Tag: afterlife

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It’s a Wonderful Death… Can you really get a do-over?

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

wonderfuldeathIt’s a Wonderful Death, by Sarah J. Schmitt (Oct. 2015, Sky Pony Press), $17.99, ISBN: 978-1-63450-173-6

Recommended for ages 12+

RJ is a classic mean girl. She runs with the “in” crowd, she’s stuck-up, and she’s spoiled rotten. But she learns pretty quickly that Death is the grand equalizer when a Grim Reaper accidentally collects her soul. Now, she’s in the Afterlife and she’s not happy. She’s raising a ruckus, but her existing track record isn’t doing her any favors. If she can get enough souls, angels, and Death Himself on her side, she may stand a second chance, but can she stop thinking about herself long enough to make the right choices?

Written in the first person from RJ’s point of view, It’s a Wonderful Death is nearly unputdownable. It’s loaded with snark and sarcasm that will leave you chuckling and snorting into your sleeve (I commute on public transportation, for heaven’s sake). I needed to know what RJ was going to say next, or what Death Himself was going to come up with. Both characters are hilarious and yet, get the message across. What you do in life will stay with you. Whatever you believe – a topic touched on in this book – there is a reckoning; what you may think is a minor moment in your life could mean someone else’s life. We also see, very clearly, that as much as bad karma snowballs, so does good karma.

This story operates on the hope that people are, for the most part, good – if you show them a chance to go on the right path, and they take it, chances are, they’ll keep finding ways to stay on that path. It’s a pretty upbeat message, for a book about a dead teenager.

It’s a Wonderful Death is a very moral story that would lend itself to some great book discussions. And why shouldn’t it? Author Sarah J. Schmitt is a youth librarian. If she can’t get a teen’s sarcasm down, who can? She gets to the heart of a lot of teen issues here, and for that reason, It’s a Wonderful Death is on my must-have list for my YA collection. .

Have a morality program without beating kids over the head with the concept by showing Death Note one week, then discuss this book the next. There are a lot of facets to be discussed.

Posted in Horror, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall is a good haunted house story

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

dead girlsThe Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall, by Katie Alender (Aug. 2015, Scholastic) , $18.99, ISBN: 978054564000

Recommended for ages 12+

Delia just inherited a house from her great-aunt Cordelia, but it’s not just any house – it’s a former asylum for troubled females, and there’s an evil that’s keeping a lot of the former residents there. Delia, who’s already in trouble with her parents for being defiant, can feel right away that something’s wrong with the house, but her parents ignore her – and the house kills her. Now, Delia’s a ghost, and she’s got an eternity to unravel the secrets of Hysteria Hall.

This is a fun haunted house novel with an intriguing mystery that kept me turning pages until the end. Delia is a likable character – she’s a rebel, she argues with her parents and gets annoyed by her younger sister, but there’s something inherently likable about her. As a ghost, she’s witty and sarcastic, but she’s incredibly vulnerable at the same time. She loves her family and feels their loss just as much as they do hers.

Delia meets other ghosts during her time at Hysteria Hall, and we get fascinating back stories on them, all of which are integral to the plot. Most are likable – there are a couple that should rile readers up, as any good ghost story should.

Told in the first person in Delia’s voice, The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall is a good haunted house novel for readers who like their scary books lighter on the scary, heavier on the characters. I loved it, and can’t wait to get it on the shelves at my library. I foresee some great book discussions on this one.