Heck-Where Bad Kids Go
Random House Books For Young Readers, 2008
Fantasy
ISBN: 0375840753
304 pages
Synopsis
When Milton and Marlo Fauster die in a marshmallow bear explosion, they get sent straight to Heck, an otherworldly reform school. Milton can understand why his kleptomaniac sister is here, but Milton is—or was—a model citizen. Has a mistake been made? Not according to Bea “Elsa” Bubb, the Principal of Darkness. She doesn’t make mistakes. She personally sees to it that Heck—whether it be home-ec class with Lizzie Borden, ethics with Richard Nixon, or gym with Blackbeard the Pirate—is especially, well, heckish for the Fausters. Will Milton and Marlo find a way to escape? Or are they stuck here for all eternity, or until they turn 18, whichever comes first?
Critique
Basye has created not only a clever and witty book, but it’s also an interesting take on the historical references for hell. There are many pop culture references, and it would be laugh out loud funny in many parts if you as the reader didn’t also feel like you were stuck in this terrible place called Heck. Ultimately, though, I was a bit disappointed in the story because it never really grabbed me as a reader, and although there are a plethora of imaginative characters and circumstances, they often go by too quickly and don’t give enough description or connection to the scene to make it feel palatable.
The other books in the series so far are Rapacia-The Second Circle of Heck (book 2).
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For the Classroom
Even though this book takes place in a completely different world with different natural laws, there are a lot of historical and pop culture references, as well as various interpretations of the Judeo-Christian concept of the afterlife. It may not be a classroom companion for any particular study, but there is information that people will learn from dappled throughout the text.
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