At the bottom of the pile of books that I cataloged Wednesday night, there it was “Satan’s Prep” by Gabe Guarante. That name definitely ran a bell. Turning to the back cover, I read a brief bio of the author. Yes, it was the same Gabe Guarante that I had as a seventh grade student in one of my social studies classes. I might not be able to recall the title of the book I am currently reading, but I definitely remember Gabe. He stood out from the crowd. Not only was he an excellent student, he was also a good writer. I remember he was on the staff of the school newspaper of which I was the adviser.
“Satan’s Prep” is a graphic novel which is described as “Dante’s Inferno meets the Breakfast Club.” I thought I owed it to Gabe to read his book, but the illustrations were so grotesque that I couldn’t get beyond the first twenty pages. The novel was well reviewed by Kirkus, which called it hellishly hilarious
Gabe has also written a middle school novel, coauthored the comic book series “Comeback Kings,” and also has had a career as a magazine journalist.