Dodgeball High

By: Bradley Sands

Narrated by: Joe Hempel

Length: 3 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's Summary

On the dodgeball court, everyone can hear you scream.

Justin Lucas just started at a new high school, but there are no classes in really important stuff like English literature, mathematics, science, or history. Instead, the entire curriculum is dedicated to playing dodgeball. Justin is...perplexed. Where are the pencils and textbooks? Why are there so many explosives strapped to the balls? And what's up with the barbed wire? Does the school administration really think it's appropriate to wrap the balls in barbed wire?

Dodgeball High does not seem like a safe environment for a young man. But his classmates don't care. They kinda remind him of junior Mafia dons, little serial killers, and pint-sized dictators from third-world countries. And they are all really good at dodgeball (and the shedding of their classmates' blood), while Justin totally sucks. And to make matters worse, Justin's parents are like...total dicks. They won't let him go to a different school because they think he's full of crap about this "dodgeball nonsense". Not to mention that Dodie Manson, the greatest player in the school, has a gigantic crush on Justin. And whoever Dodie wants, Dodie gets, and her BFs have a habit of experiencing intense pleasure prior to their "mysterious" decapitations.

Does Justin have what it takes to survive and make it to the top of his class before graduation? Or will he be eliminated permanently? Listen to Dodgeball High to find out, but watch out for the ball that's coming at your head!

©2014 Bradley Sands (P)2017 Bradley Sands

Funny, Entertaining with Great narration

Would you consider the audio edition of Dodgeball High to be better than the print version?

Joe's narration made the book funny, entertaining and interesting. I think the print version would be less appealing for me.

What does Joe Hempel bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Joe does a great job with narration. Strong, emphatic voice with great cadence.

Any additional comments?

This review copy audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost."

Hunger games meets dodgeball

Imagine being sent to a high school where you only get admitted if your parents are psychotic killers. Every class is about dodgeball and how it changed the world. Every game can result in your death. Every ball could be covered in razors, filled with explosives or who knows what. A little too much of sexual explicitness for listening to with my kids. That being said the rest of it was a trip. Well written and well narrated. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Awesomely Awesome

I was given this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. I'll try to keep it spoiler free.

The story revolves around a narcissistic teenager name Justin Lucas. Justin begins attending a high school who's entire curriculum revolves around dodgeball. Sounds like an amazing school right? Well not when you find out the rules. There's a lot of humor in here, something that highly appealed to me. The character of Justin Lucas is like Holden Caufield if Holden Caufield wasn't an annoying little bitch...so yeah, Justin is way cooler than Caufield. If Mark David Chapman had read this he might not have stopped with John Lennon and killed of the rest of the Beatles. We'll never know. Lucas is a loveable douchebag. I really loved this story for that reason. I've seen others complain about his character...I thought he was perfect, which shows how smart and talented I really am. They just don't know a good book because they're a bunch of losers. I highly recommend this and I will be looking for anything by Sands as long as he keeps writing like this. The barrator did a great job, although sometimes a hint of an accent would come thru, maybe I was hearing things.

Silly, funny and a bit over the top-in a good way

Any additional comments?

From the opening line of the introduction of the main character who states that he is the most awesomely named person on the planet( he isn't )through situation after situation I can only call this story silly. It is a silly that kept me going mostly to find out what crazy thing the self proclaimed coolest kid in school would plow through next. This book is definitely a laugh if you can just let yourself be pulled along for the ride.
I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Unreliable narrator creates comedy

This book is filled with swearing, sexual content and graphic content. If that is a problem for you, don't bother. If not, then read on.

Have you every started a book and within the first tow minutes decided you just want to punch the main character in the face to make him shutup? This book may make you do that.

It opens with the following: "The first thing you should know about me is that I am very handsome, nice, smart, athletic, and funny. Basically, I'm the coolest kid on the planet. And I've even got the coolest name in the universe. Are you ready for it? It's... Justin Lucas. Whoa, I flip out a little every time I think about it."

Justin is confident, arrogant even, to the point of being completely out of touch with everything around him. He can't tell that every single descriptor he has given of himself is wrong. He is an extremely unreliable narrator.

Much of the book's comedy comes from the reader 'reading between the lines' and working out what is actually going on vs Justin's "OMG I am so awesome" view of the world. It works well and is genuinely funny (unlike Justin himself)

The book is quick, fun and well and truly over the top (how much of the OTT can be put onto the unreliable narrator? Maybe the school isn't as crazy as he portrays and he is just exaggerating). Don't look for things to make too much sense, don't look for things to be explained, and you will have fun.


Narration by Joe Hempel is perfect for the character. He captures the self-absorbed teenager really well, and his the comedy beats. Pacing is great, as is the emotions, character voices, etc. The narration really enhanced the book.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Funny

Would you listen to Dodgeball High again? Why?

Yes I would it's great

Any additional comments?

I recieved a free copy of this book for an honest review. I think it was a great story with lots of laughs

Crazy High School Comedy Story with Dodgeball

Wow.. The Title of the book pretty much sums up the story. A new transfer student from Orlando Florida to New Jersey finds himself dropped into a weird school that is obsessed with Dodge ball. Every class is rewritten to be a dodge ball subject from Math to English. But this is not the normal school yard game we all know here they play to the death. Justin is the self centered teen who is the "hero" Dottie is the girl he falls for and Kamikaze is the one time friend then enemy. For a dark comedy the story is up and down and really falls flat in places. This story was funny at times but not as good as I expected but it is not a huge time investment.

What really saves the whole book for me is the narrator Joe Hempel. He lends voice to some characters who would be totally unlikable if it were not for him. The best example I can provide is when he does Justin's inner monologue if not as well done by Mr Hemple this could have made the kid even a bigger teen idiot that you did not feel sympathy for but the way he voiced the character just works and brought the right life to the kid and as much as you don't want to like him at times you do. His vocal talent really helps the story.

This review copy audiobook was provided by the author/narrator/publisher free of charge via Audiobook Boom.

Crazy High school in a Crazy Town

If you could sum up Dodgeball High in three words, what would they be?

Chuckle-worthy story! This story grabbed me from the get-go, and never let me go. Listened in the car on a long road trip, and it was very entertaining and although gross at times, it was written in a way that wasn't so dark that it was disturbing.

What other book might you compare Dodgeball High to and why?

I could compare this book to some written by Brett Williams, but Dodgeball High is not anywhere near as dark but more comical as our hero figures out why he is at this school and what the heck is going on in his life.

Have you listened to any of Joe Hempel’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Joe is an amazing narrator and my absolute favorite one! He rocks all the voices in this book and he is so easy to listen to.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Dodgeball High, where Dodgeball reins supreme!

Any additional comments?

Don't take this book too seriously, it was a great way to pass the time in the car without the nightmares that can come with seriously dark books.

Some funny parts but dumb, weird and out there

Has Dodgeball High turned you off from other books in this genre?

I don't think so. Although this did have some funny parts, with the mind of a teen boy, the story just went so far out there that I just found it stupid and somewhat gross.

Have you listened to any of Joe Hempel’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I believe this is my first by Joe and I didn't have any problems with his narration. He did fine and I would not have any issues listening to him on another book.

Any additional comments?

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the
author, narrator, or publisher.

Surreal, bizarre and interesting

The premise of a school completely focused on frequently lethal dodgeball is unusual, to say the least! This story is imaginatively written, with interesting ideas, and well performed by Joe Hempel. I did enjoy listening to it, but it doesn't really go anywhere, though - maybe I'm asking too much from this? The main character, Justin, starts out as an embarrassingly clueless jerk with the self awareness of an amoeba... and remains that way throughout the entire book. I was hoping that he might learn something from his experiences, or that Dodie might smack some sense into him, but nope, he is still just as irritating by the end of the story.

Give this book a try if you like surreal and creative writing.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

a bizarre yet oddly enjoyable story

Any additional comments?

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

this story firmly falls in to the bizarro category of writing, goofy, childish, surreal and sometimes snort out loud funny, sometimes the narrative is abit hard to follow but ultimately it is a enjoyable easy listen, joe hempels narration adds alot to this book i believe, his tone and inflections help sculpt the internal monologue of the protagonist nicely and he portrays the character well.

i wouldn't normally listen to book such as this but i'm glad i gave it a chance and can honestly say i enjoyed it.