My Ex From Hell is more like the fan fiction-esque book from hell. This won't push the YA boundaries, but leans towards the tween/teen category. Honestly, all you have to do is read the synopsis and you'll get a good understanding of what's to come. The sarcasm, geek teen talk and over-the-top humorist approach is splattered all over the back cover. If you think, "Hey, this totally relates to my inner high-schooler," and can't wait to read more of the same for the next 272 pages, then snag this one and do the Harlem Shuffle all the way to the checkout. It's no little secret that I'm a big fan of sarcasm. I think it has a place, time and most importantly, a delivery. It can't be used on every page and in every situation, unless you're a cynical bore. I believe when using clever comic relief it needs to be carefully timed for optimal punch. In this story, there is comic vomit, so much so, that nothing can be taken seriously, which greatly reduces character credibility and the potential for an actual meaningful story. Then...sigh...here comes the easy, cookie cutter plot. Take the basic Harry Potter set up, change the gender of the characters and insert a different magical, mythological world and PRESTO! you've got another boarding school magical adventure, year one. Instead of teachers, it's guidance counselors turning into bad guy creatures. Missing students need to be saved and conveniently, the teen heroes live at an isolated boarding school that is protected from harm (sort of). Due to the writing style, absurd amount of comic saturation and teen ridiculousness, I felt this book was more fan fiction than novel. In the current form, it'd work better as a running blog story. If you like fan fiction, you might enjoy this book. However, I was less than impressed.
