The Sweet Dead Life

April 15, 2013
For 13-year-old Jenna Samuels, things have been going really badly: She's pretty sure she's dying, her father has mysteriously abandoned the family, her mother is nearly catatonic with depression, and then her brother dies and becomes an "A-word." Her life--and health--rapidly disintegrating, Jenna is convinced that she is dying. Through her journal entries, she recounts what she knows for sure as she tries to piece together a month's worth of her life turning upside down. Jenna and her anything-but-cherubic brother Casey work together with the help of another angel, Amber, to determine what exactly has happened to the Samuels family and why. Soon they discover a sinister plot and realize they must save their family before it's too late. Jenna's sarcastic and sassy tone will easily resonate with readers, and her keen observations are derisive and laugh-out-loud funny. While the refreshing lack of romance is a welcome change from the usual angel fare, some conventions of the trope remain (will we ever get away from paranormal beings who sparkle?). Certain plot aspects, however, seem not entirely fleshed out: Amber's character has a shadowy past that's never addressed; it's never really clear how humans can see and interact with angels and never guess that they're otherworldly; and then the book abruptly ends--perhaps a sequel waits in the wings? Hallelujah! A paranormal tale of angels that's not a romance, making it a novel that breaks the mold. (Paranormal fiction. 13 & up)

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June 1, 2013

Gr 5-9-This colorful tale of Texas teens vs. comically juvenile adults moves quickly and is never short on laughs. Eighth-grader Jenna has already endured the disappearance of her father; the complete vegetablization of her mother; and a bizarre and sudden illness that turns her pea green, her tongue full of weird dark patches, and a rash on her feet that makes even her favorite pair of boots unbearable. So when her brother wrecks their Prius in an effort to get Jenna to the hospital, she doesn't quite notice the strange circumstances of the crash. She does, however, notice her brother's transformation from paunchy stoner to chiseled hunk. His appearance isn't the only thing that's drastically altered. Jenna's life takes a serious turn when she is informed that her illness is the product of slow and deliberate poisoning. Jenna and her newly reformed brother begin to question everything from their father's disappearance to their mother's mysterious ailments. Preble's narrator is spot-on, and readers will relate to her as she speaks, acts, and behaves like a 14-year-old. Although several questions are left unanswered, they don't detract from the story; if anything, they lend credibility. After all, some subjects are too complicated for a cookie-cutter ending. The Sweet Dead Life is a great addition to any collection.-Jennifer Furuyama, Pendleton Public Library, OR

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2013
Grades 8-12 Fourteen-year-old Jenna has been seriously ill for a month. But the larger issues of her unemployed, depressed single mother and her mysteriously missing father distract her from taking care of herself. When Jenna collapses, her older brother Casey drives her to the hospital and ends up crashing their car. When Jenna wakes up, she finds that Casey seems to have gotten much better looking, and that the touch of his hand is incredibly soothingthat's because Casey died in the car crash and is now an angel, remaining on earth to look after his family. There's a whole lot going on here: poisonings, blackmail, sibling relationships, romance, and abandonment, in addition to angels, but the unifying thread is Jenna's clever, bitter, self-aware, and loving voice. Told in journal entries that span five weeks, the novel's multiple story lines will likely continue in a sequel. The small-town Texas setting is delightfully detailed but not parochial. Preble's lively descriptions and unusually well-drawn, caring sibling relationship (a topic not usually explored in teen fiction) are especially noteworthy.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)