(3) 4-6 Marlo and Milton are in wordsmith hell: Vice Principal Lewis Carroll orders all kids to compete in a War of Words, pitting Milton and Marlo against each other. Oscar Wilde coaches the snarky debate team, The Spite Club, and Dorothy Parker and Charles Dickens lend quips and barbs. The latest pun-tastic purgatory spoof is brimming with the series' reliably clever wordplay and wit.

Reviewer: Pam Yosca

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Bob Dob. In this sixth parody of purgatory, Milton and Marlo are sent to Precocia, where intelligent children grow up too fast. As kids train to work boring grown-up jobs, Marlo and Milton discover a plot to end childhood and transform the living world into a joyless, all-adult society. The witty wordplay will continue to delight fans of this mildly dark but not-too-scary series.

Reviewer: Pam Yosca

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Bob Dob. In this fifth of Basye's spoofs on purgatory, the Grin Reaper guides Milton Fauster and his sister, Marlo, to Snivel, a mosquito-ridden, rain-plagued camp for crybabies and the perpetually unhappy. But when the camp's depressed denizens--Marlo included--begin to disappear, Milton sets out to find them. The book's constant clever wordplay and witty references will make happy campers out of readers.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Bob Dob. In this fourth purgatory send-up (Heck, Rapacia, Blimpo), Marlo is in Fibble, the circle of Heck reserved for liars; her brother, Milton, slaves away for Satan's TV network. Trapped in each other's bodies, the siblings foil a plot to destroy the world. The series' usual clever wordplay, funny schtick, and witty references, as well as some serious media commentary, are on full display.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Bob Dob. Milton Fauster attempts to rescue his sister, Marlo, from her "infernship" as Satan's receptionist and save his best friend, Virgil, from Blimpo, the circle of Heck (an underworld reform school) reserved for overweight kids. This third humorous--and sometimes unabashedly corny--send-up of purgatory is fat with witty puns, wordplay, and clever pop-culture references; familiarity with the earlier titles makes this installment more satisfying.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Bob Dob. In this sequel to Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go, Milton escapes from his underworld reform school. Unfortunately, his shoplifting sister Marlo isn't so lucky; she's sent to Rapacia, the second circle of Heck, where consumerist kids are eternally tormented by Mallvana, a shopper's paradise. Intentionally corny humor and many witty pop culture allusions will leave readers greedy for more.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Bob Dob. After eleven-year-old Milton Fauster and his kleptomaniac sister die in a marshmallow explosion at the mall, they find themselves in Heck, an Underworld reform school. Principal Bea "Elsa" Bubb thwarts their escape attempts; only blameless Milton makes it out. Though some of the many clever allusions will likely go over their heads, readers will doubtless respond to the story's overall humor.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute