Snivel: The Fifth Circle of Heck, is the fifth book in the Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go series by Dale E. Basye. We follow siblings Milton and Marlo Fauster as they are sent to the next circle of H-E-double-hockey-sticks. Snivel is the circle of Heck where the Whiny Kids go, a world set in the summer camp of all kids' nightmares: a dreary, rainy world where the Grin Reaper runs around stealing laughter and mirth, monochromosquitos fly around sucking energy and lust for life from each Unhappy Camper, and Vice Principal Poe (yes, the Poe) is in charge. This circle is full of the trademark dark humor and play on words, as well as the odd placement of historical and literary figures in roles of teachers and camp counselors, and the plot thickens.
Events set in motion in Fibble, the circle for liars, where the plot for stealing the world and bringing forth the Apocalypse is revealed by the Fauster siblings, are now ramped up a notch in the world of Snivel. Apparently a new scheme is in the works involving Nikola Tessla and spiritual video games... it's bound to be a doozy, no? Of course, Milton and Marlo must find a way to save the day, and save the underworld, from the new threats that are rising to destroy the all the worlds as we know them.
And as with the other four volumes in this series, Basye does a smashing job of making this book more adult than the 9-13 yr old age rating the publisher stamped on the back. Again deeper themes of life and death, happiness and defeat, spirituality and humanity creep out from between the lines on the pages. As set up in the previous book (sorry, there are a few spoilers, but it's a series, it all builds on itself), a spiritual war is coming and Heck and the Place Upstairs are fighting for control of the world of the living, and humans are either going to be the prize or collateral damage when it's all said and done. Not only do Milton and Marlo have to save themselves from the horrors of Heck, they have to literally save the universe as we know it.
This volume changes things up a bit, by bringing the siblings, and the reader, back to the Surface. Marlo finds herself on the surface and finds herself face to face with the realities of what happened after she and her brother died. The world, as well as their family and friends, have moved on without them and not always for the better. The most heart wrenching part of the whole book was when Marlo haunts her own house and sees what happened to her parents as they are left picking up the pieces after their two children died. I actually had to put the book down for a few days because it was too much. And calling Snivel the circle where Whiny Kids go is a misnomer. It's more where kids who have too much spirit, too much life, go to get "put in line". The soul crushing "activities" at Camp Snivel were meant to beat the children down, pull all their spark and life from their souls; which is where the monochromosquitos come in. With each bite from the insects the children's motivation, energy, very spirit for living is sucked from them and leaving the drained, mentally as physically (the children turn various shades of gray with each bite). As Milton and Marlo move through Snivel and go to it's sister world of Arcadia, they are thrown through the pendulum of human experience. Arcadia is a world of insane energy drinks, video games, over saturated colors and nerve-burned sensory overloads. First left with not enough spirit as to cause apathy, and then with so much stimulation it almost overloads the system, the siblings have to find a balance in the two circles, as well as find a balance of emotion in one's own life. Hopefully without giving too much away, I'll quote the "narrator" who provides metacommentary in the forward, middleword, and backward: "The truth is that happiness is found in its pursuit, not its possession."
I am seriously in love with this series. As mentioned before, Basye somehow disguises an adult-level allegory in colorful cartoony covers of children's books. I reviewed the first three books in the series back here and the fourth book's review is here so you can get the full scope of my love for these books, and also whet your appetite so you can go read them as well. I, for one, am going to head on over to Barnes & Noble this weekend and pick up the sixth book, Precocia: Where the Smarty Pants Kids Go. The seventh book, Wise Acres: Where the Sassy Kids Go, is out as well but it's in hardcover. I have a silly thing about hardcovers, so hopefully I'll finish #6 by the time #7 is in paperback in September.
All right, before this review/essay/love letter goes on any further, I should give my rating. On my scale of 1 (literary hari kari) to 10 (literary orgasmic bliss), I give Snivel a nice, steady 8. That brings the series ratings to thusly:
Heck: The First Circle of Heck:
Where the Bad Kids Go: 8
Rapacia: The Second Circle of Heck:
Where the Greedy Kids Go: 7.5
Blimpo: The Third Circle of Heck:
Where the Fat Kids Go: 7.5
Fibble: The Fourth Circle of Heck:
Where the Lying Kids Go: 7
Snivel: The Fifth Circle of Heck:
Where the Whiny Kids Go : 8
Circles of Heck series thus far: 7.6
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