Review by Booklist Review
Welcome to the ultimate capitalist hellscape, emphasis on hell. Two years ago, when portals opened and hell's demons poured through to snack on humanity, Vanguard Corporation saved the day. Now, the VC app is a way of life and you can collect VC points--redeemable at a variety of fast-food chains--for anything from interacting with advertisements to watching another person be dismembered by a demon. In the thick of it all, Jasper, teenage amnesiac and unfortunate retail worker at Here For You mart, finds himself challenging the status quo and taking on the task of saving the world. The storyline is not overly ambitious, sticking to stark commentary on the impacts of unchecked capitalism amidst the absolute frenetic chaos of the plot. Younger teens will buy into the rapid-fire action and the absurdity of the demon manifestations, while older, genre-savvy readers will appreciate the clear satire and the subversion of the chosen-one trope. Regardless of the reader's age, the call to fight hopelessness and change the world, even when obstacles seem insurmountable, is one that will resonate.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Portals to hell have become commonplace since thousands of them appeared two years ago in Cho's satirical workplace-apocalypse horror debut. Now that the portals--and the demons they unleashed--are mostly under control thanks to Vanguard, a weapon and surveillance manufacturer, humans have adjusted to a new normal. Meanwhile, Jasper, 17, remembers nothing about his life before the amnesia-inducing head injury he sustained five months ago. The humdrum of his everyday is only broken up by the portal in aisle nine of Here for You Mart, the big-box discount store where he works. He's also been shoring up the courage to talk to taciturn 17-year-old Kyle, who is a part of the Vanguard that oversees the portals. When Jasper starts having nightmarish visions of an upcoming apocalypse, the normally disengaged teen finds himself leading the charge to stop doomsday. Cho skillfully builds a bizarre world grounded by contemporary ideals; the absurdity of Jasper working retail in dystopian circumstances serves as a piercing commentary on capitalistic values, resulting in a quickly paced, laugh-out-loud read. Kyle is Taiwanese American; Jasper has "floppy dark hair and darker eyes." Ages 13--up. Agent: Dan Lazar, Writers House. (Sept.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 9 Up--It's another boring day for Jasper at Here For You discount mart. It might seem that's the only chaos in the life of this teen, but it's not. Not only does he deal with severe amnesia, but at any moment there might be a mess in Aisle Nine. This rundown store is just one of many sites all around the world with a portal to Hell that opens and spews out demons. Helping to combat these demons is Jasper's crush Kyle, who might have been a part of his life before amnesia, and the other members of the mysterious Vanguard Corporation. How did the world get like this? Cho's debut captures the mundane humor of a dead-end job, the chaos and panic of a world where random demonic attacks are commonplace, and all the drama of young adult love, set against the backdrop of an oncoming holiday shopping season. Comedy and horror go hand in hand, and Cho provides readers with a cast of characters whose range can handle both genres, while remaining relevant to the everyday lives of this novel's readers. VERDICT This book will delight readers with its dark comedy, but also provides enough twists and turns to keep readers guessing. A perfect release for the upcoming spooky season.--Adam Fisher
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
In this debut, a 17-year-old store clerk tries to avoid the hell portal in aisle nine. After sustaining head trauma, Jasper wakes with no memory of the past. He finds evidence that his parents died on Hell Portal Day, which fell on Christmas nearly two years ago, when tens of thousands of portals to hell suddenly opened all around the world. Jasper stumbles back into his job at Sundown City's Here For You mart, the site of one particularly menacing portal. The portals periodically spew out more violent demons, which are barely kept at bay by the Vanguard Corporation. All of this has become quite normal for the general public, but Jasper is haunted by a recurring image of four wraiths--and a sense that things are about to get worse. Humor and late-20th-century pop-culture references lighten the tone: Jasper's roommate is a talking cat plushie, for example. As is often the case with this genre, plot takes precedence over character development. Jasper is understandably something of a blank slate, and the rest of the cast is filled largely with stock types. Still, the plot twists are clever enough to keep the pages turning. Kyle, the main girl character (and potential love interest), is Taiwanese American; Jasper has "floppy dark hair and darker eyes." An intriguing corporate military state apocalypse fueled by nightmares and served with a side of romance.(Fiction. 12-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
