When I first read the blurb of this book I honestly was not sure what to expect, but I am extremely glad I gave this book the benefit of the doubt and read on. This story of Dieter and Satan is wonderfully funny and chaotic. Here we have Dieter, who is widely known throughout the school to be the worst teacher to have ever graced it’s halls. After a particularly bad day he is greeted by Satan (granted Satan first arrives as a talking Twinkie, but that’s beside the point), looking for help to regain popularity. What Dieter will receive in exchange is the love of his co-worker Esther (whom he has loved from afar since childhood) and the top job at the school. Sounds simple enough.

Reading Blue Devils: A Novel by Jon Bennett

We follow a year in the life of Dieter and his students and co-workers as he tries to execute his plan. The Devil occasionally pops in to help Dieter grow into a better teacher, and therefore modify his students from lay abouts to radicals. These students start fighting for more freedom within the school, which is run by the incapable Principal.

As Dieter is an English teacher his method of implementing the uprising comes from teaching various plays, novels and movies where power struggles are a central theme. We see references to Julius Caeser, Lord of The Flies and Fight Club, along with many others.

I found the storyline here to be very good, and it really held my interest. The humour was on point for the most part, the only trouble coming from me not understanding the American School System terminology (Freshman, Sophmore, Junior, Senior) despite years of watching American television (I’m still not sure I’d be able to tell which is which).

Overall I found this to be a very well written book and would not hesitate to recommend it. Pick it up now!