King Dork was written 8 years prior to this one, so the audience is definitely different. If you are going to read this book, I recommend that you read King Dork first. It is marketed as a YA book, but I think it might be enjoyed more by 13 year old boys.

The book follows shortly after the events of King Dork, picking up with Tom Henderson after he's recovered from his near-fatal tuba injury, and trying to cope with returning to highschool. Unfortunately, the school is being shut down and he is being moved to Clearview High, away from his best friend Sam Hellerman. He also has to relearn how to navigate the cliques and other normals in a new school where friendships and bonds are already formed.

I found that nothing much happens in the books, but I kept reading because I assumed something would. It seems to follow the same general plot of King Dork. Tom deals with high school, navigating girls and parents and teachers and all the rest, which culminates in a fight and a concert that goes poorly. Tom's story isn't really a story. I probably would not recommend this one. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book via Netgalley.
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I would like to thank Delacorte Press & NetGalley for granting me a copy of this e-book to read in exchange for an honest review. Though I received this e-book for free that in no way impacts my review.

Goodreads Teaser: "From Frank Portman comes the long-awaited sequel to the beloved cult classic King Dork, of which John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars, said, “Basically, if you are a human being with even a vague grasp of the English language, King Dork will rock your world.”
Aside from the stitches and the head wound, Tom Henderson is the same old King Dork. He's still trying to work out who to blame for the new scar on his forehead, the memory loss, and his father's mysterious death. But illicit female hospital visitations, The Catcher in the Rye, and the Hillmont High sex-pocalypse have made him a new man.
What doesn't make you stronger can kill you, though, and tenth grade, act two, promises to be a killer. Tom's down one bloodstained army coat, one Little Big Tom, and two secret semi-imaginary girlfriends. Now his most deeply held beliefs about alphabetical-order friendship, recycling, school spirit, girls, rock and roll, the stitching on jeans, the Catcher Code, and the structure of the universe are about to explode in his face. If only a female robot's notes could solve the world's problems, he'd have a chance. But how likely is that?
King Dork Approximately--it feels like the first time. Like the very first time."

Having read King Dork I must admit I was eagerly anticipating more of the same with this sequel. But sadly, for me, this book came off feeling forced. What made the original story charming and quirky felt contrived and overdone in the sequel. That's not to say that there weren't some entertaining parts in the story, just that overall I found this one to lack the magic of the original.

While there were parts that rang true to the characters we'd come to know and love in the first book, they were simply to few and far between. Even the writing felt stilted, which was supremely disappointing. The whole book was a letdown for me. ( )

KING DORK APPROXIMATELY by Frank Portman is the long anticipated sequel to the 2006 young adult cult-classic KING DORK.

Once again, the author is able to successfully channel the sarcastic male adolescent. This coming-of-age story pokes fun at everything from public education to teen love. Teen readers who enjoyed the music and cultural references in the first book will be happy to see these elements in the sequel. However since it’s been a decade since the first book was published, so it’s difficult to predict what today’s youth will think of the vinyl vs CD debates and clunky cellphones.

Picking up where the first book leaves off in 1999, the story meanders through a series of subplots including a first girlfriend and band show, but lacks the engaging plot of the first book. However the “slice-of-life” approach is likely to appeal to it’s anti-establishment audience. ( )

This book was not a quick read, and I often found myself putting it down and walking away. Perhaps it is because I am not a fifteen year old boy, but as a teacher of fifteen year old boys, I don’t see any of my students picking up this one and loving it. As a self-aware unreliable narrator (“put your trust in my gentle care”), Tom’s attempt at witticism often falls flat, and he is not believable as a self-proclaimed dork. Too often, he uses a word in a sentence and immediately questions if the word is correct. The constant repetition of “if…means what I think it does” is irritating, and the stereotypical nerd would be more confident in his vocabulary...see my full review on reviewscomingatya.blogspot.com. ( )