The Sweet Dead Life by Joy Preble
Expected Publication: May 14, 2013
Publisher: Soho Teen
Age Demographic: YA Paranormal
Pages: 244
“I found out two things today. One, I think I’m dying. And two, my brother is a perv.”
So begins the diary of 14-year-old Jenna Samuels, who is having a very bad eighth-grade year. Her single mother spends all day in bed. Dad vanished when she was eight. Her 16-year-old brother, Casey, tries to hold together what’s left of the family by working two after-school jobs— difficult, as he’s stoned all the time. To make matters worse, Jenna is sick. When she collapses one day, Casey tries to race her to the hospital in their beat-up Prius and crashes instead.
Jenna wakes up in the ER to find Casey beside her. Beatified. Literally. The flab and zits? Gone. Before long, Jenna figures out that Casey didn’t survive the accident at all. He’s an “A-word.” (She can’t bring herself to utter the truth.) Soon they discover that Jenna isn’t just dying: she’s being poisoned. And Casey has been sent back to help solve the mystery that not only holds the key to her survival, but also to their mother’s mysterious depression and father’s disappearance.
So begins the diary of 14-year-old Jenna Samuels, who is having a very bad eighth-grade year. Her single mother spends all day in bed. Dad vanished when she was eight. Her 16-year-old brother, Casey, tries to hold together what’s left of the family by working two after-school jobs— difficult, as he’s stoned all the time. To make matters worse, Jenna is sick. When she collapses one day, Casey tries to race her to the hospital in their beat-up Prius and crashes instead.
Jenna wakes up in the ER to find Casey beside her. Beatified. Literally. The flab and zits? Gone. Before long, Jenna figures out that Casey didn’t survive the accident at all. He’s an “A-word.” (She can’t bring herself to utter the truth.) Soon they discover that Jenna isn’t just dying: she’s being poisoned. And Casey has been sent back to help solve the mystery that not only holds the key to her survival, but also to their mother’s mysterious depression and father’s disappearance.
Joy Preble has done it again! She's managed to write such a wonderfully entertaining and intriguing young adult novel, full of mystery and wonder. It's full of fascination and wickedy delicious dialouge, catapulting readers into such a fun story. The characters are quirky and interesting, with their own complexities that make them stand out and shine on the pages. The style and sense of humor is also another great element about this book.
Preble manages to give it such incredible pinache. The great thing about The Sweet Dead Life is that it's a book that is easily relatable to MG and even slightly older young adults, as well. It's fast paced, full of fantastic wit and humor, that doesn't feature a lot of questionable content for younger readers. The fact that the characters come across so real and relatable, makes them even more extremely likable. The voice Joy Preble brings to this book is fresh and wonderfully captivating.
It's simply unputdownable and such a fun book to read. It takes the basic "angel book" genre in the young adult market and gives it a clever spin, full of mystery and suspense. The Sweet Dead Life will simply not disappoint! It's a delightful and amazing read that's super fast and will have reader's glued to the pages. Definitely one of my favorite reads this year.
Joy Preble lives in Texas. She is currently writing YA novels (with crazy witches and malevolent Russian mermaids and stoner guardian angels) and loves to eat guacamole. DREAMING ANASTASIA and HAUNTED are out now from Sourcebooks. Book 3 of the trilogy, ANASTASIA FOREVER is slated for Fall 2012. THE SWEET DEAD LIFE will be out in Spring 2013 from Soho Press.
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