Devine Intervention

April 23, 2012
Heroes don’t get much more unlikely than Jerome Hancock, who met an early demise courtesy of an arrow to the head. In the 16 years since, Jerome, frozen at age 17, has been laboring through afterlife rehab, trying to make it into heaven. He’s not promising material, but he’s game, sticking close to Heidi Devine, the soul he’s been assigned for guardian angel duty. “How much work could a baby be?” he says. “Also, her mom was hot, so I didn’t mind hanging around one bit.” Heidi grows up to be an awkward, self-conscious teen, who thinks motormouth Jerome is just the voice inside her head until she accidentally falls through pond ice and drowns, discovering that there is a soul that goes along with that voice. But is Heidi really dead? Jerome’s bumbling logic and wickedly funny observations are what make Brockenbrough’s first book for teens so much fun. Underneath the occasionally risqué humor and unexpected plot twists (including the possession of multiple animals’ bodies) is an insightful story about seizing life for all it’s worth while you have the chance. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jill Corcoran, the Herman Agency.

Starred review from April 15, 2012
Jerome is no teen angel. A hell raiser when alive and killed by his cousin in eighth grade in an unfortunate archery accident, he has spent his afterlife in Soul Rehab assigned to Heidi in an attempt to win his way into Heaven. Not that he's very committed to the notion; he lost his "Guardian Angel's Handbook" pretty much right away, but he sort of tries. Heidi has more or less enjoyed Jerome's company, though he could sometimes be annoying. When Heidi, having experienced unendurable humiliation in a high-school talent show, ventures onto thin ice and falls through, Jerome does his best to save her soul--as much for her own sake, he's surprised to find, as for his. Brockenbrough devises a devilishly clever narrative, alternating Jerome's first-person account with Heidi's tightly focused third-person perspective. Tying both together are commandment-by-commandment excerpts (often footnoted) from Jerome's lost handbook, each stricture slyly informing the succeeding chapter. The rules governing Jerome's afterlife lead to frequently hysterical prose. He can't swear, of course, so he substitutes euphemisms: .".. if I weren't so chickenchevy"; "It was a real mind-flask." Beneath the snark, though, runs a current of devastatingly honest writing that surprises with its occasional beauty and hits home with the keenness of its insight. As the clock ticks down on Heidi's soul, readers will be rooting for both Jerome and Heidi with all their hearts. (Paranormal adventure. 12 & up)

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June 1, 2012

Gr 7 Up-Everything Jerome Hancock touches ends in disaster-even in the afterlife. His 17-year-old soul was a firebrand in life and, for the last 16 years, has been in Soul Rehab. Depending on his success in the program, he can either earn a spot in Heaven or descend into one of the nine levels of Hell, which range from Level I: Everlasting Standardized Testing for the Ungrateful to Level IX, where people are reborn as maggots. His future depends on how successful he is as Heidi Devine's guardian angel. Heidi has been hearing his voice in her head since she was a child and as a teen she thinks she's having "auditory hallucinations." Jerome is certain that he's going to Hell, especially after Heidi falls through thin ice and drowns while he is distracted by a devious angel. The plot thickens as the antihero helps Heidi make sense of her life and regrets and tries to discern why her soul hasn't moved on. Told from Heidi's and Jerome's alternating perspectives, the chapters are introduced by and/or interspersed with commandments and sections from Jerome's Guardian Angel Handbook: Soul Rehab Edition. Even if the story line is a bit tired and Jerome's immaturity excessive, Brockenbrough's droll style delivers some laugh-out-loud moments. Reluctant readers will find the Heidi-Jerome dynamic entertaining and heartrending.-Jamie-Lee Schombs, Library Journal

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