Wonderland: A Year in the Life of an American High School

Pennsbury High is a middle-class American high school, ordinary in every way except one: for over thirty years, its prom has been the biggest ticket in town. On prom night, thousands of locals take a leave from suburbia and line the school sidewalks to watch the prom-goers parade by in cement mixers, on dogsleds, on floats. With DJs and hypnotists and elaborate themes, each prom is bigger than the last. As in Tracy Kidder's Home Town, Wonderland uses the story of a prom to paint a fascinating portrait of life in contemporary America. Michael Bamberger, a senior writer for Sports Illustrated, introduces us to an extraordinary group of everyday kids, whose stories are beautiful, touching, odd, and funny. Over the course of his year at Pennsbury, a child is born and another dies, a teacher quits, a future president meets a former one, a football player joins the stage crew, a lonely boy finds someone to dance with. A fast, lyrical, astute, uniquely American story, Wonderland is a precious snapshot of America's youth reaching for ritual and meaning in these rapidly changing times.