Title: Keep Away from Psycho Joe by Brent Michael Kelleyhttps://wiwrite.org/Sys/PublicProfile/78050556/4946371
Publisher / Publication date: Mystery Potion Books / July 28, 2023
Language: English
Paperback, Ebook: 228 pages
Genre: YA comedy horror
ISBN: 979-8988826835
ASIN B0CFTRYSFX
Reviewed by: Bibi Belford https://wiwrite.org/Sys/PublicProfile/59192009
The posters say to keep away—are they telling the truth?
Keep Away From Psycho Joe, a YA horror novel by Brent Michael Kelley, combines mystery, mind control, and raucous potty insults in ways reminiscent of Stranger Things. Ruby’s life s*****, or stinks to use a more appropriate word. He’s recently moved into his uncle’s double-wide in rural Bluehills, Wisconsin, and gotten kicked out of school on the last day before vacation. He’s away from his friends and his beloved Milwaukee Brewers, stuck at home all summer with no streaming services, while his hard-working mom tries to save money to move him to another town he doesn’t want to live in. Worst of all, his closest neighbor is a creepy weirdo known as Psycho Joe, who scares and intrigues Ruby. With little else to do, he watches movies, spies on his neighbor, and begins writing the Encyclopedia Stupidica, a spoof on history, heavy in bathroom humor.
Things start looking up when he reaches out to Cludes, his farther-down-the-road high school acquaintance, and they start hanging out. Cludes offers Ruby a job picking up rocks and baling hay on his Grandma Cludeski’s farm, where his cousin Justine sometimes works. Turns out Justine brings some nice scenery to the grueling work of picking up rocks and baling hay. She’s smart and a willing sleuthing partner when Ruby’s intrigue into Psycho Joe’s activity becomes a rescue prompted by mysterious writing he finds between his entries in Encyclopedia Stupidica.
Readers will enjoy the unique characters (my favorite was feisty Grandma Cludeski), the bro camaraderie between Ruby and Cludes, the high school angst of a first crush, and the bizarre twists and turns as the adventure ramps up. Movie lovers will appreciate Ruby’s large DVD collection, and Wisconsonites will feel right at home with the Midwestern flora and fauna. Don’t expect all the loose ends to wrap up into a neat package. You’ll have to wait for the sequel to do that.
