Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go

June-21-2009 Everybody and anybody!!! Who is at least eight years old and up some of the words are complex and some of the content is kind of scary for younger kids. But the book is really good I just finished it today and I cannot wait for the second book: Rapacia: the second circle of Heck (Circles of Heck). Thank you for reading my review I hope you enjoyed the book as much as I did!

I thought this was a great and very enjoyable book! I can't wait for the next one. It's got a fun premise and graphic descriptions of Heck. I love how the siblings really start to see life from each other's sides and start to bond even after being seperated in Heck, and I think it's a fun read for anyone looking for a good story!

So I saw this book advertised in a few of my monthly comic books and, knowing that a certain 12 year old at my job has trouble finding books to read and earn her necessary Accelerated Reader points at school, I bought this one. What other readers wrote is certainly true, she didn't, and most kids like her probably won't, 'get' the deepest inside jokes, but she did finish the book and made a 100 on the test at school. I read the book next, and I always enjoy reading kids books. I'm 32 and let me tell you, this book had me laughing out loud almost every page because of all the puns, inside jokes, and clever wording. I CANNOT WAIT for the 2nd book, 'Rapacia', to come out in July of 2009, happily right about the date of my next birthday. No matter your age, you will enjoy this superb story and have more than a few laughs as you read.

Who would I recommend this book to? Anyone and Everyone...regardless of age. This book, by new author Dale Basye, is the most entertaining, inventive and creative reads I have experienced in a long time. I actually compared it to Memoirs of a Geisha and The Historian...not for the story lines (duh...obviously) but in the sense that those two books had a style of writing that made you feel like you could really see every little detail of the surroundings. Those books made me want to visit Asia and Europe....and now I wish there really was a HECK...and I wish I could visit it!! Although I'm pretty sure with my track record, I will be going to a far hotter, more grown up destination. A darkly funny, sometimes silly (boogers and poop are funny no matter how young or old), always entertaining tale of Milton and Marlo Fauster - two siblings sent straight to Heck: an otherwordly reform school. With teachers like Lizzie Borden (Home Ec) Richard Nixon (ethics) and Blackbeard The Pirate (gym) and the likes of Principal Bea "Elsa" Bubb breathing down their necks it seems unlikely they will ever escape. I loved Heck so much, I recommended it to my book club (a group of 30-something savvy readers) and everyone is really excited to read it. The gals with children loved the idea of reading a book club book to their kids. We are Portland, OR based and hoping to have the author join us to discuss his inspiration. (Hey...we can dream!) I already anxiously await the 2nd book!

Full of references to historical buffoons now posing as teachers, this book speaks to middle school and high school feelings and experiences not easily forgotten. Subversive and full of all the icky things that make us cringe and giggle at the same time. I read this book and laughed out loud...or was I crying? Go Milton!