I Have a Bad Feeling About This

I Have a Bad Feeling About This
by Jeff Strand

Grades 7 & up

Humorous Action-Adventure

How You Ruined My Life
The Greatest Zombie Movie Ever

Book Summary:
Henry spends his days playing video games, until his parents decide to send him to survival camp. The camo-wearing drill sergeant guy in the promotional video turns out to be just as terrifying in real life. As expected, Henry is not exactly acing any of the survival challenges at camp. When an actual threat arrives, surviving isn't just a word in a brochure anymore.

Book Review:
This is really funny. It's absurdist humor and I laughed out loud in places. Each character's motivations have relatable petty, jealous, and illogical moments, and the dialogue is what kept me turning pages, more than the action.

The book contains gun violence, which may not be appropriate for some readers. It is not trying to challenge the way readers think about important issues, and some of the story-within-a-story moments are a little self-indulgent, but it is a fun independent read.

"Why would there be gunshots coming from the music camp?"
"That stuff is competitive. You don't know what it's like. A piccolo player misses out on first chair and things get ugly."
p. 152

"That portion of his brain was making a checklist of regrets and deciding if he wanted a somber eulogy or an amusing one and wondering if his parents would eventually demand their money back from Strongwoods Survival Camp or if they'd just let it go because it seemed tacky to stop grieving long enough to demand a refund."
p. 168