Young, Moira. Road To Ever After.

Young, Moira. Road To Ever After. Macmillan/Feiwel & Friends  2018

215p $16.99  ISBN 978-1-250-11729-8  elem/ms  Fantasy  E-BN

This novel is beautifully written. Davy David is an orphan who has
artistic talent drawing angels in the dirt. He copies the pictures
from a book about Renaissance angels. Just before Christmas, a stray
dog he names George sets the events in motion. Davy meets old Miss
Flint, who hires him to drive her back to her childhood home by the
sea. Reluctantly he agrees. Along the way they steal a truck full of
turkeys. When the truck runs out of gas, they buy a decrepit
motorcycle with a sidecar and then they steal a police car and a
bicycle and finally walk the the last leg of their journey.

After the first night, Miss Flint grows younger every few hours until she is a little girl of ten who has left her house. Seeking an explanation for this, Davy comes across a Celtic theory that says it takes three days for a soul to get to heaven and it is guarded and protected during that time. Davy decides that he and George are the protectors who are meant to escort Miss Flint to the place where she will go to heaven. After her death, Davy finds out that the house has been left to him and he has a bright future for the first time in his life.


The use of words is absolutely beautiful in this novel. The way death
is viewed and treated is so gentle and serene that this title could be
of help to a student dealing with the death of a relative. While
growing younger by the hour is a fantasy, the author makes it seem
plausible. An excellent title for middle-school readers. Gentle and
beautifully written, this novel is excellent for middle-school
readers.

Summary: Beautifully written novel about an orphan boy and the elderly
lady he is taking back to her childhood home. She is going home to
die. Death is treated beautifully.  Grades 5-8.

Orphans-Fiction, Death-Fiction                         --Joan Theal

Strange, Lucy Secret of Nightingale Wood

Strange, Lucy Secret of Nightingale Wood Scholastic/Chicken House    2017   288p   16.99  978-1-338-15747-5            ms/jr  Realistic Fiction            E-BN   

After the death of her beloved brother, Henrietta is left to grieve alone when her mother becomes emotionally ill.  In desperation, her father goes abroad to work, leaving Hen to try to bring the family back together.            

Sometimes the comments on the book jacket are spot on and sometimes, a stretch of the imagination.  Readers recognize that critics come in many sizes and shapes, often offering generic, shining comments to entice readers to purchase a book.  In this case, Pam Munoz Ryan said, “From the first page, I was entirely smitten and compelled to read on until I finished this mysterious and poignant story.”  Spot on.  The poetic style of Lucy Strange pervades this debut novel, embracing a beautiful, yet nearly tragic, story of young Henrietta who is forced to become an adult at age 13.  Father leaves home, unable to face his wife’s deteriorating mental state.  Nanny Jane has her hands full with an ill mother, a baby and 13-year-old Hen, especially when Mother becomes a bedridden patient of Dr. Hardy and to Hen, seems to grow more distant by the minute.  Henrietta has taken to wandering the woods, especially after meeting a reclusive type, a witch-like woman in both actions and appearance.  Lucy Strange masterfully weaves a subplot into the main plot:  apparently the previous owner of the house lost her son in the war and took her own life by disappearing at sea.  Could Henrietta’s witch, Moth, be the woman who disappeared?  Meanwhile, Henrietta watches helplessly as Dr. Hardy takes her baby sister away, at the same time he is plotting to put Mother in an insane asylum to receive experimental treatments that seem to Hen to be torturous.  Just as Henrietta is poised to watch her family fall apart, she becomes empowered, but not without help.  As if the drama of this story were not enough for a reader, it is the way Strange tells the story that contributes equally to the power of this novel.  There is a fine line between sanity and insanity, sometimes, and Strange finds the words to convey this line exquisitely.                          Squaresky, Martha          Mama’s depression consumes her after Henrietta’s brother dies

Sorry You’re Lost

Blackstone, Matt.  Sorry You’re Lost.  Macmillan/Farrar Strauss  2014  312p  $15.99  ISBN 978-0-374-38065-6 ms    Realistic fiction  VG

Seventh grader Denny Murphy has lost his mother to cancer, and he misses her deeply.  He becomes the class clown, nicknamed “Donuts” by his quirky best friend Manny.  His goofiness makes him and others forget about the sadness caused by his mother’s illness and passing.  When his Manny suggests starting a candy fundraiser to finance asking and then taking an eighth-grade girl to the seventh-grade dance in a stylish mode of transportation, Denny is completely in. This plan serves as a further distraction from his feelings, as he tries to deal with his emotionally disconnected father, who is becoming increasingly obese.

The story is well written and humorous.  The antics undertaken by Manny and Donuts leave the reader laughing out loud at points. The reader will make emotional connections with the characters and share in their feelings of sadness and despair as well.  The explanation of the clever book title is revealed and used throughout.  In this moving novel, Matt Blackstone has combined careful plotting, repetition of dialogue, and humor to accurately portray typical middle-school boys’ ideas and feelings.

Summary: When seventh grader Denny Murphy’s mother dies, he takes on the nickname “Donuts” and becomes the class clown in an attempt to make himself, as well as those around him, believe that he is fine.  He teams up with his best friend Manny to start a fundraiser to finance taking a girl to the dance in style.
                 

Death-Fiction, Humor-Fiction                    --Virginia McGarvey

Bird.

Chan, Crystal.  Bird.  Simon & Schuster/Atheneum  2014  298p  $16.99    ISBN 978-1-4424-5089-9   elem/ms   Realistic fiction       E-BN           

Jewel, born on the day her brother John “Bird” died, has always felt disconnected from her parents and mute grandfather. Her friendship with Eugene and their positive influence on each other, as well as her entire family dynamic, come to a head when he has an accident.     Crystal Chan has penned a most lyrical debut novel in Bird. Set in Caledonia, Iowa, the book tells the story of the life of a family after the death of a treasured son, Jewel’s brother John.  In this beautiful novel, the relationships are drawn vividly, the multiracial nature of Jewel’s family is central without the tone being preachy, and the depths of sorrow are addressed.  The modern western world meets the folkloric traditions of Jamaica.  Compromise between cultures is hard to come by for Jewel’s parents, and this often tears her apart.  Her friend Eugene, a boy who also feels disenfranchised in his family, helps her to cope with many of her problems, and she helps him with his.  The book has many wonderful passages, such as this one, which expresses the silence that seems to wrap this family in the ever present death of John:
 

“I stayed outside for a long time collecting cattails in the ditches, until the twisting sensation inside me relaxed and the darkening sky started thundering on the horizon.  Only then did I walk home with my squishing shoes, feeling quieter, my soul water and growing.”

Summary: Jewel, born on the day her brother John “Bird” died, has always felt disconnected from her parents and mute grandfather. Her friendship with Eugene and their positive influence on each other, as well as her entire family dynamic, come to a head when he has an accident.  

Death-Fiction, Multicultural novels             --Lynn Fisher

Arnston, Steven. The Wrap-up List.

Arnston, Steven.  The Wrap-up List.   Houghton Mifflin  2013  236p  ISBN 978-0-547-82410-9        ms/hs (Grades 7-10)  Hardback      VG  Science fiction

When Gabriela receives the letter saying she has been selected to die, she goes through a series of emotions in the week before Death will come to take her.  Her bucket list is more about other people than herself, which is unusual, according to her Death companion.  As she goes through normal school activities, she realizes that the uniforms (band, football, cheerleader, teacher, soldier, priest) people wear are just facades.  This is partially a love story, partially an antiwar novel, and partially a novel about what is really important in life. It appears to be set in the not-too-distant future where a war in Africa and the compulsory draft have young men on edge.  Time-wise, references to a grandfather having served in World War II seem incongruent.  The rationale for selecting people to die is not clearly presented, and the selection process and its relationship to war casualties may go over some readers’ heads.  The role of Gabriela’s Death companion becomes murky when she kidnaps him and starts to consider his feelings and happiness, while striving to receive a “Pardon.”  This book requires a second reading to completely understand the rules of the Death process and the creatures who will lead humans to the “Oaks.”  It would be a good choice for readers who ponder life’s questions, and would fit well in middle-school libraries and high-school libraries where “bucket list” titles are appreciated.   

Summary: In the near future, a girl is selected to depart life and is given a week to put her affairs in order, create a bucket list, and try to outwit Death. In her quest to make the most of her final week, she learns more about her family and the facades people put on than she ever imagined.

Fantasy, Death-Fiction                                      --Lois McNicol

Downer, Denise. Tombstone Twins: Soul Mates.

Downer, Denise.   Tombstone Twins: Soul Mates.  Capstone/Stone Arch     2013  48p  ISBN 978-1-4342-2248-0  elm/ms  Hardback  VG    Graphic novel

Upon opening this humorous graphic novel, young readers immediately know they are in pun heaven.  They are introduced to Dedbert, Skully, Rotto and Mr. Mortis; all names are tied to death in its various forms.  Illustrator Otis Frampton’s creations are enticing, and the colors, ranging from mauves to drab grays and greens, are deadly.  The story begins with a bully and his victim;  Rotto pushed Dedbert into a toilet and that is how he died.  Supporting characters range from the shock jocks and the hackers to the flat Stanleys and the little princesses, each one described according to the means of their demise.  When Skully joins the underworld, she finds a friend in Dedbert, and together they must try to save their underworld graves from an upper-world bulldozer that is threatening their above-ground graveyard.  With stringent laws in place, if Skully and Dedbert hope to stop the town from destroying the graveyard, they can’t touch or look anyone in the eye, or they will be seen.  Author Denise Downer champions reading when she states that Dedbert knows all of these tidbits of information because he reads a lot.  Aboveground, they begin to sabotage the bulldozer in clever ways.  The plot thickens, the students realize that they need to come together to save their homes, and the resolution is easy to figure out but fun. 

This book is all about empowering youngsters, even dead ones!  Younger readers, especially those who love puns, fast action and wonderful clarity in their graphic novels will enjoy this one.  Very young readers might not understand the puns, but the book is fun for them anyway.   It’s even short enough to read in one sitting, it provides questions for a good class discussion, and it teaches new vocabulary words.  What a nice collaboration this turned out to be!

Capstone’s graphic novel series offers other selections besides Tombstone Twins: Soul Mates.  Other titles include Tiger Moth: Attack of the Zom-Bees!, Pete Bogg: King of the Frogs, and Lucka Lizards: Chameleon Cage Match!  Added features include stellar graphics, creative plots, and fast-paced action. Young children will read these books.  An elementary school library’s graphic novel section should include a set of them.  Tombstone Kids is as entertaining as possible, with its puns, powerful design and unique plot. 

Summary: Dedbert joins the underworld when he dies by drowning in a toilet.  As macabre as that sounds, the author uses humor by having Dedbert develop a friendship with a fellow sufferer.  The two must try to save their community when a bulldozer threatens to dig up their graves.          

Humor-Graphic novels, Death-Graphic novels                  --Martha Squaresky