Review: Guy Langman, Crime Scene Procrastinator by Josh Berk

Guy Langman can't be bothered with much. But when his friend Anoop wants Guy to join the forensics club with him in the (possibly misguided) hopes of impressing some girls, Guy thinks why not.

They certainly aren't expecting to find a real dead body on the simulated crime scene they're assigned to collect evidence from. But after some girlish, undignified screaming, the two realize it is indeed a body. Which means they have stumbled across a real, dead murder victim.

Meanwhile, Guy has been looking into the past of his father—a larger-than-life character who recently passed away. He was much older than Guy's mom, and had a whole past Guy never even knew about. Could his father's past and the dead body be linked? Does Guy want to know? He's going to need all his newfound forensics skills to find out . . .(Good Reads)

If you've ever wanted to get into the mind of 15-year-old boy ... wait, that sounds funny, but you know what I mean. Guy Langman, Crime Scene Procrastinator by Josh Berk was pretty funny if you're okay with a casual fart joke or two in the first 50 pages (in case you are wondering, I am).

Basically, Guy is a notoriously lazy, bubble-bath loving teen who uses his aloof humor to mask his grappling with the recent death of his father. While the book is billed as a murder mystery, it's really about how Guy explores the mysterious life of his dad, Francis.

This book has some hysterical one-liners (in the form of Francis Langman-isms) and some pretty funny high-school-boy worthy humor. It was definitely a light, easy read - perfect for summer!

• Originality: 6 - Forensics Club? Who has this at their high school? I didn't. In lieu of this, may I suggest watching re-runs of CSI or Law & Order? Dusting for fingerprints? I could do that in my sleep!
• Absurdity: 5 - Anyone stumbling upon a dead body during a Forensics Club field trip,  assuming it was part of the exercise and then casually playing Medical Examiner until they realize that, indeed, this is a dead body ... well that pings on the Absurd meter. Okay, maybe its more coincidental absurdity, but absurd, nonetheless!
• Paranormal Romance - 1 - I'll give it a one because I daresay that high school crushes are inherently paranormal at times (do with that what you will!), but not what we typically refer to as paranormal here at YAF and Whiskey Sours.
• Level of Harry Potterness: 5 - I have to say, while a light read, Mr. Beck does have some pretty funny one-liners and teenage banter that makes you connect (or roll your eyes at, in many cases) the characters. It wasn't bad!