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 …
Who knew flying body-parts, gushing blood, and cannibals could be so fun? A Bad Day for Voodoo was a total LOL-fest. Although there is a darker and edgier tone to the book, Strand sugarcoats it with hilarious and downright pee-your-pants scenes that have you rapidly flipping the pages. From beginning to end I was completely enraptured.
Tyler is an all-american kid. He studies hard for school, has a cute girlfriend, and spends time with his crazy yet lovable best friend, Adam. When a teacher known for “hating” kids gives Tyler a F for suspected yet completely unproven cheating, Adam takes it upon himself to help Tyler out. One day Adam comes school with a voodoo doll containing some “essence” of Mr. Click. Tyler, being the most skeptical one of the duo quickly dismisses the idea that something like that could ever work. Nonetheless, he goes along with a plan to pin-poke the Mr. Click doll during history class. The moment Tyler pokes the doll, Mr. Click shouts out in pain followed by…
And then his leg shot off from his body in a spray of blood and bone as if it has been fired from a cannon. The leg slid across the tile floor, leaving a thick red trail, and stopped only when it struck the wall.
Needless to say – major chaos ensues. This is one of those, it starts out bad and forever continues to get worse story-lines. Awesome and entirely enjoyable for readers and unfortunate for Tyler.
This book rocked for so many reasons. One: It had a very intriguing and interesting premise. Who doesn’t wish they had a voodoo doll of a certain loathed teacher? Two: It was extremely funny. Although there’s a lot of sinister characters and horrific encounters, the author manages to play it off in a humorous way each and every time. Three: Never a dull moment. This book was extremely fast-paced and completely entertaining. Four: Memorable characters. I loved EVERY single character. Each one was bursting with personality and their own quirks. They also all played very well off of each other. For instance, you have Tyler, the seeing is believing and logical one. Then you have Adam who’s completely out there. Their friendship is odd yet, in a way, completely perfect. Although they have their ups and downs, in the end they come out strong (like true friends do).
So if you’re looking for a fast read filled with macabre yet laced with humor, A Bad Day for Voodoo is definitely the book for you. It’s a wacky yet completely awesome ride that you’ll want to take.
