The Afterlife Academy

July 15, 2015
One moment 12-year-old Walter Prairie is pulling weeds as punishment for fighting in school, and the next he is standing in front of a curmudgeonly counselor who wants to know how he intends to spend his afterlife.Even though it means four long years of training at the Afterlife Academy, Walter quickly decides that he wants to spend his time as an afterlife agent, defending unsuspecting humans against the forces of darkness and evil. But while waiting for admission, he is pulled from line and told that he possesses unparalleled natural ability. He is immediately assigned and sent on his way with only a short pamphlet for a guide. His assignment is Charlie, an ordinary boy who happens to possess the most dangerous book in history. Together, the two boys must fight school bullies, dodge well-meaning but misguided parents, and overcome a powerful evil that seeks to overthrow all of humankind. Flat dialogue, a predictable plot, and one-dimensional characters are only a few of this supernatural thriller's problems. Social and familial dramas consistently upstage the paranormal maneuverings, making the story's only distinctive element feel almost irrelevant. And evil demons seem more wacky than dangerous, undermining any true tension. The afterlife never seemed so dead. (Fantasy. 8-12)

COPYRIGHT(2015) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 1, 2015

Gr 4-6-Twelve-year-old Walter Praire is a Guardian Agent. Agent not angel. And right now he is supposed to be protecting a kid named Charlie who has dug up a powerful book, The Summoner's Handbook, which evidently every evil demon, wraith, and shade is after. Of course, Walter was supposed to have four years of training at the Afterlife Academy before being thrown into guarding a HLT (High Level Target), but it was only yesterday that he had found his way to the Categorizing office after dying from a lightning strike. So Walter does the only thing he can think of and throws himself between Charlie and the demon that is about the suck him into the underworld. And that is how Walter finds himself inside Charlie. Charlie is obsessed with the paranormal and, needless to say, not very socially popular and now he has to deal with being possessed by a Guardian Agent. He knows he is in grave danger, especially now that he can see all the afterworld creatures around him and so he turns to the world expert on paranormal activity: Wisdom Willows. It proves to be a near-fatal mistake. As evil closes in on them, Walter, Charlie, and his family find themselves following Wisdom's advice right into a trap to try to open a gate between the demon and human world. The characters are likable and relatable. The tone throughout is the perfect level of sarcastic humor mixed with a realistic view of kids' social interactions. The plot and afterlife invention is certainly a clever way to imagine what happens after you die. VERDICT An appealing ghost story without being creepy, this title would a great read for any reader looking for a mix of adventure and humor.-Clare A. Dombrowski, Amesbury Public Library, MA

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.