabrini is Scott's fourth, and final, Spanish teacher. She was born in ArgentinaArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, lived in MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, also visited Puerto RicoPuerto RicoPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
and most of the countries in Central AmericaCentral AmericaCentral America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
. As such, she is the only competent Spanish teacher Scott gets.
Literary Allusions
Throughout the book, many literary works are mentioned. Those include Ender's GameEnder's Game
Ender's Game is a science fiction novel by American author Orson Scott Card. The book originated as the short story "Ender's Game", published in the August 1977 issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact. Elaborating on characters and plot lines depicted in the novel, Card later wrote additional...
; To Kill A Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel by Harper Lee published in 1960. It was instantly successful, winning the Pulitzer Prize, and has become a classic of modern American literature...
; Bunnicula
Bunnicula
Bunnicula is a children's book series written by James Howe about a vampire bunny that sucks the juice out of vegetables. It is also the name of the first book in the series, published 1979 .The story is centered on the Monroe family and their pets and is told from the perspective of their dog...
; Kubla Khan
Kubla Khan
Kubla Khan is a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, completed in 1797 and published in Christabel, Kubla Khan, and the Pains of Sleep in 1816...
; The Giaour
The Giaour
"The Giaour" is a poem by Lord Byron first published in 1813 and the first in the series of his Oriental romances. "The Giaour" proved to be a great success when published, consolidating Byron's reputation critically and commercially.-Background:...
; Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker was an American poet, short story writer, critic and satirist, best known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th century urban foibles....
's The Waltz; The Princess Bride
The Princess Bride
The Princess Bride is a 1973 fantasy novel written by William Goldman. It was originally published in the United States by Harcourt Brace, while in the UK it is/was published by Bloomsbury Publishing....
; Tuck Everlasting
Tuck Everlasting
Tuck Everlasting is a fantasy children's novel by Natalie Babbitt. It was published in 1975. The book explores the concept of immortality and the reasons why it might not be as desirable as it appears to be. It has sold over two million copies and has been called a classic of modern children's...
; Sideways Stories From Wayside School
Sideways Stories From Wayside School
The Sideways Stories From Wayside School series is a popular series of 3 books by Louis Sachar. Sideways Stories From Wayside School, Wayside School is Falling Down and Wayside School Gets A Little Stranger are the three novel-length books...
; The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of twelve stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, featuring his famous detective and illustrated by Sidney Paget....
; Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher
Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher
Jeremy Thatcher Dragon Hatcher is a novel by Bruce Coville and is part of the Magic Shop Books. It was first released in 1991 by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich/Jane Yolen Books, and later was reissued in paperback by Aladdin...
; Hatchet
Hatchet
A hatchet is a single-handed striking tool with a sharp blade used to cut and split wood...
; Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a 1964 children's book by British author Roald Dahl. The story features the adventures of young Charlie Bucket inside the chocolate factory of the eccentric chocolatier, Willy Wonka....
; A Spell for Chameleon
A Spell for Chameleon
A Spell for Chameleon is the first book of the Xanth series by Piers Anthony.-Plot introduction:In this adventure, Bink is exiled to Mundania because he has broken Xanth law by not having a magical talent...
; Dragonflight
Dragonflight
Dragonflight is a fantasy or science fiction novel by the American-Irish author Anne McCaffrey. It is the first book in the Dragonriders of Pern series. Dragonflight was first published by Ballantine Books in July 1968...
; Understanding Comics
Understanding Comics
Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art is a 215-page non-fiction comic book, written and drawn by Scott McCloud and originally published in 1993. It explores the definition of comics, the historical development of the medium, its fundamental vocabulary, and various ways in which these elements...
; The Gift of the Magi
The Gift of the Magi
"The Gift of the Magi" is a short story written by O. Henry , about a young married couple and how they deal with the challenge of buying secret Christmas gifts for each other with very little money...
; The Lottery
The Lottery
"The Lottery" is a short story by Shirley Jackson, first published in the June 26, 1948, issue of The New Yorker. Written the same month it was published, it is ranked today as "one of the most famous short stories in the history of American literature"....
; The Outsiders
The Outsiders (novel)
The Outsiders is a coming-of-age novel based in 1965 by S. E. Hinton, first published in 1967 by Viking Press. Hinton was 15 when she started writing the novel, but did most of the work when she was sixteen and a junior in high school. Hinton was 18 when the book was published...
; and others.
Tom Swifties
At one point in the story, Scott discovers Tom SwiftiesTom Swifties
A Tom Swifty is a phrase in which a quoted sentence is linked by a pun to the manner in which it is attributed. Tom Swifties may be considered a type of wellerism.-Origins:...
. Some include:
- "I have lost my legsHuman legThe human leg is the entire lower extremity or limb of the human body, including the foot, thigh and even the hip or gluteal region; however, the precise definition in human anatomy refers only to the section of the lower limb extending from the knee to the ankle.Legs are used for standing,...
below the ankles!" Tom said defeatedly. - "Have they started on the new condominiums?" Tom said constructively.
- "I refuse to read Shakespeare!" Tom said unwillingly.
- "I will not clean the toiletToiletA toilet is a sanitation fixture used primarily for the disposal of human excrement, often found in a small room referred to as a toilet/bathroom/lavatory...
seat," Tom said peevishly. - "I'd like a hot dogHot dogA hot dog is a sausage served in a sliced bun. It is very often garnished with mustard, ketchup, onions, mayonnaise, relish and/or sauerkraut.-History:...
," Tom said frankly. - "Stop this horseHorseThe horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
," Tom said haltingly. - "I don't know the words to this song," Tom said humbly.
- "I lost my fingers," Tom said disjointedly.
- "I lost my wrists," Tom said offhandedly.
- "I lost my elbows," Tom said disarmingly.
- "I lost my ribs," Tom said decidedly.
- "The wormWormThe term worm refers to an obsolete taxon used by Carolus Linnaeus and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck for all non-arthropod invertebrate animals, and stems from the Old English word wyrm. Currently it is used to describe many different distantly-related animals that typically have a long cylindrical...
s are eating my organs," Tom said halfheartedly. - "I've been sliced in half," Tom said intuitively.
- "Who sneezed on the hamburgerHamburgerA hamburger is a sandwich consisting of a cooked patty of ground meat usually placed inside a sliced bread roll...
," Tom said snottily. - "Who turned off the lights?" Tom said dimly.
- "Flux rox," Scott said, conclusively. [This one has extra meaning, as the last words of the book].