Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go (Circles of Heck)

Reviewed by Rebecca Wells for TeensReadToo.com When Milton and Marlo Fauster die in a marshmallow bear explosion, they are sent not to Heaven or Hell, but instead to Heck, an otherworldly reform school for "bad kids." There, they must toil until they turn eighteen, at which point their souls will be reevaluated and sent on. Though Marlo, a teenager with an unfortunate case of...more

Reviewed by Rebecca Wells for TeensReadToo.com When Milton and Marlo Fauster die in a marshmallow bear explosion, they are sent not to Heaven or Hell, but instead to Heck, an otherworldly reform school for "bad kids." There, they must toil until they turn eighteen, at which point their souls will be reevaluated and sent on. Though Marlo, a teenager with an unfortunate case of kleptomania, clearly belongs in Heck, the siblings are at a loss to understand why Milton is there as well - he has always been a model citizen. Could there possibly have been a mistake? The authorities claim otherwise, and so Milton and Marlo are forced to endure such classes as ethics with Robert Nixon and gym with Blackbeard the pirate as they plot their way out of Heck. But will these intrepid siblings discover a way to escape, or will they be forced to stay in this thoroughly heckish place forever? HECK: WHERE THE BAD KIDS GO is a book that will appeal to everyone still a child at heart. The narration flows smoothly with a thoroughly engaging voice, and the landscape of Heck is funny and inventive; it is a world where children are forced to eat their way out of rooms as punishment, where candy can glue mouths shut, and where good dreams are strictly prohibited. Dale E. Basye takes the reader on a nonstop adventure that is sometimes touching, sometimes disgusting in the best of gleeful ways, and at all times captivatingly entertaining.   hide