Texting the Underworld

July 1, 2013
As Booraem did in Small Persons with Wings, she uses mythological creatures (in this case, banshees) to tell a story that packs an emotional wallop. Conor O’Neill is a smart but timid seventh-grader, afraid of spiders, sneaking out, and leaving his Southie neighborhood to go to Boston Latin School. When a banshee straight out of his Irish-born grandfather’s stories appears in Conor’s room, he’s terrified that someone he loves is going to die soon. The banshee, Ashling, is new at her job, and she doesn’t know who will die or when. Since her mortal life ended hundreds of years ago with an ax to the head, she’s curious about the present day, and she masquerades as a new student at Conor’s school (armed mainly with knowledge obtained from outdated Trivial Pursuit cards). Eventually Conor, his sister, and his friend Javier realize they’ll have to confront the possibility of death head-on. In an affecting, funny, and provocative story, Booraem balances the seriousness of a novel about death spirits and finding courage with Ashling’s comical interactions with the modern world. Ages 10–up. Agent: Kate Schafer Testerman, kt literary.

May 15, 2013
Fantasist Booraem (Small Persons with Wings, 2011, etc.) turns her attention from art to another great human endeavor: death. Timorous 12-year-old Conor O'Neill is scared of spiders, doesn't want to play hockey and is dubious about leaving Southie to attend Boston Latin. When a banshee shows up, ready to keen for an imminent family Death, he is sent directly over the edge into terror. Who's to die? His parents? His beloved, Irish-to-the-core grandfather, Grump? His "soul-sucking demon warrior" of a little sister, Glennie? Conor himself? Cripes. Rookie banshee Ashling needs her Death; it's the only way she can move on from the Underworld and into a new life. Hoping to find a loophole, Conor, Glennie and an ailing Grump venture with her into the Underworld to talk to the Lady and undergo the test of the Birds in order to gain power over life and death. Booraem applies a light touch to her heavy subject. Iron Age-era Ashling eagerly, if inaccurately, adopts 21st-century slang and catches up with old Trivial Pursuit cards; the various denizens of the Underworld--a gleeful olio of afterlife mythologies--squabble like those who've been cooped up together too long. But she doesn't avoid staring death in the face, saddling her likably unlikely hero with an agonizing decision that, though framed in fantasy, is all too gut-punchingly real. Like Conor, readers will emerge from this adventure a little bit better equipped for heroism than before. (Fantasy. 10-14)

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December 1, 2013

Gr 6-9-Middle-schooler Conor O'Neill has a tendency to believe his grandfather's stories from Irish mythology and folklore despite the rest of his family's clear disdain for such tall tales. Teased for being afraid of everything, he is forced to face his greatest fears when a banshee shows up in his bedroom one night, looking to escort a family member to the underworld and earn her own mortality. The two become cautious friends as the banshee, named Ashling, decides to follow him to school with both humorous and disastrous consequences. When Conor makes the brave choice to head to the underworld and rescue a family member from death, he starts to respect himself. At times wildly funny, and at times creepily spooky, Texting the Underworld merges a realistic setting with fantasy, seamlessly creating a touching story full of suspense, action, and excitement.-Sharon McKellar, Oakland Public Library, CA

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2013
Grades 5-8 Conor O'Neill is a middle-schooler growing up in a large Irish family in South Boston. He has a distaste for math problems, a prized new cell phone, and a problem that's out of this world: a banshee named Ashling, who has shown up to wait for the family's next death, although she doesn't know whose it might be. Conor suspects the likely mark: his grandfather Grump, keeper of the family's Irish lore. Booraem manages to pack a lot of energy into this very modern story about ancient traditions surrounding death. Conor faces challenges by drawing on the strength of his family ties and a little help from his best friend Javier, who helps him solve ancient riddles using twenty-first-century techniques. As Conor learns what he is made of, readers will relish the quirky cast of supporting characters from the underworld, and they may well realize that there's more to life after death than they might have first imagined.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)