Croak by Gina Damico

"You and that infernal team, honestly--" she started, but then closed her mouth after receiving a harsh glare from her husband... anyone crazy enough to name her daughters after the first battles of the American Revolution waived all rights to accuse anyone else of being too obsessed with anything."

Croak by Gina Damico is about the funniest book I have read this year.  The snippet above is on page 6 of the book.  We meet our MC Lex (Lexington) after she is summoned to the Principal's office because she beat up a classmate (male) and bite him.  We also meet her mother and father during this scene.  Right off the bat Lex is marked as a trouble maker... well, because she has been a trouble maker for the past 2 years.  Since it is the last week of school, Lex catches a break and isn't expelled; however, later that night (while she's tied to a chair for her family's safety) her mom and dad discuss her punishment.  In order to cool off and gain a different personality, one less combative, Lex will be spending the summer with her Uncle Mort in upstate NY.  (By the way Lex is a twin, her sister Cordy [Concord] is not as much of a hassle as Lex so she will not be joining her sister.)

Once Lex begrudgingly sets off to her uncle's everything starts to become a little odd for her.  During her bus ride she notices white lights at a car crash that the bus passes by.  Then there is her uncle... I FELL IN LOVE with Uncle Mort.  He is hilarious and no nonsense, and he also happens to speak Lex's language.  In the town of Croak we find the same group of people with Lex's rebellious streaks... and it turns out they are like that for a reason, because they are Killers and Culls.

Killers are the ones who travel to a person's death place and sets their soul free from the body after death and the Culls collect the souls. This work is done in partners for obvious reasons.  Uncle Mort tells Lex that she is a Killer, like him.  Soon after her internship begins in the town of Croak.  The reader is pushed into the world of reapers and the human condition.  What if you know who murdered your pick up?  Do you just let it go and collect your souls for the day?

Besides being hilarious and similar to the show Dead Like Me, this story is rich with actions and consequences.  At least worth the purchase and even more so to be read.