Books like Heck by Dale E. Basye

Milton and Marlo Fauster are thrown together in Heck—a strange reform school that exists beyond the ordinary world. The school, overseen by the no‑mistake Principal Elsa Bubb, offers bizarre classes: a home‑economics lesson with Lizzie Borden, an ethics session featuring Richard Nixon, and a gym lesson with Blackbeard the Pirate. Among classmates and classmates with unusual backgrounds, Milton grapples with the fact that his sister’s presence at Heck seems justified, while he himself could once have been a model citizen. The story follows the siblings’ attempts to navigate Heck’s unconventional curriculum, their relationship, and the mystery of why they were chosen for this strange place. They must decide whether to escape, to endure until maturity, or to accept a different kind of future life.

First publish date: 2008