Kirkus Star
THE KIRKUS STAR
Awarded to Books of Exceptional Merit

BROWSE BOOK REVIEWS




Teens in the Afterlife


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Cover art for DEVINE INTERVENTION
CHILDREN'S
Released: June 1, 2012

"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)"
Jerome is no teen angel. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE CATASTROPHIC HISTORY OF YOU AND ME
CHILDREN'S
Released: Feb. 21, 2012

"Interesting idea, not-so-great execution. (Fiction. 13 & up)"
When Brie's heart literally breaks, killing her, she must go through the five stages of grief before moving on in the afterlife. Read full book review >
Cover art for HEREAFTER
CHILDREN'S
Released: June 7, 2011

"Being dead, Amelia has a better excuse than most for lacking a career goal beyond finding bliss with the one living guy who can see her. (Paranormal romance. 12 & up)"
Amelia knows she's dead and that she drowned, but little more. Read full book review >
Cover art for GHOSTGIRL
CHILDREN'S
Released: Aug. 1, 2008

The only place social-climbing wallflower Charlotte Usher seems destined to go is Loserville until she chokes herself to death on a gummy bear in physics lab and passes from the world of the living to dead. Read full book review >
Cover art for EVERLOST
CHILDREN'S
Released: Oct. 1, 2006

"For anyone who has lost a friend or loved one at an early age, this is a good read. (Fiction. 12-15)"
Death isn't an easy subject to write about, but Shusterman handles it deftly, as he explores what happens to two children who are "lost" on their way "towards the light." Read full book review >
Cover art for ELSEWHERE
CHILDREN'S
Released: Sept. 9, 2005

"Hopeful and engaging. (Fiction. 12+)"
An unusual premise and a thoughtful treatment make Zevin's first effort at writing for young adults a success. Read full book review >
Cover art for BEHIND YOU
CHILDREN'S
Released: May 1, 2004

"Written with Woodson's characteristic focus on telling detail (the buttery quality of light in a kitchen), this is a tender, existential meditation on grief, interior in nature that will nevertheless touch readers who enjoyed (and wept over) the first. (Fiction. YA)"
A sequel to Woodson's If You Come Softly (1998), in which Miah was mistakenly shot to death by police. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE WISH LIST
CHILDREN'S
Released: Oct. 1, 2003

"A lightweight and moving chuckler. (Fiction. 11-14)"
An abused teen and a bitter old man find affection and redemption in this heartwarming . . . slapstick comedy? Read full book review >
Cover art for THE AFTERLIFE
CHILDREN'S
Released: Sept. 1, 2003

"Soto writes with a touch as light as Chuy's ghost and with humor, wonderment, and a generosity toward life. (Fiction. 12+)"
Seventeen-year-old Chuy dies in the opening scene of this view from beyond; thereafter the story is told by his ghost, "invisible and touchable as light." Read full book review >
Cover art for THE LOVELY BONES
FICTION
Released: July 3, 2002

"Works beautifully for so long as Susie simply tells the truth, then falters when the author goes for bigger truths about Love and Life. Still, mostly mesmerizing and deserving of the attention it's sure to receive."
An extraordinary, almost-successful debut that treats sensational material with literary grace, narrated from heaven by the victim of a serial killer and pedophile. Read full book review >