The Incredibly Dead Pets of Rex Dexter

by Aaron Reynolds Narrated by Christopher Gebauer

Overview

New York Times best-selling author Aaron Reynolds delivers an “entertainingly spooky romp” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) about Rex Dexter, who is itching to have a dog ... but ends up with a pet chicken.

One hour and fourteen minutes later, the chicken is dead (by a steamroller), Rex is cursed (by the Grim Reaper), and wild animals are haunting Rex's room (hounding him for answers). Even his best friend Darvish is not going to believe this, and that kid believes everything!

Rex's uninvited ghostly guests are a chatty, messy bunch. And they need Rex to solve their mysterious deadly departures from the Middling Falls Zoo before it happens again. But how?

"In this entertainingly spooky romp, Reynolds tempers his morbid premise with the absurdity of Rex's situation, the ghostly entourage's distinct personalities, and a hilarious, simultaneously formal and sarcastic, narrative voice."-Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Praise for The Incredibly Dead Pets of Rex Dexter:

* "In this entertainingly spooky romp, Reynolds tempers his morbid premise with the absurdity of Rex's situation, the ghostly entourage's distinct personalities, and a hilarious, simultaneously formal and sarcastic, narrative voice."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"The mystery has a twist ending that will surprise and satisfy readers who thought they knew what was coming....Purchase where funny books are popular-that's everywhere, right?"—School Library Journal

"Picture-book author Reynolds brings his knack for off-kilter comedy to his first novel in a gleefully entertaining fashion. "—Booklist

"Reynolds' new series debut is nonstop comedy."—Kirkus

"Reynolds is bound to attract fans drawn to overconfident Rex and whatever challenge the Grim Reaper cares to deal him."—BCCB

Kirkus Reviews

2019-12-18
Haunted by the ghosts of dead pets, a kid must right their wrongs.

All sixth grader Rex wants is a “real-live” pet of his own—preferably a chocolate Labrador. Everyone he knows has a pet. His best friend, Darvish, a “pet hoarder,” has four—maybe five. In answer to Rex’s constant pleading, his parents give him a “practice pet”: a chicken. One hour and 14 minutes after the chicken enters Rex’s life, it becomes a real-dead pet. Things go from bad to worse when, after losing a mysterious carnival game called The Reaper’s Curse he finds on the sidewalk, Rex can not only suddenly see the ghosts of dead animals, but speak to and understand them. The chicken—Drumstick—is the first of many to communicate with Rex. As a de facto animal “afterlife errand boy,” can Rex help these ghosts rest in peace? Reynolds’ new series debut is nonstop comedy, poking fun at everything from animal rights groups to the education system. Rex’s first-person narration—heavily unreliable and hyperbolic—smartly utilizes direct address to implicate readers in the ridiculous plot. Several jokes skirt the edges of adult taste, with instances of potty humor that should especially delight kids. Most of the human characters are white by default; Darvish is Pakistani American.

Laugh-out-loud ludicrousness. (Fiction. 8-12)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940177567198
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	04/28/2020
Series:	Incredibly Dead Pets of Rex Dexter , #1
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

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