this was another Libby find that sounded fun and quirky and voicey as hell. And, for the most part, it was.
Rod has a pretty good life. He's in a band that has a regular gig, he has a pretty awesome girlfriend, and he even gets on well with his mother. But when he finds out his wealthy cousin Blake is coming to stay for three months, he's miffed. It's not that he doesn't like Blake - he barely knows him - but there just isn't much space in the house and Rod is going to have to share his room. But hey, it's only three months right?
Blake's annoying traits show up even before he arrives. Hundreds of boxes of his "things" are delivered to the house. Heavy boxes. Then, when he actually arrives, he has so much luggage with him, it takes two trips to get it all from the airport. And he expects Rod to do all the work.
As these annoying little things start piling up, Rod becomes increasingly certain his cousin is evil. Yet, to his mother, to his friends, to the teachers at school, Rod is a perfect gentleman. So, Rod's complaints about him fall on deaf ears.
It doesn't;t take long for Blake to worm his way into every part of Rod's life - his band, his girlfriend - and to "help" with everything. But Blake's help is ruining Rod's life. And as everything starts crashing down around him, Rod's protests that everything is Blake's fault begin to make him sound more and more paranoid.
This was a fun book, but it was too short and had a total cop out of an ending. Blake's antics were funny, but it wasn't enough. The whole thing took about two weeks to play out, far too short a period of time for much lasting damage to have been made in Rod's life. And everything was resolved far too quickly and easily. I felt like the author had a word count limit and a deadline and realized he was reaching both, so wrapped up the story then and there without any real thought to how it fit with the rest of the book.
Which was a shame, because I enjoyed spending time with Rod and watching the way he slowly started to doubt his own sanity. It could have gone on longer and had far more resonance.
So, while I'd like to recommend this one, it ended up being kind of disappointing.
But, don't just listen t me. Here's the blurb:
Rod and his cousin take family rivalry to a new level in this rollicking comedy from Jeff Strand.
Rod's life is pretty awesome. He plays in a punk rock band that's starting to score gigs and has a great girlfriend. Then he learns that his rich cousin, Blake, will be staying with him for three months—moving into his room, moving in on his girlfriend and band, and basically ruining his life! Prankster Blake has his own ideas on how Rod should live, but his efforts to get Rod girls and bring people to the band's shows are the opposite of helpful. Between Blake's ridiculous pranks and Rod's increasing paranoia, this semester might be the cousins' most memorable yet. That is, if their hijinks don't kill them first.
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