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A Bad Day For Voodoo

by Jeff Strand (Goodreads Author)

3.93 of 5 stars 3.93 · rating details · 200 ratings · 77 reviews

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 ar...more

ebook, 314 pages

Published (first published June 1st 2012)

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Authors of the "Ten Tales" Fantasy & Horror Series

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Sep 05, 2012 Gatorman rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I wish I would have known this was a YA book going in, which may have tempered my extreme disappointment with the effort. I love Strand and his ability to mix humor with horror, but in this book, the humor was corny, way over the top and just not funny, and there was no horror and very few thrills to keep me interested. Each character was more annoying than the next and none of the "villians" were worthy of the title. If you are expecting another Wolf Hunt or Benjamin's Paradise (great mix of hu...more

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Jan 21, 2013 Christie Brown rated it 5 of 5 stars

I have a new favorite book! I. absolutely loved this one.

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Mar 12, 2013 Nigarsan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, march2013, horror

A Bad Day for Voodoo by Jeff Strand
This book is about a boy named "Tyler" who's doing well in his life.He got a girlfriend,getting good marks and is appreciated in his school.Then,when he failed a test in history,his friend had an idea of doing a voodoo doll of the teacher.But,his idea failed and actually killed the teacher.Now,there's a doll of Tyler on the street that can end his life with many reasons.Tyler,his best friend Adam and his girlfriend Kelley go on an adventure through the street...more

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Feb 13, 2013 Gabby rated it 4 of 5 stars

A Bad Day For Voodoo by Jeff Strand was a good book because there was so much suspense. The author had me thinking that one choice was going to be made when another one was actually going to happen. The main character Tyler was a teenage kid living his casual life with his straight A student girlfriend Kelly and best friend Adam. Tyler finally gets frustrated one day with his teacher Mr. Click because he accuses him of cheating on a test. He wishes he could do something about it but he knows he...more

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Nov 28, 2012 Kate (VerbVixen) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Now, I want you to imagine you very worst day ever. Okay, now I’m going to need you to imagine that bad day getting worst by say, ohhh, x1000. That’s what A Bad Day for Voodoo is like; it is that level of bad day.

It is humorous horror, if such a genre exists. There is a frantic pace to the plot and to the dialogue/writing. Both the pace and the story pretty much define action/adventure. Adam is perhaps actually dumber than a rock, while pragmatic and practical Kelley is a good counterbalance fo...more

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Oct 26, 2012 Heidi rated it 3 of 5 stars

Three Stars: A bizarre, humorous slapstick book that will make you laugh and scratch your head.

Tyler after studying for days gets an F on his test. When he confronts his teacher, Mr. Click, he is told that he had the exact same answers as Donny. Despite Tyler's protests, Mr. Click informs him that he is a cheater. Tyler vents his frustrations to his best friend Adam. Adam tells him to hang tight, he has a solution. A few days later, Adam presents Tyler with a voodoo doll of Mr. Click. Tyler does...more Three Stars: A bizarre, humorous slapstick book that will make you laugh and scratch your head.

Tyler after studying for days gets an F on his test. When he confronts his teacher, Mr. Click, he is told that he had the exact same answers as Donny. Despite Tyler's protests, Mr. Click informs him that he is a cheater. Tyler vents his frustrations to his best friend Adam. Adam tells him to hang tight, he has a solution. A few days later, Adam presents Tyler with a voodoo doll of Mr. Click. Tyler doesn't believe in voodoo dolls...I mean really...a voodoo doll!? During class while Mr. Click is droning through his lecture, Adam needles Tyler to test the doll. Tyler stabs the Mr. Click doll with a pin and is horrified when his leg falls off and gushes blood everywhere. That didn't really happen, right? Later, he and Adam scuffle over the voodoo doll. They hear on the news that Mr. Click dies on the operating table of a broken neck. When they retrieve the doll, the neck is bent backwards. The two are terrified that somehow the police will connect the death to their voodoo doll. So Adam decides to make sure Tyler keeps quiet, not that he was planning on snitching.....Adam, being a few cards short of a full deck and perhaps a bit unhinged, procures another voodoo doll of Tyler....things are about to go from bad to worse to worst. What ensues is a night of terror and utter chaos as Tyler, Adam and Kelley attempt to get rid of the voodoo dolls. Will Tyler be murdered by his own voodoo doll?

What I Liked:
*I am going to tell you straight out that this book is utter chaos and it is utterly implausible and the plot and storyline are a train wreck. This book is all over the place and the story line is told by someone who lacks focus. So bottom line if you are looking for a smooth read skip this. If you are a bit strange and you have a deviant sense of humor and you want some laughs get this one. I have already told you I have a deviant sense of humor so I,of course, laughed through this one. Every once in awhile is nice to just read a ridiculous book. If you go into this one knowing that it is a slapstick story with an unbelievable plot it will be much more enjoyable.
*Mr. Strand's writing is definitely different. He lacks focus and his story line is absolutely crazy, but in the end I loved his wicked, mischievous and deviant sense of humor. This book made me laugh.
*I liked that the plot is chaotic and full of misadventure. I mean the voodoo doll really works and then the trio is tossed into one bad situation after another, and, believe me, it just gets crazier as it goes along. Once I abandoned any hope of a realistic, cohesive storyline, I enjoyed myself. The situations and characters are ridiculous. My favorite character was the cab driver souped up on Red Bull. I also loved the jokes, stream of conscious narration and all the aside passages that had nothing to do with the story. This was definitely a book where you have absolutely no clue what will happen from on page to the next. It is a hot mess!
And The Not So Much:
*Basically, I could take all the points above and use them for this section as well. This book is an absolute train wreck. It is ridiculous, unrealistic, not cohesive, hard to follow and it is written by someone who may have attention problems. So if you don't have a deviant sense of humor and you want a solid story, this is definitely not your book. But if you are someone who dares to read chaos and likes to laugh at the ridiculous, pick this one up. I certainly got a laugh out of it. If you read it and hate it, don't blame me, I warned you!

Favorite Quotations:
"To get the basic gist of what I'm talking about, pick any paragraph from this book and read it out loud in a monotone. Reread it over and over and over until you want to bash your head against a hard surface over and over and over and over so that your brain can escape and flee for sanctuary. That's what his lectures were like."

"The street was empty except for a really skinny guy in baggy jeans and no shirt. He was on my side of the vehicle. His head was shaved, and his body was covered with approximately eighty billion tattoos. The centerpiece was Mickey Mouse doing something of which The Disney lawyers would almost certainly not approve."

"At the end of the second block, I had a sudden moment of clarity, where the mysteries of the world were revealed to me, and my role in the universe was explained to me with six simple words: You can't outrun a car, dumbass."

"Behind the counter was a beaded curtain. The place smelled like incense mixed with mildew mixed with Lysol mixed with cheeseburger that should have been eaten much sooner than now."

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Posted @Rainy Day Ramblings.
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Oct 16, 2012 Caron Dessoye rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: comedy, supernatural

In this fast moving tale about a boy and his voodoo doll, we travel along with the main character, Tyler, his girlfriend Kelly and best friend Adam. Wouldn't you like to have a dreaded teacher out sick for one day or your annoying little sister away for the weekend? The adventure begins with the good intention of the best friend. Adam thought that a voodoo doll would be a great gift for Tyler since Mr. Click was on Tyler's case. Little did anyone know that it would work. After convincing Kelly t...more

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Oct 02, 2012 Elizabeth A. rated it 4 of 5 stars

To a sixteen-year-old, not having your own car and having to borrow the family minivan is a plight. Having to confront one of the biggest kids in school over a cheating incident is a plight. But being responsible for one of your teacher’s legs disconnecting from his body in a gory spray of blood and bone because the voodoo doll your semi-psychotic best friend gave you actually works? Yeah… we’re gonna pass “plight” and go directly to full-on freak out of epic proportions.

Such is the situation Ty...more To a sixteen-year-old, not having your own car and having to borrow the family minivan is a plight. Having to confront one of the biggest kids in school over a cheating incident is a plight. But being responsible for one of your teacher’s legs disconnecting from his body in a gory spray of blood and bone because the voodoo doll your semi-psychotic best friend gave you actually works? Yeah… we’re gonna pass “plight” and go directly to full-on freak out of epic proportions.

Such is the situation Tyler Churchill finds himself in when his best friend Adam gives Tyler a voodoo doll of their teacher, Mr. Click, so Tyler can work out his frustration over having been falsely accused of cheating by Click. Not expecting anything to actually happen, but wanting Adam to stop bugging him about it, Tyler jams a pin into Voodoo Click’s left leg only to watch in horror, along with the rest of the class, as Click’s leg meets with the aforementioned gruesome ending.

Already understandably freaked out, Adam goes completely off the deep end when the boys later hear on the news that Click has died while being treated at the hospital. Not from the leg wound, mind you, but from a broken neck. Kinda like how the neck of the voodoo doll broke when Tyler and Adam were fighting over what to do with it. Oops. Despite Tyler’s assurances he has no intention of telling anyone about the doll – who’d believe them anyway? – Adam doesn’t trust him and obtains an insurance policy to ensure Tyler’s silence… a voodoo doll of Tyler, which Adam threatens to use unless Tyler gives him the Click doll.

The two eventually reach a truce and decide to take both dolls back to the place Adam got them so the dolls can be deactivated, or whatever one does to take the voodoo spell off a voodoo doll. A funny thing happens on the way to “And they all lived happily ever after” however. While Tyler, Adam, and Tyler’s girlfriend, Kelley (We needed a non-dumb person involved. Left on our own, Adam and I would just bumble our way right into prison.), are driving to the store their car is jacked, with Voodoo Tyler in the trunk. All that happens in the first 40ish pages of the book, setting the three teens up for the night from Hell – street gangs, a rottweiler, the revenge of Click, cannibals (hey, this does take place in Florida!), less than sympathetic voodoo priestesses, and overbearing parents – as they race to get Voodoo Tyler back before real Tyler meets with a grisly end.

If you’ve ever read a Jeff Strand book you know that the man is without peer when it comes to combining humor and horror. I marvel anew each time at his ability not just to make me laugh and cringe, but to make me actually do both at the same time. Never has disgusting been so entertaining as when brought to life by the mind and pen (ok, he probably uses a word processing program, but “mind and computer” just doesn’t sound as cool) of Strand. And anyone concerned that Strand would overly tone down his trademark style for his first Young Adult novel need not worry; A Bad Day For Voodoo is both gloriously gory and uproariously amusing. (Kudos to the folks at Sourcebooks Fire for not clipping Strand’s wings.)

It’s not all dismemberment and chuckles, however, as Strand does a very nice job of creating three teens whose thought processes and behavior feel very authentic. (Or, you know, as authentic as it can be when dealing with voodoo.) They fight, they make up, they make some good decisions, they make even more bad decisions, they’re sarcastic, they lie to their parents… they act like teenagers. Teenagers for whom it just happens to be A Bad Day For Voodoo.(less)

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Sep 06, 2012 Once Upon rated it 4 of 5 stars

We’ve all have had those people in our lives who just get under our skin and irritate us to no end. Unfortunately, I’ll be the first to admit, that I even had some not so nice thoughts about them. That’s how our man Tyler feels in this novel. The protagonist of the novel, Tyler, is a normal teenage guy who is just trying to get by, like everyone else. For Tyler though, there is just one person who he can’t stand. In his mind, he feels that he has probably the worst teacher imaginable who has a s...more

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Aug 23, 2012 Karen Kaiser rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dark-fantasy, fiction, five-stars, i-can-die-happy, summer-2012

What the fuck? Excuse my language. But what the fuck?

This entire book was just one trip after another. I loved it.

By the end of the first few chapters, I knew this book wouldn't bore me. It'd be very hard to get boring after rocket-legs and gushing blood, but still. The rest of the novel didn't disappoint. It was never dull. I read this book in two sittings. The only reason it wasn't one sitting is because I unsuccessfully tried to get some sleep in between (you usually do that at three in the m...more

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Aug 20, 2012 Iain Grant rated it 5 of 5 stars

Me: I heard you snort with laughter five times while reading this book. Was it funny?
My daughter, Kate (14): Yes. It was silly and crazy. People being chased by zombie History teachers is crazy. It also features a voodoo doll and a family of cannibals.
Me: Cannibals?
Kate: Yeah. They kill people in human sacrifices. And then eat them.
Me: So it's a horror story?
Kate: Yeah. I suppose. It wasn't scary horror. It was more funny than scary. There were great characters like Adam, the main character's be...more

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Aug 25, 2012 Alexis rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, books-on-blog, violence, humor

I loved, loved, loved, loved, loved this book. I had hardly any expectations for this book going in. I thought it might be a paranormal "boy book" with some gore, but nothing special. Boy, was I wrong.

For me, the thing that stands out most in this book is the voice. It's more like a person is telling me this story word for word, and less like a book narrative. And it works, and I love it. It drew me in instantly, and that's why I managed to finish this book in two sittings. Not to mention the fa...more

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Jun 03, 2012 Terri Garey rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Tired of all the angst and introspection in Young Adult fiction these days? Wanna see teenagers reading about something other than wizards and vampires, and maybe even hear them laugh out loud while they do it? (WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS)

In A BAD DAY FOR VOODOO, Tyler Churchill is a typical teenager who makes the mistake of believing that sticking a pin into a voodoo doll is a harmless way to get revenge for an undeserved F. Unfortunately, the friend who gave him the doll is a serio...more

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Nov 30, 2012 Rowan rated it 5 of 5 stars

I have no Words. Absolutely no words. Needless to say, this book completely blew my mind. I admit, I expected it to be just another book I read to keep myself busy and then pushed in an available space on a shelf never to be thought about again. One word: Nope!

A Bad Day For Voodoo is like a high tech bungi jump into hell. But in the best possible way. (imagin that for a moment) Imagine being stuck in a pinball machine that features voodoo dolls, psychotic best friends, limbs flying off, and zom...more

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Jun 28, 2012 Becky rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: teen

It wasn't fair that Tyler got a zero for cheating, especially since Tyler didn't cheat. But his teacher doesn't care at all and has no interest in even considering Tyler's side of the story. Tyler's friend Adam is ready to help plan the perfect revenge and comes up with what he thinks is a brilliant idea: a voodoo doll. Sure that the thing will never work, Tyler gives it a poke during class. The result is not quite what either of the teens expected. Instead of a sharp pain, the teacher loses his...more

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Sep 10, 2012 Henrietta rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What do we have here? Let’s see … to begin with, the protagonist is called Tyler Churchill. He is not dumb, violent or psychotic. He has a friend named Adam, who is a little … em … whacky. I mean, who would suggest your friend to use a car to crush the arms of a teacher just so that the teacher has no arms to grade another F for a test? (!!) Yeah, right ?? Wouldn’t you say that’s pretty whacky? I’d say so … and when Tyler is not into doing something destructive, Adam hands him … a voodoo doll of...more What do we have here? Let’s see … to begin with, the protagonist is called Tyler Churchill. He is not dumb, violent or psychotic. He has a friend named Adam, who is a little … em … whacky. I mean, who would suggest your friend to use a car to crush the arms of a teacher just so that the teacher has no arms to grade another F for a test? (!!) Yeah, right ?? Wouldn’t you say that’s pretty whacky? I’d say so … and when Tyler is not into doing something destructive, Adam hands him … a voodoo doll of the teacher (?) !! O_O … I guess you’re now sort of getting some idea as to where this story is heading … Let me give you a little bit more of what’s happening here … Tyler, who is sort of in the mood to play along with Adam, pokes the leg of the voodoo doll with a pin and … splat … the teacher’s leg (an actual human leg) physically comes off and causes a bloody scene in the classroom (!!!) … are you still hanging in there with me? I guess now you really get the picture, right? Yep, this story is totally WHACKY!!

Strangely, I don’t mind the whacky tone here at all! Probably because things are just happening so fast, so eccentric and hilarious that by the time I reached the last page, I was like … really? That’s it? Time definitely seemed to have flown by without me noticing it.

Do I like the story? Yes.

Will I be re-reading this? Probably not … but I know a few friends who may just LOVE to read something like this.

I guess I can’t really tell you what’s the moral of the story. No, wait a sec … I’m wrong. Actually, I know what I could do to rectify this … I could quote you the theme of the story. Yes, that’s right. Our brilliant author, Jeff Strand, did offer the theme of the story somewhere in the book. Let me look this up for you … I’ve highlighted it in my e-copy … where is it now *sorry, my e-reader is not responding* … okay, I found it … and the theme is … drum roll please … “how you shouldn’t mess with forces you don’t understand”!! If you have an e-copy, you could look up this actual phrase when you scroll to 69% – 70% of the book. Isn’t this one great universal theme that is suitable for all people? ;)

I think this book is meant to reach a wide audience. I mean, who wouldn’t want something funny, snarky, whacky and hilarious with a positive theme that is meaningful and not monotonous? But if you’re all sober and you prefer to read something that makes you think about life and death in a humorless, solemn way, then this may seem a bit too frivolous for you.

A dark comedy that is snarky and casual, A Bad Day for Voodoo is crazily fun and down-right hilarious. If you’d like a story that will make you laugh-out-loud and cry with happy tears, you’ll want to give this one a try. Happy Reading! ;)

--
This was originally posted on my blog.

A copy of the book was provided by publisher for review purposes.(less)

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Sep 06, 2012 Melissa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

So, recently I was turned on to the author Jeff Strand and hoping it wasn't a fluke decided to read another of his works...boy, am I hooked!!

A Bad Day for Voodoo is written for the YA crowd, but I like to think of it as Horror Lite for Adults! At times I found myself laughing so hard I was crying because the hits kept coming one right after the other! Do I have a warped sense of humor, well I must, because when Mr. Click's leg SHOT off him and flew along the wall I was in stitches!! Talk about a...more

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Mar 11, 2013 Liza rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, young-adult-paranormal, classroom-library

As you know, I hate reviewing books that fall into genres I generally avoid. The one genre I avoid at all costs, despite the talents behind the writer is horror. I can't do it. I'm a scaredy cat. Any horror movie I've watched in my entire life, I was tricked into watching it or told it wouldn't be that scary.

I only willingly watched one horror movie- The Exorcist. Let's just say I didn't sleep alone for a week. And I prayed that God didn't hate me, because I was pretty sure everything in my room...more As you know, I hate reviewing books that fall into genres I generally avoid. The one genre I avoid at all costs, despite the talents behind the writer is horror. I can't do it. I'm a scaredy cat. Any horror movie I've watched in my entire life, I was tricked into watching it or told it wouldn't be that scary.

I only willingly watched one horror movie- The Exorcist. Let's just say I didn't sleep alone for a week. And I prayed that God didn't hate me, because I was pretty sure everything in my room was moving and there just had to be something in my closet.

So, when I got this book I thought it was just a funny paranormal book. No, I didn't really stop to question the blood on the cover. I was all like, "Neat design for teen boys." No, I didn't stop to think that this Jeff guy who wrote Pressure about some creepy dude who wants to male bond and do the bromance thing, while killing people, would be an author I wanted to stay away from. I mean, even the title Pressure sounds innocent. It was not innocent. I just read the summary like right now. OMG. Jeff Strand is scary. His novel ideas are super scary. Which is why I have to tell you about the naive me that read this book thinking it would be paranormal scary, which isn't scary at all if you've read enough paranormal books for teens.

So there I am reading, laughing and OH SNAP IT HAPPENS. I won't tell you what, but something snapped. Literally. There's blood gushing and I'm thinking, "Oh my god, Jeff Strand take it back, take it back," but he didn't and so begins Tyler's day after his friend convinces him to play with a voodoo doll.

This book is insanely funny and insanely corny all at once. If you're old and sophisticated with refined taste, then you probably forgot what teen boys found funny. They love crude sexual jokes, which are absent from this book, and really silly corny jokes. Boys love weird corny humor. Especially teen boys.

And when you work at a job where teens try to get the mean teacher to laugh to see if she is capable of smiling, then well you begin to appreciate the corny humor.

The book is a pleasant mix of absurd (not so pleasant horror) and humor that makes up for all the (OMG Jeff is so sadistic to his characters) moments. I think what knocked down a star, is that I'm a scaredy cat and scaredy cats tend to freak out when they read about oodles and oodles of blood. It would have been a solid four star read, minus my own biases, had it not been for chapter 28. It's fairly weak and once the end wraps up, you begin to wonder why chapter 28 had to happen. That was probably the only part of the book that was not filled with LOL moments. (Seriously, sometimes this book was so funny, the only appropriate description is LOL.) I may have chuckled, but the pacing was thrown off with that odd chapter. It might not even be chapter 28, but you'll know what I'm talking about once you read it.

The book is ridiculous, absurd, and just fun minus the whole sadistic scary parts. There are a whole lotta crazy/sadistic moments. Now, I am afraid that basers exist, which they don't. But it's the same irrational fear I have of hostels, clowns on tricycles, and pocked marked men with long finger nails called Freddy.

I think if you like horror you'll enjoy this book more than me, because I felt there were a lot of horror inside jokes, but I couldn't be too sure. It was either that or I was reading way too much into it. If you like boy humor this is for you. If you like dark humor and scary books this is definitely for you.

If you're a scaredy cat this book isn't for you, but if you do find yourself reading it, you'll like it. You won't love it. You definitely won't love that chapter 28, but you'll at least like it. (less)

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Aug 22, 2012 Jessica Day rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If you were a fan of R L. Stine's Goosebumps or Fear Street books back in the day, A Bad Day for Voodoo is your kind of book. It's witty and charming while also having a dark and disturbing side. I absolutely loved the charm of this novel. The characters are funny and they never miss a beat. Adam, Kelley and Tyler make quite the dynamic trio. They're relatable and I think they can appeal to anyone. Kelley brought some feminist appeal into the mix of boys. She was smart, and brave. Awesome.
Unfort...more

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Aug 23, 2012 Kayla Eklund rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviews-completed

Note: This book got a 2.5/5 on my blog.

A Bad Day for Voodoo was an okay middle grade novel. I didn't like it, but I didn't hate it. The over the top, ridiculous situations got to be a bit too much at times. Most of the book had me laughing, but sometimes I just had to roll my eyes. Chapter 28 in particular made me want to slam my head against the wall. Other parts, such as re-finding Mr. Click, made me chuckle. Aside from the ridiculous humor in the book, the plot was interesting. It kept me on...more

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Jun 30, 2012 Nick Cato rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Tyler and his friend Adam are high school sophomores. Adam plans a way for them to get even with their strict history teacher, Mr. Click: he buys a voodoo doll, and despite Tyler being skeptical, things go overboard when they stick a pin in the doll's leg (during class) and Mr. Click's leg blows off and turns the classroom into a gruesome blood bath. Afraid Tyler will rat him out, Adam buys a voodoo doll of Tyler for insurance, but it gets stolen, sending our two buddies and Tyler's cute but tou...more

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Sep 14, 2012 Megan (The Book Babe) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed-on-my-site, received-for-review

Other reviews like this at The Book Babe

Note: Due to copy an paste, formatting has been lost.

Bwahaha!! This book is hilarious. Most of the characters were only two-dimensional, but the sarcasm definitely (probably) makes up for it. Because the characters were so one-sided, it was really very odd, because of the amount of I spent laughing over the stupid things that were happening, or the extremely weird things that just popped up out of nowhere.

Basically, how can a book that starts out with an...more

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Jan 27, 2013 ElCyd rated it 5 of 5 stars

One of the previous reviewers (on Amazon) basically said, "if you can't stand books/shows where the `4th wall' is broken and the narrator or author speaks directly to the reader/audience, then don't read this book." I have to say, "what 4th wall?!" There's no 4th wall! There's like an octagonal room - and you're inside it with a bunch of friends all enjoying adult beverages and listening to your weirdest buddy tell this crazy story and stopping for giggles and asides along the way... Oh, this is...more

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Jan 24, 2013 Sophia Jones rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: humor, paranormal, ya

*minor spoilers* I wanted something light to read and I do enjoy the occasional bit of dark humor, so I picked this up. It was a lot darker than I expected. Nothing wrong with that,but I just expected a little voodoo, not tons of death, zombies, cannibals and tons of gore (well, maybe the gore) I didn't really mind all that but I'm just putting it out there, this is not sweet by any stretch of the imagination.
Now, the characters. They didn't feel as fleshed out as they could have been, but I g...more

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Dec 29, 2012 Jo rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, paranormal

I really enjoyed this book. I would have given it 4 1/2 stars if that was possible. But I couldn't quite bring myself to give it 5.

This is a book about a very bad, no good, terrible day. It's a book for teengers -- teenage boys, more specifically. It's a book about voodoo and magic and friendship and love and danger and doing stupid things for reasons that are possibly very good but are probably silly or selfish or both.

From the very first page, I was laughing out loud. The voice of the narrator...more

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Sep 18, 2012 Heidi rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya, read-2012

Tyler really got the wrong end of the stick--a zero score for cheating when it wasn't him! No, really, it wasn't! Mr. Click has got to be the worst teacher ever (in Tyler's mind) so when Tyler's friend, Adam, comes up with a voodoo doll, they both chortle at the thought of sticking it to the teacher. All bets are off, though, when a pin stuck in the doll's leg causes Mr. Click's leg to explore in class. Blood and guts cover the classroom. Next comes a voodoo doll of Tyler which gets stolen, send...more

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Aug 24, 2012 Sandra rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Just got this for a blog tour I'm participating in and there's a FAQ at the beginning of the book... hilarious! This should be a good one.

Aaaand... finished the book and it was as equally hilarious as the FAQ.

Tyler was falsely accused of cheating on his history exam and thusly a little ticked at Mr. Click, his teacher. But his best friend, Adam, has a plan and within a few days shows up at school with a voodoo doll of Mr. Click. Of course, they were both pretty shocked to discover the little bur...more

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Jul 07, 2012 Evie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Published to: Bookish (www.evie-bookish.blogspot.com)

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...more Published to: Bookish (www.evie-bookish.blogspot.com)

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!(less)

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Jun 29, 2012 Mandy Sickle rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, read2review, paranormal, fantasy, owned-books, 2012, reading-diaries-reviews

I received this book for a honest review. The book is written from Tyler Churchills perspective of what happened. Tyler is your typical teenager, he studies hard, has a smart girlfriend Kelley, and a very interesting friend Adam. It all starts when his history teacher gives him a F without even checking to see if he got the answers right because he claimed the kid behind Tyler cheated off him and it was Tyler's fault. So of course Tyler is upset who wouldn't be when you are accused of cheating a...more I received this book for a honest review. The book is written from Tyler Churchills perspective of what happened. Tyler is your typical teenager, he studies hard, has a smart girlfriend Kelley, and a very interesting friend Adam. It all starts when his history teacher gives him a F without even checking to see if he got the answers right because he claimed the kid behind Tyler cheated off him and it was Tyler's fault. So of course Tyler is upset who wouldn't be when you are accused of cheating and you didn't cheat. So Adam sets out to get revenge against Mr. Click the mean history teacher. After a week
Adam gives Tyler a voodoo doll of Mr. Click and tell's him to poke him while they are in class. It's only going to hurt his leg.... Unfortunately it wasn't that simple instead Mr. Click's leg shoots off as if sawed off by a chainsaw, blood is everywhere and thus starts the bad day.

Tyler enlists the help of his girlfriend Kelley to deal with Adam who has clearly gone off the deep end upon the death of Mr. Click when the boys accidentally bent the neck of the doll. After tracking down Adam, they learn that he's gotten another voodoo doll this time of Tyler in hopes of trying to get Tyler to not tell the police that Adam made a voodoo doll. The trio embarks on a journey to return the voodoo doll of Tyler to the jewelry story where it was created. However it's not a smooth trip instead it turns into a whirlwind adventure full of blood, horror, car thieves, killers, taxi drivers, crazy cannibals and more. This story keeps you on the edge of your seat it's a non-stop adventure.

I love the way that the characters are written, you almost feel like your with them, because the story sucks you in so completely. There is so much going on in the story and the author does a great job of giving as much detail with out feeling overloaded so you can almost see the people and scenes at least I did. I found myself giggling through most of the book, my hubby found annoying as he was trying to watch a game last night, and I'd have to tell him why I was giggling. I enjoyed reading the book a lot, it was much better then I expected it to be. I think anyone who's into horror with a twist of humor would enjoy this book. (less)

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Aug 27, 2012 Amy Fournier rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own

*4.5 out of 5 stars

OMG this book was hilarious!! First off, the FAQ that is in the beginning of the book was really funny so I was instantly excited to dive in. That is just the tip of the entertainment this book contains. I was literally laughing out loud at some points thinking to myself that Jeff Strand is awesome!! The whole book is one heck of a crazy ride. It's hilariously awesome from the first pages all the way through to the last.

Tyler is just a normal kid who goes to school, has a pre...more *4.5 out of 5 stars

OMG this book was hilarious!! First off, the FAQ that is in the beginning of the book was really funny so I was instantly excited to dive in. That is just the tip of the entertainment this book contains. I was literally laughing out loud at some points thinking to myself that Jeff Strand is awesome!! The whole book is one heck of a crazy ride. It's hilariously awesome from the first pages all the way through to the last.

Tyler is just a normal kid who goes to school, has a pretty and smart girlfriend, dislikes his teachers, and has a psycho friend. Like really loopy, crazy friend. He goes along with Adams voodoo doll thing just to make him happy since apparently Adam went through a lot to get the voodoo doll of his teacher Mr. Click. (To get revenge for a bad grade which wasn't even Tyler's fault) Adam does not believe it will work, but when he pokes the doll with a pin and Mr. Click's leg explodes off of his body, that it just the start of a super, horrible, bad day for voodoo.

As if things can't get any worse than blowing off his teachers leg and then accidentally snapping his neck, his psycho best friend freaks out and takes off instead of helping with the situation. When they finally meet back up Adam has a voodoo doll of Tyler to use as leverage against him so Tyler won't go to the cops. (like he would have anyways) Anything and everything that can go wrong pretty much does. They know they need to return to the woman who made the doll to fix this somehow. On the way they get their car stolen with the doll in it and then the true hilarious adventure starts. They get attacked by numerous people in different situations and have to go through tons of stuff to try to get the Tyler voodoo doll back before someone kills him with it.

Okay I will not really go into the book because a lot of what they go through is right in the synopsis. Just trust me when I say that this book will have you laughing out loud. It is a quick and super entertaining read. I couldn't put it down. I had to know what in the world could possibly go wrong next for Tyler, Adam, and Kelley. I wanted to know if they would get the doll back and if they could even take away it's power if they did. There's even a really great twist in the story that makes things even more interesting. It's all so ridiculous and awesome that there was no way I couldn't love this book. It's was just really, really, fun!! This was non stop adventure.(less)

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About Jeff Strand

Author of a bunch of demented books, including PRESSURE, DWELLER, A BAD DAY FOR VOODOO, WOLF HUNT, SINGLE WHITE PSYCHOPATH SEEKS SAME, BENJAMIN'S PARASITE, FANGBOY, THE SINISTER MR. CORPSE, and lots of others. Three-time Bram Stoker Award finalist. Three-time Bram Stoker Award loser. Four-time Bram Stoker Award Master of Ceremonies.

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Quotes from A Bad Day For Voodoo

“I cursed. (S-word, f-word, s-word, d-word, s-word times three, f-word, and a z-word I made up on the spot.)
I kicked a brick wall.
I said the z-word again in response to the pain that came from kicking a brick wall.” — 4 people liked it

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