In this inventive tragicomedy, Jana Webster dies in an apparent bowling accident and lands in Dead School, an afterlife way station for teen risers (those on their way up) and sliders (those on their way down). Jana needs to figure out the Dead Rules to facilitate her plan of bringing her boyfriend Michael Haynes to the same plane as her so that they can be together forever.
Jana is the very definition of the smothering girlfriend. Her identity is so completely tied up in being part of Webster & Haynes, she can’t fathom an existence without Michael. She’s so single minded in her plan to kill Michael that she doesn’t care what happens to her – or that her skin gets all tingly when sexy slider Mars touches her.
On the surface, this is a wickedly funny story of Jana’s obsession interspersed with anecdotes of the other students about their deaths (all very bizarre – involving lawn darts, birds and drunken uncles). But there is so much tragedy underneath the hijinks as Jana is revealed as a terminally lonely soul who doesn’t understand her own worth. What Debut Author Russell set up and executed here blows me away and I desperately want to discuss this novel with others. Get in touch!!
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