I'm back and a review of Scary School

Wow!!!  Who would have thought that getting married and working two jobs would be so time consuming?  Who would have thought that being married is even more time consuming than getting married?  (If you haven't figured it out yet, that was sarcasm; which is something I am very fond of.)  I thought in the midst of planning a wedding (which was the greatest wedding ever, but I’m kinda biased being the groom) and working 65+ hours a week that I would have time to sit down and write book reviews.  I barely had time to lie down and sleep, much less to leisurely sit at my computer and write.  I feel bad about this since Derek Kent (aka Derek the Ghost) allowed me the privilege of reading his book before it was available in stores.  He gave me this privilege with the purpose of writing a review for it, but I just could not find the time to get to it.  Well, as fate would have it I have finally returned, and I bring with me the long promised review of Scary School.  So, without further ado……

Scary School

By Derek the Ghost (aka Derek Kent)

Published: June 21, 2011
Publisher: HarperCollins

Do you remember your first day at a new school?  It was a scary experience, wasn’t it?  You didn’t know anybody, you didn’t know where anything was at, and just your luck you had the really mean teacher with the hairy wart on her nose.  Well, welcome to Scary School where a hairy wart is the least of your worries.  That’s because at Scary School regular boys and girls attend class with scary kids, and those classes are taught by scary teachers.

Yeah, you heard me…head crushing, blood sucking, fire breathing, curse casting scary people.  And, that is just a drop in the moat of scariness found at Scary School.

At Scary School it is common for a student to be eaten by teacher or be turned into a scary kid themself.  In fact, you’re considered lucky if you survive the first day of school.  If that’s not scary enough the school is hosting this year’s Ghoul Games, and a new rule makes your chances of surviving the school year even harder.  So, join your host (and former student) Derek the Ghost as he shares with you the wonderful and delightfully scary world of Scary School.

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Derek Kent wrote Scary School from the perspective of his penname Derek the Ghost.  DtG unfortunately perished when one of his teacher’s experiments went terribly wrong.  Now he wonders the halls of the school as a ghost pursuing a hobby he’s always loved…writing.  As you read Scary School you’ll notice that it is not written in a structured timeline.  Early in the book characters and stories are presented randomly with only the loosest connection to previous chapters, if any at all.  In fact, it reads more like an anthology or like you’re flipping through the author’s notes rather than a seamlessly connected novel.  Eventually, a central (or main) conflict emerges, and of these random stories begin coming together.

BUT, don’t let this deter you from reading this book.  I still found it to be very entertaining.  The humor in Scary School is very simple, which makes sense being that the target audience is 3-5 graders.  Yet, I still found myself chuckling with every turn of the page (like the way DtG nonchalantly tells how a teacher eats one of their students like it’s a normal thing.)  All the characters are entertaining and imaginative.  Their hilarious stories will keep your kids laughing and you smiling in amusement.  The artwork by Scott M. Fischer is great and definitely bumps up the entertainment value.  Older kids will love reading it, and younger kids will love it while you remain entertained by read it to them. 

And, if you enjoy this book then you should read his first book Rudy and the Beast: My Homework Ate My Dog! (I personally think it is his best book.) Until next time...keep readin'.