Ray Vs the Meaning of Life

I got this book when it was offered on BookBub. I read the “look inside” bit on Amazon, and it caught my attention, and I wanted to read more.

Ray is a 17-year-old boy who lives at a trailer park owned by his grandmother. We only meet Grandma after her demise, but she still plays an important role in the book. To the chagrin of his family, Grandma's will leaves the trailer park to Ray - but only if he can tell the estate's executor the meaning of life, as dictated by Grandma, in 30 days.

Ray doesn't know the meaning of life. Is it to become a massively popular gamer with a huge following? Is it Tina, the girl he's mooned over from afar for a while now? What is it? And how can he find it when he doesn't feel like he's good at much of anything? Enter Dalen Anders, self-help guru, paid for by Grandma. He takes a break from his celebrity makeovers to help Ray, even when Ray might not really want the help.

I'm not going to tell you the story. That's the author's job, and he does it just fine. But I'm telling you, read this book. I laughed. I didn't cry, but I did get a little verklempt. I wanted to bop some characters over the head and hug others. There are ATVs and monster trucks and Unicorn Farts and so much more. This was definitely worth the read, and I look forward to reading more from the author.