Books like Blimpo by Dale E. Basye

Milton Fauster finds himself at Blimpo, a surreal chapter of the Heck series, where every lesson is a laugh and the walls echo with cruel irony. The inmates, all noticeably overweight, spend their days powering massive "DREADmills"—giant hamster wheels that monitor and exaggerate their deepest fears—while the endless buffet of Hambone Hank's barbecue tantalizes and terrifies in equal measure. Each classroom is dominated by a huge screen that broadcast lives of thin, perfect beings, mocking the residents and pushing them toward an unattainable ideal. Meanwhile, Milton's sister Marlo, freshly deployed to the devil's Infernalship program, experiences her own battle with perfection. Can Milton free himself and his friend Virgil before they become the next culinary success of Principal Bea "Elsa" Bubb? And will he be able to save Marlo from her own perverse quest for flawlessness? The answer lies in the hilariously dark heart of Blimpo.

First publish date: 2010