10/18/11

Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go - Book 1 (Heck Series) - Author: Dale E. Basye - Ages 10+


Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go
Book 1: Heck Series

What's the Story? 
When Milton & 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?

What's the Buzz?
"The First Circle of Heck makes reading fun with the rampant use of any and all literary devices, new vocabulary, historical figures, excellent grammar, visual scribbling and cloying, concise chapters. Author Basye has created a world that many kids will relish." - Curled Up Kids

"Dale E. Basye's debut novel is wildly inventive, demonstrating a clever way with words and a painterly skill for depicting scenes." - Kids Reads

"Dale E. Bayse has written a romp of a story filled with gross-out moments involving poop, brussel sprouts, and Barney. Lots of word play and hilarious situations arise." - Welcome to my Tweendom

"Dale E. Basye has created a wonderfully ghoulish tale in Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go. The illustrations by Bob Dob at the beginning of each chapter are cool and kids will really like them." - Reading Review

"Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go" is chock-full of clever references and plays on words that may be lost on younger readers. A fair dose of potty humor can be off-putting; however, preteens may welcome such humor as an escape from the shifting spaces between childhood and adulthood." - Oregon Live

"Perhaps Heck will be someone else's cup of tea, but I know of two people who didn't like the taste." - Kitling: Books

"So maybe it's just me with Heck. But I think I can be objective in saying that the book falls rather flat. I find the tone unvarying, the word choice a bit unimaginative, and the pace slow." - Pink Me

"...Its dark humor will appeal to the older crowd and the potty humor to the younger one... Other than the potty talk (gas-passing and sewage) it is a pretty wholesome read. The book ends with a great cliff-hanger, and fans will look forward to reading the rest of the books in the series." - Story Snoops

"Heck is full of delicious, yet groan-inducing, puns, hilarious asides, and really twisted humor.  Basye writes in a snappy, almost essay-like style." - Matt Armstrong Music


"This was a fun, quick read, but I don't know that I would give a copy to my 8 year old niece. Parts of the book were cute and funny, but other bits seemed to be aiming for disgusting. ... I'd recommend it for adults who enjoy YA fiction, and maybe read it with your child in order to explain certain things. But in the end, I really liked the marshmellow bear explosion!" - Alexia's Books & Such

"if you find that the end seems not quite finished, fear not. The sequel, titled Rapacia: The Second Circle of Heck, has already come out. Who knows? The series might go on... eternally..." - MuggleNet

Where can I learn More?
Where The Bad Kids Go - Turn down your speakers before you go because the introduction is loud!

Is That All?

Bayse Talks about where he got the idea For Heck, here.

This is a blog interview with the author

The book cover artist Bob Dob has a site filled with wonderfully odd creations here.


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