I would have NEVER chosen this book unless forced to by book club. And so, I read it because of a book club. Actually, I listened to it (read by Christy Romano from Even Stevens), and it was not as bad as I thought it would be. The title does not deceive. There were some over the top violent scenes, but it was almost so bizarre that it made it all seem very unreal. And the humor was pretty advanced, so it seemed more a social commentary on the balance between governmental rule vs. self rule.
Basic plot- Zoey is the child of the man who rules Tabula Ra$a, an oasis that has no policing government of any kind in a desert. She has lived all 21 years apart from him, and in fact, despises him. When he dies (is murdered), everyone is looking for her because she has the key to open "the vault". She is constantly helped by the group in fancy suits, and just wants to be left alone, back in her trailer park home where she was happy. But now, things can never stay the same, and she has a lot to contend with because Arthur (her dead dad) has made it impossible. Hence violence, lots of fighting scenes, and one cat named Stink Machine who seems to either save the day or ruin it.
From what I hear, there are other books out there by David Wong that are similar. I will never read them. But now I can say, "I read a David Wong book." Just not my type of book. But there were a lot of people in my book club that would claim it as their type of book. Hmmm.