How You Ruined My Life

by Jeff Strand

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.

Genres: Young Adult, Humor, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Music, Family

307 pages, Paperback

Published April 3, 2018

About the author

Bram Stoker Award-winning author of a bunch of demented books, including PRESSURE, DWELLER, CLOWNS VS. SPIDERS, AUTUMN BLEEDS INTO WINTER, MY PRETTIES, the official novelization of ATTACK OF THE KILLER TOMATOES, and lots of others!

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

"'It's only three months,' I tell myself, 'Only three months. Only three long, endless, excruciating months.'" -- teenage protagonist / narrator Rod Conklin, on page 29

Strand's How You Ruined My Life is like a YA and/or humorous version of one of those ubiquitous 90's big-screen psychological thrillers (or those nondescript made-for-cable movies in the last twenty years) where one person sets out to ruin another person's peaceful existence. While the author has penned an excellently paced book with some cutting adolescent dialogue, but by the conclusion it didn't quite deliver on its early promise. However, when it was good it was still very readable.

Rod Conklin is a high school student in suburban Florida, an average guy who has a steady girlfriend. His 'off' hours spent fronting a burgeoning punk rock trio and also being a pleasantly dutiful son to a divorced working-class mom. The atom bomb dropped on his otherwise uneventful life is the arrival of teen cousin Blake Montgomery (doesn't that name just sound like a villain from a soap opera?), a So-Cal rich kid whose parents light out on a 90-day cruise. From the moment Rod retrieves Blake at the airport it becomes a battle of wills between the two, with the difficult Blake apparently wanting to make Rod just as miserable as possible. Blake's gaslighting-ish tactics include being charming to everyone in Rod's social circle (bandmates, teachers, etc.), greatly upsetting the good and nice Rod.

I thought the concluding chapters - when Blake finally explains his motivation to Rod - were just too uneven and unsatisfactory. (My internal response to Blake's simple explanation, which really only amounted to a sentence or two, was "Come on! There has got to be a better reason than that!" for all his manipulations.) Really, it was a very bad sign that when one character could've pushed another in front of a speeding delivery truck that it seemed like a 'good' option. That said, the initial 200 or more pages were sort of engrossing, and it made me curious to check out the author's other work.

[Erin Sky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rod’s teenage life isn’t perfect, but things could be worse. He lives with his single mom in a modest home. They don’t have a lot of extras, but they’re getting by. He has a punk rock band called “Fanged Grapefruit” and a beautiful girlfriend. Life is pretty good. That is, until Blake moves in. Blake is Rod’s cousin, and from the moment his privileged mountain of luggage arrives—the day before he does himself—Blake manages to make Rod’s life a living hell. But is he a harmless idiot? Or does this demon-spawn of a cousin know exactly what he’s doing?

How You Ruined My Life is a fun read that made me laugh out loud more than once. Things are so bad that even Rod finds himself doubting anyone could be as diabolical as Blake seems. Is he really moving Rod’s posters a centimeter at a time whenever he isn’t looking? And he couldn’t possibly be snoring like a jackhammer all night on purpose. Could he? Rod’s train of thought is an amusing stream of ridiculousness that can sometimes be over the top, and he’s such an easy a target for Blake’s shenanigans that he’s almost asking for it. But that naive, good-guy attitude is a big part of his charm, and I’m a sucker for a nice guy.

The net result is a quick, quirky romp that’s worth the read.

[Joel · Rating 3 out of 5]

How You Ruined My Life is told by Rod, high-school student, lead singer of punk band Fanged Grapefruit, boyfriend of Audrey, and cousin of Blake. Rod and his single mother haven't seen well-to-do Blake or his family in years, but that's about to change because Blake's parents have decided to not wait for summer to take a cruise, so they're shipping him off to share a bedroom with Rod for the end of semester and the next four months.

This is a YA comedy novel suitable for low teens and up. No explicit content. Rod breaks the fourth wall a lot, so if you're a fan of Deadpool-style storytelling, you might enjoy this.

The first clue that this might not be the greatest sleepover ever is when a moving truck shows up and deposits tons of boxes into Rod's garage, imposing on Fanged Grapefruit's practice space. And when Rod has to drive his beater car to the airport to pick up Blake and his mountain of luggage, the cousins get off to a rocky start when Blake is ultra-critical of everything.

Rod is determined to believe it might not be such a bad experience, but his optimism quickly fades as Blake seems to be intent on destroying his life. Or is he? Others don't seem to see Blake as the snake Rod knows he is, and Rod begins questioning not only Blake's influence over everyone and everything around him, but his own sanity.

There are several laugh-out-loud moments in the book, and overall it was a fun, light-hearted read, if slightly marred by being farfetched. Still enjoyable for what it was.

3 out of 5 stars.

[Darrell Grizzle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fast-paced, comedic novel for Young Adults (recommended age: 12 and up) about a 16-year-old guy whose life is just fine until his evil cousin comes to visit. We’ve all met “that guy” who presents a charming face to others when we know there’s a rotten person behind the façade. I’m a big fan of Jeff Strand’s horror novels, and this is my first time reading one of his YA novels. He displays the same gift for witty dialogue here as in most of his horror stories, but with none of the gore (unless you count the chapter about dissecting a rat in science lab). There are no angst-ridden, moody teenagers here, just a lot of laughs and meta-asides from the narrator to the reader. Do your inner 13-year-old a favor and read this book.

[Darla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rounded up from 3.5.

I found the style of narration in this book to be very entertaining. Rod is a likable sixteen-year-old living in a small house with his mom. His aunt and uncle go on a world cruise and send their son Blake to stay. The 42 boxes that were sent in advance show us what is to come. Rod's life will never be the same. A fun read for young teens -- boys and girls.

[Annoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yeah it was probably aimed at 13 year olds but it's so immaturely funny so

[Ainslie-Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️
Having to give this book a rating was really difficult. While I loved the characters and found some parts very funny, the writing style ruined it for me.

Rodney & Blake's interactions are hysterical. I love how they acted like true cousins at one point just to be mortal enemies the next page. It had good balance.

I would be laughing out loud just for Rodney to change the story or mention me as the reader. I know I am reading the book, but what makes a good story is being submerged in it. With the author's writing style it was near impossible to feel apart of the story.

[Dottie Corley · Rating 5 out of 5]

What Else Could Go Wrong?!

This was a weirdly funny story that I thoroughly enjoyed, including the author's interaction with his readers. I hope this guy has other books available!

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another of Strand’s whackadoodle books but it was entertaining for the most part. 3.5 ⭐️

[Cara]

DNF 43%
I liked his last book, but I just did not care what was going to happen next. I found myself doing chores to avoid reading it. Not a good sign.

[Amanda Stoddard Rowan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got to the end and wondered what the point of it was, but also lasted until the end, so, there’s that. Not sure why I picked this one up in the first place either, exactly.

[amna · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was definitely meant for 14 year olds but i understand the appeal💯💯💯

[vika · Rating 2 out of 5]

it wasn’t terrible. it just sucked. a lot. idk.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent but predictable

[Reed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining

[Caitlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

it’s probably closer to 3.5 but i’ll keep at three.

i liked it well enough! blake was an entertaining villain, and the ending was a little unexpected. the ending felt a bit abrupt, but it’s not unreasonable.

[K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny. Guy read!

[Pop Bop · Rating 4 out of 5]

Light on Plot, But Still Great Fun

I've been a Jeff Strand fan ever since I read "I Have a Bad Feeling About This". That was confirmed by "Greatest Zombie Movie Ever". Sure, Strand has lots of other books out there, but the slightly manic teen confessionals are my favorites. And this one is dead on in that very funny style.

The plot here, though, is on the light side. No particular experience or right of passage or event, (like summer camp or prom or graduation or getting a car or something like that), is featured at the heart of the book. Rather, our hero Rod just has to put up with playing host to his rich/spoiled cousin Blake for three months while Blake's parents are out of the country. The hook is that Blake is the ultimate Eddie Haskell - sweet and polite to everyone else but demonically and psychotically committed to ruining everything good about Rod's life, (band, girlfriend, and so on). That means that pretty much all of the action consists of Blake doing sneaky rotten things that no-one sees except Rod. Rod just ends up being worn down by all of the dirty tricks and evil plans and nasty setups. But the reader starts to get worn down as well.

The major and saving upside is that Rod is a remarkably witty and engaging narrator, and Blake is a very funny villain in a dry and villainously psycho fashion. As per usual the supporting characters, (bandmates, classmates, Rod's Mom, Rod's girlfriend), are generously supplied with funny lines and throwaways of their own, so everything doesn't rest on Rod's and Blake's shoulders.

There are a couple of levels of humor. First off, there are excellent, almost standalone, set pieces that sometimes have a slapstick quality. Next, Rod goes through a frustrating slow-burn during the first half of the book, and his narrative amusingly charts his dawning realization that Blake is a psycho. Next, Strand excels at fast paced and crisp dialogue and cross-talk, which gives much of the Rod/Blake exchanges a real rat-a-tat feel. Finally, and partly because Rod is aware that he is writing a book and sometimes addresses the reader directly, there are great one-liners and odd observations and digressions that are showy and funny. Sometimes there can be a bit of an edge to the humor, but mostly it's broad and upbeat even when Blake is at his worst.

So, nothing profound to look at here, and not even a lot of action, but lots of funny lines and bits and scenes, and another visit with a fine Strand teen hero. An excellent find.

(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this book because one of my students chose it for a writing project this quarter--and if not for that, I would have abandoned it. What troubles me about the novel is how many reviewers find it easy to laugh at the manipulation and gaslighting while writing off Blake's intentional cruelty as mere pranks. Blake is a sociopath and an emotional abuser, and his actions are not pranks. What gives Blake the right to decide what is best for Rod and Rod's life? What gives Blake the right to shame, embarrass, and isolate Rob from the people and things he cares about "for [Rod's] own good"? These so-called pranks cause real harm to people in Rod's life and to Rod's reputation. This is not a "poor little rich boy" or "fish out of water" story, and the framing that it's all a joke by a bored and entitled rich kid sends the wrong message. Blake is utterly terrifying and treats other people transactionally; they are only as good as what he can buy and use them for. Rod reacts poorly, and that leads to some unnecessarily awkward situations, but none of it matters if the abuse isn't called out for what it is. Even when Blake admits he is behind these actions, he has no regret--and instead blames the victim for failing to appreciate all the "good" Blake has done for him to liberate him from the other relationships in his life that are "holding him back." This is a classic abuser tactic.

The bottom line is that people like Blake wind up becoming domestic abusers who hold the world responsible for their shortcomings. Blake has all the hallmarks and red flags of an abuser, including the ability to turn on the charm when it suits his purposes, and turning to veiled threats when he thinks he can get away with it. The whole thing is chilling--and if the Canadian girlfriend is even real, she's not safe with Blake in her life.

[Samantha (WLABB) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this was more of it's-me-not-you. I was expecting a comedy, and I guess this technically was one, but it was a dark comedy. It was kind of funny, but also really sad. I really enjoyed the beginning of the story, but when Blake entered the story, the tone of the story changed a lot. It was really difficult watching Rod unravel as he lost everything. I am grateful for the ending. It wasn't perfect, but it was hopeful.

If you like a little darker humor, you may enjoy Rod's story. He was an interesting character with a great voice.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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[Elizabeth Sond · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn’t planning on reading How You Ruined My Life. I stumbled upon this funny YA book yesterday and whilst I expected to only read a few pages, I actually finished the whole book in under a day. I was laughing out loud (probably a bit too loudly) when I likely should have been doing something else and when it was finished, I was almost disappointed.

So, what’s it about?

How You Ruined My Life

In terms of plot, How You Ruined My Life is incredibly basic. It tells the story of our narrator Rod’s cousin, Blake, coming to stay with him for three months. Whilst Rod is pretty down-to-earth and his greatest joy comes from playing in his punk rock band Fanged Grapefruit, his cousin is rich and entirely two-faced. Over the next few weeks, we see Blake trying to ruin Rod’s life (hence the title) and how Rod’s paranoia continues to grow until the point where he starts believing that his cousin is moving his posters an inch at a time just to confuse him. In short, it’s a classic tale of sabotage and familial relationships gone wrong.

The Good 🙂 :

1. The Writing Style

I think out of everything, it was Strand’s writing style that really made me enjoy this book. Rod is the type of narrator that has loads of personality and thus, he constantly is breaking the fourth wall by talking directly to us. I enjoyed this most when he started telling himself off for going off on tangents. At times, at the height of his paranoia, he keeps making allusions to how he hopes that anyone who picks up the book doesn’t think he was the villain. It was actually quite amusing, though often I did wonder how much of what he was saying was true, though he keeps on warning the reader that he’s a reliable narrator.

2. Humour

This book was really funny! It wasn’t so much the shenanigans with Rod’s cousin that I enjoyed, but also the way that the narrator acted and his involvement in his band. After all, the song titles they play are completely wild, including: You Can’t Train A Goldfish To Catch Popcorn In It’s Mouth, So Don’t Even Try.

Crazy right?

Do you think popcorn would even fit in a goldfish’s mouth?

3. The Characters

I have to admit that even though this is a simple book that you can read in a couple of hours, the characters aren’t 2D. Blake is a bit hard to get your head around- I mean, after all it’s really hard to keep up with whether he’s a good character or not (but that’s the point really!) Audrey, Rod’s girlfriend is also a great character who knows the names of all of Neptune’s moons and is totally calm doing a rat dissection in her Biology class (pretty admirable, I think.)

Even the supporting characters were quite funny and idiosyncratic and it helped that the narrator comes across as a genuinely kind person so his descriptions of them seem quite fair and are engaging for the reader.

4. Entirely Clean

Best of all, this book was not only a really simple read but also entirely clean, meaning that it’s suitable for any age group. Unlike most YA comedies, there was no swearing and it was a really nice read.

Now, technically this should be the point in a review where I start saying what was wrong with How You Ruined My Life. I could give you some points of criticism (no book is perfect, after all) but I think that that defeats the point. The reason why I enjoyed this book was the simplicity of it and the fact that it was a fun summer read that I didn’t have to think too much about it. As a result, I highly recommend it if you’re not looking for something heavy or in any way deep (if you are, you’ll be quite disappointed!)

Overall

To sum up, I’d probably give this book anywhere between three and four stars and am already recommending it to other people, which is already quite a positive sign.

[Deavon Kauten · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is about a rock band, Blake is the antagonist character in this book and Rod is trying to ruin Blake's career because of Rods jealous of Blake's talent of his musical ability. Rod plays the guitar and Blake try's to take his guitar and wants to destroy it. Rod lives with his mom in a simple home. Rod has gained a lot of friends after his mom bought him a guitar. He gained many fans for his music after the school play. rod moved from Seattle to California somewhere near LA in the suburbs. he wanted to get away from Blake that's causing the issues rod and him move to LA to live a better life down there away from Blake in Seattle. on rods first day of school, he was pretty quiet but his close friend is with him as well too. the days, weeks gone by rod and his best friend Mel are having a good time. rod is very interested in a guitar because Mel has one too. so rod and Mel like to do after school is go to Mel's house in the garage and watch Mel plays his guitar also at time Mel hands over his guitar to Rod and let rod plays. on the first day when rod came over to Mel's house and Mel's hands over the guitars to rod he started playing Mel was very shocked that rod plays Mel's guitar he was very good at this almost obsolete well talented. Mel told "hey rod that u buy a guitar and perform to my other friends". I did have a guitar but Blake ruin the guitar and i was very mad it was my favorite thing to do on my days that I have nothing to do". So the next week that rods mom gave a guitar and rod fall in love with this guitar. it was almost like the original guitar he had before. Before Blake ruin it. 5 months have passed that rods mom just got a message from, Blake, that he's coming to town here in LA. rod was very upset that he's coming to town in just a few more days. so what rod is preparing to do is lock his stuff in a safe where Blake does not mess and brakes his stuff. over the past 5 months rod gained a lot of friends and at least 3 new friends there were just like his old friends back in Seattle. on the next day, Rod comes from LAX Airport rods mom comes to pick him up. then when Blake came in the house than rod was so not up to see Blake again. Blake was having such a good time at his new school playing his guitar performing at Mel's house and his friends coming over and watch and play with him at Mel's garage everything was just perfect until Blake comes to his school and starts wear and tear rod down. while Rod is having a rough week with Blake. rod goes and hang out with Mel rod and Mel started to play their guitars and they started playing in the grade then soon after they started Mel friends came along they also brought their instruments along to. then they start to blast their music loudly and man they were loving it that for sure. but yet their garage door is shut but the people inside Mel mom, dad and little brother all can hear the music.

[Arlen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Preview read courtesy of http://netgalley.com
"How You Ruined My Life"
By Jeff Strand @Jeff Strand
Publication date: April 3, 2018

Thanks to netgalley.com for providing this advanced readers copy.

Humor without curse words! A high school punk rock band without curse words! A book that would work in either middle school or high school without curse words!

"How You Ruined My Life" is a humorous story based on the premise of opposite finances. Two high school cousins who haven't seen each other in 10 years have to live together for three months. Rich cousin from California has to live with poor cousin in Florida. The author does a good job of creating the main characters' personalities including having the reader flip-flop back-n-forth over which cousin is the crazier one.

Written as if the Florida cousin is narrating the story to the reader, the first-person storytelling effectively conveys the desperate need for the cousin to have the reader on his side, while at the same time admitting how awkward his convincing is. Struggling readers may need some reminding that the style of writing is at times conversational, at times an internal dialogue, and at times a brief, stray off topic - just as anyone relaying a longer story might stray off topic.

The book comes across as a battle of wits and wills, pranks and pratfalls, while at the end there's a bit of a Bildungsroman. This sets up the possibilities of a conversation with readers if they would forgive and forget or hold a grudge, if they would go one with their intended paths or forge a new plan for their futures.

Though humorous books are sometimes a hard sell, I'd purchase this for my HS library (and recommend it to our MS library) because it's an accessible, light-hearted read.

[Hans · Rating 1 out of 5]

How You Ruined My Life by Jeff Strand is about a 16-year-old boy named Rod who loves punk rock and has a band with his 2 best friends. Although he isn't very popular in school, he has a loving girlfriend named Audrey. Everything is merry and all, but then his cousin Blake comes to live with him.

Blake is the same age as Rod, but unlike him, Blake comes from two very rich parents. And they just so happen to be going on a three-month cruise, meaning that Rod is stuck with Blake for that long. Outside, Blake is a very helpful and caring person, but to Rod, Blake is taking over his band, his friends, and his whole life. Although he tries to keep his cool, Rod decides that he should still fight back.

I hated this book. A ton. It's supposed to be a comedic book, but there was absolutely nothing about it that I found funny. The storyline was okay, but the main thing that I despised about was how mad it made me. Every time Blake ruins something for Rod, all Rod does is confront Blake and just threaten him. And he didn't even portray any emotions. IS HE NOT EVEN SLIGHTLY MAD???

Like, come on, either the author didn't do his job well with describing, or Rod is just a bad character. Imagine if some random cousin just comes to live with you and tries to ruin your life in every way possible, and you don't even physically hurt him. You just stand there muttering threats hoping he will stop. DO SOMETHING, TAKE ACTION!

Unless you want to be angry, I highly suggest you not to read this book. (The only reason I didn't include more reasons to why it made me so mad was because it would have spoiled the book.)

[Wesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

¨Blake? He has literally proven himself to be the least trustworthy person I know, and I knew this kid in third grade who kept promising he wouldn't throw my ice cream cone on the ground if I handed it to him. And yet on three separate occasions, I let him hold my ice cream cone, and he did, infact, throw it on the ground. I realize that this particular incident reflects badly on my judgment. (I mean nobody asks to hold your ice cream for a selfless purpose). But what I'm trying to say is that I trust Blake less than I trust the kid who kept saying, ¨C´mon let me hold your ice cream cone. I won't throw it on the ground I promise¨ Page 212 Strand. Blake who is labeled as an antagonist is actually just misunderstood which makes the story so much more interesting. Rod, who is the main character, is a teenager with a girlfriend and who is in a band, recently his cousin moved in but as the title says How You Ruined My Life it doesn't go well. Blake at first seems like a prankster and it always messes up things in Rod's life but at the end we get to see a massive plot twist. Blake was actually trying to help Rod the entire time but kept messing up while Rod was assuming that Blake was ruining his life. This makes Blake my favorite character almost equal with Rod because of the relationship they have and how Blake seems like an antagonist at first. Overall How You Ruined My Life by Jeff Strand is an amazing book with a good plot twist and teaches a lot about trust and how it cannot be fixed with just a sorry.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcefire Books for an advance eARC copy of this title for review. All opinions are my own.

I originally picked up this title because we have other Jeff Strand books in our collection and a fellow reading teacher in my building recommends him all the time. I have not read any of his other books, but I will definitely be picking them up now. This was a fantastic humor story that was completely appropriate for middle school readers (no language, sexuality, or other graphic content) while still being funny enough for grades 7-10. I already ordered a copy for our collection and I'm thinking I might have to have more than one.

Rod is perfectly happy with his life-he has a girlfriend he really likes, his band isn't winning any awards but they have fun and play a regular gig, and his life at home with his mom is pretty easy-going. But then she announces that his cousin Blake will be staying with them for three months while his parents go on a world cruise. Rod tries to convince himself that it won't be that bad, but he rapidly discovers that he couldn't be more wrong. Because Blake is trying to ruin his life. Only he does it in ways that aren't immediately obvious. So Rod always ends up looking like the bad guy.

This is a funny, quick read that is a must-purchase for large collections that serve reluctant readers. The tone is witty while still being accessible. Highly recommend.

[Sara]

In my opinion, I rate this book four stars out of five because while the characters’ personalities balanced out each other, the storyline could have been better. Before I go into detail about my disappointment with the storyline, I will talk about the two main characters’ personalities. The main character, Rodney, is a good person, but when Blake comes into his life, his world flips around, and he has to share everything with Rodney- his friends, his room, his band, and his school. Basically, his entire life. Even though Rodney and Blake fight (everyday), they balance each other out in personality- Blake is (sometimes) polite and posh, and Rodney is funny and intelligent. I feel that those traits balance each other out. I think that the character Blake, the rich, spoiled cousin, was built up very nicely. All the pranks he schemed were amusing, specifically when Blake pretended that Rodney threw some rat intestines at him although he was the one who threw it at himself. Next, I will talk about my disappointment with the storyline. I felt the storyline could have been more interesting, instead of Rodney and Blake always fighting for number one, even though that is what the story is mainly about. I felt that the author could have added more scenes where Rodney and Blake did not fight, and rather tried to work out their problems together. I chose that specific quote because it proves that the main theme is competing for the number one spot.

[Jenny Ashby · Rating 2 out of 5]

When Rod finds out his rich cousin Blake is coming to live with them for three months he isn't thrilled but he doesn't expect it ruin his life either. When Blake shows up he refuses to do any work for himself, takes over Rod's room, and uses mindgames that leave Rod not sure what's happening. Worse, Blake is a perfectly nice boy to everyone else so it looks like Rod is the one causing problems. Before long Blake is causing Rod to have problems at school, with his girlfriend and with his band.

This book is a comedy. I feel like I should point that out because when you read my summary it could easily be the description of "Single White Female". I was chuckling about Blake's "pranks" and Rod's funny narration at first but by halfway through I was weary of both. There's no explanation for what Blake is up to until the end of the book and even that is unsatisfying. As is the tidy wrap up between the two boys after all the gaslighting Rod has been through. Messing with someone is a funny premise but at some point it is no longer funny and has just turned into psychological torture. Still, I was willing to hang in there because I assumed there would be a big payday where Rod is vindicated. Given all the mayhem Blake created - he really DID ruin Rod's life - the resolution is not enough.

[EMILY · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was awesome! Jeff Strand has become my favorite author. Since I read Dweller I knew that he is a great author since he can combine thriller and comedy which for me is difficult since the sence of humor is subjective. The How you ruined my life may was more comedy than thriller but it was the same entertaining and enjoyable.
Well, the ruined life belongs to Rod who he is a truly talented singer (no he isn't) to a rock band. Everything changes when his cousin Blake has to live for three months with him and his mother since his parents have gone to a cruise. Blake's character is not likeable from the beginning. He acts like an immature eight years old who wants everyone to babysit him. The problem is that this behavior appears only when the two cousins are together. So when Rod tries to convince everyone that Blake isn't the sweet boy that he seems to be he realizes that sometimes he has to play along.
I won't deny that I question Rod's sanity since it seemed crazy to treat someone so badly and want to ruin his life. But after the first, the second and third incident it was pretty obvious who was the victim in this story.
The humor, the characters, Rod's attends to disclose the truth, Blake evil mind were exactly the reason I give 5 stars to this book.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

How you ruined my life

Rod Conklin is the protagonist/narrator of the story. His happy life is disrupted by the arrival of his rich cousin, Blake, that he hasn’t seen since childhood, who proceeds to destroy everything good in Rod’s life. Rod is a good guy. He gets good grades and willing helps out in his single-parent home. So, it’s easy to sympathize with Rod as his evil cousin systematically destroys everything in his life.

Like sometimes in movies and (mostly) plays, Strand’s character, Rod, “breaks the fourth wall” by talking to readers of this book as a sort of narrator. Initially, he comes off as solely a story character and narrator and takes no credit as writer of the story, as in this dialog:

Rod (to us readers): “I’m not the one writing this book, so you can’t expect me to tell the story for you!”

But later there are contradictory comments from Rod that indicate he actually IS writing the story (somehow in present tense) even though we know it was written by Jeff Strand and not by a fictitious character in the story. Yeah, it’s confusing, but since I appreciate Strand’s humor I’ll forgive him this inconsistency.

Overall, a well written and well told story with nary a typo.