"THE MILLY STORIES: Corpses, Carnations, the Weirdness Index, and, of Course, Aunt Gloria"

The quiet and offbeat life of teenaged Millicent Moore is the background for some heartwarming, humorous adventures in this debut novel. When Milly's uptight Aunt Gloria dies, the wry waif is not surprised, after the burial, to still ""hear"" her aunt's prim advice, but then again, Milly's life is anything but normal: She lives in a funeral home with her loving and devoted Uncle Edgar, her grandmother is a preacher who rides a motorcycle, and her cousin, Blanc the Brain, solves other students' math problems while on his ice cream route. Although Milly isn't cool enough for the Massachusetts town's rich brats, she befriends the artistic Josie when the two meet at ""Rancho Joyabounding,"" the writing seminar held by the local New Age florist. Every chapter finds Milly experiencing something definitely out of the ordinary: A road trip with her grandmother leads to the reformation of a would-be robber; a Halloween party held at the funeral home includes an unexpected, possibly dead guest; a visit with the town recluse, the ironically named Zeena Fovia, yields the only photographs Milly has ever seen of her mother, as well as Zeena's limitless enthusiasm and friendship. All in all, Lindsay has crafted a fun-filled trip full of the unexpected, the slightly unnerving, and joy abounding.