Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go by Dale E. Basyemiddle school
Milton is reluctantly caught up in his sister, Marlo's, bad behavior. Which is unfortunate when they die in a freak marshmallow explosion. This determines that neither are fit for Heaven. Instead, they are sent to Heck, which is basically Hell-lite. The siblings decide that they need to come up with a way to escape Heck and prove they don't belong there.
I was hanging out at Barnes & Noble one day (people do that) and I saw a kid reading this. I liked the cover illustration. Plus, the kid was actually reading it even though she had access to a laptop and a phone to play with. So I got a copy for my Kindle. It is really pretty funny. The thing is, it is one of those wanna-be satire books with lots of jokes that most kids won't even get. The kids are way too short. They're not going to understand why an ethics teacher named Nixon is fabulous. Or a crazed designer named Dior. There are lots more like that. Oh god, I almost forgot about the name of the Principal of Darkness: Bea "Elsa" Bubb. Now that's just funny.
I categorized this one as middle school but I really think high schoolers would get more out of it. Hopefully, they'll have had more exposure to the kind of background knowledge that is key to getting the jokes. A really organized teacher could use this book for the entire year as a kind of scavenger hunt or Bingo game. Just make a list of the "inside jokes" that correspond to the curriculum and keep it posted somewhere. The kids can check off the list when they spot something that now makes sense. It could be amazing.
Verdict: recommended
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