BLOG TOUR: A Bad Day For Voodoo by Jeff Strand (Review)

Genre:	Young Adult, Horror, Fantasy, Comedy
Publication.Date	July 5th 2012
Pages:	272
Published By:	Sourcebooks Fire |
Website	Jeff Strand |
	A Bad Day For Voodoo - Goodreads
My review copy:	An eARC from the publisher via netGalley in exchange for an honest review

Where to get:

When your best friend is just a tiny bit psychotic, you should never actually believe him when he says, "Trust me. This is gonna be awesome."

Of course, you probably wouldn't believe a voodoo doll could work either. Or that it could cause someone's leg to blow clean off with one quick prick. But I've seen it. It can happen.

And when there's suddenly a doll of YOU floating around out there—a doll that could be snatched by a Rottweiler and torn to shreds, or a gang of thugs ready to torch it, or any random family of cannibals (really, do you need the danger here spelled out for you?)—well, you know that's just gonna be a really bad day ...

(Goodreads)

Some teachers, when they give you a bad grade, seem like they're mad at you. Sometimes they're disappointed. Sometimes they're a little disgusted. Mr. Click always seemed delighted to hand out a bad grade, and he'd call kids out right in front of everybody. He wouldn't announce, "Hey, Kelley, here's your A-plus!" to the class, but he'd sure say, "Another D, Seth. That doesn't surprise me."

I wasn't mad at Mr. Click simply because he was pure evil. I was mad because we had a vicious test, the second of five tests that were each worth 10 percent of our grade, and I studied until my eyes figuratively dropped out of my head. And I don't mean that I was a total slacker until the night before and then did a desperate all-night, coffee-fueled cram session. I mean that I studied for that thing for a week. I mean that Kelley said, "Wanna hang out?" and I said no. And when she asked if I wanted to study together, I still said no because I knew we'd just end up making out.

"Nah, get revenge first. Egg his windows. TP his house. Leave a dead skunk in his desk drawer. Spread superglue on his chair. Spit in his coffee. Photoshop a picture and post it online. Have twenty or thirty pizzas delivered to his house. Get some laxatives and-"

     Featuring voodoo dolls, serial killers, thugs, wild car-chases, gun violence, and a zombie, A Bad Day For Voodoo is a sharp, quirky, and insanely hilarious examination of teen angst that doesn't stop short of being totally overblown (in the best sense of the word). This book will rock your face off, you'll be snorting your drink through your nose, rolling around the floor, and laughing to tears. It's a dark comedy at it's best, deftly written, lightweight, and as far from being plausible as it gets, but still entirely captivating and thoroughly entertaining. If you're looking for a read that is quick, fun, and blissfully free of introspection and existentialism - this is a perfect book for you. 

     If you think that getting a voodoo doll of your teacher to get back at him for giving you an F on the test is a good idea - think again. Sure it might sound like a harmless and fun way to get the mean, old bastard to jump around in pain. And how dangerous could it possibly be? After all it's just a doll, a pinch in the leg wouldn't hurt THAT much, right? Well, wrong. And Tyler Churchill learns it the hard way when the voodoo doll his best friend gets for him causes his teacher to lose his leg. Yes, you got that right. When Tyler puts the needle in the voodoo doll's leg, his teacher's leg literally falls off. And then next thing you know the teacher is dead and his best friend - scared of being ranted out to the police - buys yet another voodoo doll - and this time of Tyler. And it's only the beginning of his problems, because then the doll gets stolen and the two friends have to figure out how to get it back before someone - or something - decides to play with it. 

     It's a wild ride. You never know what will happen next, the plot developments are totally unpredictable. The story moves along at break-neck speed, its crazy, slightly dark atmosphere and jaw-dropping moments are sure to keep you focused and craving more. I couldn't wait to find out what will happened next! The narrative flow is very fluent, the dialogues feel fresh and authentic (despite the often bizarre conversation subjects!), and the overall tone of the book - insane yet weirdly entrancing - makes this book an unputdownable read. Will this book make you a better person? Slim chance. Will it inspire any deeper philosophical thoughts? No, not unless your teacher gives you an undeserved F and you decide to come up with a fun way to get back at them (bad idea!). Will you cry at the end? Um, na-ah, by the time you reach the end of this one all you'll have no more tears to cry, and you might be dehydrated, too (from laughing to tears all the way through). So does that mean it's a totally meaningless read that you'll forget as soon as you turn the last page? Absolutely not. I am still in shock after reading this book. Some of the things that happened within its pages.. wow! My eyes were bulging out in disbelief and I shook my head in amazement at least a dozen times! Jeff Strand certainly does not hold back, and I love him for that! His idea of entertainment might not appeal to everyone, some people will think this book to be a little bit too much over the top, a little bit too straightforward, and just a tiny bit too crazy. You definitely have to have a wicked sense of humour to enjoy this one. Thankfully, I do. I soak up dark humour like a sponge, and I enjoy comedies with an edge. And this one here is definitely one of the best ones of its kind! 

     That being said, A Bad Day For Voodoo is a book with a bite, and one that will have you aching from laughter. It's so wildly hilarious it could very well end up being one of the funniest books of 2012, so be sure to check it out. You'll definitely enjoy it!

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About the Author

Evie is the Blogger behind Bookish. She enjoys reading many different genres, especially YA, Paranormal, Contemporary Fiction and Fantasy.

She loves talking to authors and is always happy to welcome them for interviews, and guest posts. She also likes spreading the love for awesome books and  chatting with fellow book-worms.

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