I would recommend this book to fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid. The main character, Rex Dexter runs along the same pattern as Greg Heffley-snarky, narcissistic, and blessed to have a friend who is smarter than he is.

After messing with an old fortune-telling machine, Rex is cursed with the ability to see and communicate with recently deceased animals, such as his pet chicken whom he accidently allowed to get run over with a steamroller. After a number of murdered zoo animals join the chicken in haunting Rex, the boy must figure out who is behind the killings…and why no one appreciates his genius.

The humor is silly, which is appealing, but I think I prefer some of Daniel Pinkwater’s books, such as The Hoboken Chicken Emergency  and Looking for Bobowicz which are off-the-wall silly, but with less snark. Mr. Chickee’s Funny Money by Christopher Paul Curtis is another good example of less-abrasive silly humor.