Embassy of the Dead($7.12Value)

Description

Jake Green is dead. Or he might as well be when he mistakenly accepts a package from the Embassy of the Dead in this hilarious adventure of the afterlife, the first in a series. When Jake Green opens a mysterious box containing a severed finger, he accidentally summons a grim reaper intent on dragging him to the Eternal Void (yes, it’s as fatal as it sounds). Now Jake is running for his life. Luckily, he has a knack for talking to ghosts, which just might help him survive long enough to reach the Embassy of the Dead and plead his case. With the help of a prankster poltergeist and a dead undertaker, Jake dodges fearsome undead creatures, discovers his own ghostly abilities, and gets excused from the school field trip due to a terrible (and made-up) bout of diarrhea. But the Embassy has its own problems, and Jake must be very careful where he places his trust—in both the living and the dead. With a plot that zips and a colorful cast of characters, this delightful new series delivers laughs and shivers in equal measure. This series opener is delightfully spooky, complemented by scratchy black-and-white illustrations...A creepy romp. —Kirkus Reviews The story is earnest, spooky, and cheerfully bleak. Those with a taste for dark tales will certainly enjoy following Jake on his gothic adventure. —The Horn Book Knight’s interspersed illustrations provide flavor and occasional spooks (her illustration of the terrifying bonewulf is particularly chilling), but her red-nosed, round-cheeked characters add whimsy and a fairy-tale flair that keep this macabre tale from creeping into too-scary territory. Perfect for fans of The Graveyard Book (BCCB 10/08) looking for slightly sillier fare, this is sure to be a Halloween hit, with ghouls and boys eagerly awaiting the rest of the promised series. —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books While clearly replete with ghouls and ghasts of all stripes, this British import is creepy but never too scary, and packed with laughs. Occasional excerpts from ghostly guide The Book of the Dead catalog different types of spirits, and enticingly expand the world of this series-starter for curious readers. ­­Recommend for readers looking for a quick-paced, just-spooky-enough romp. —School Library Journal Will Mabbitt writes. He writes in libraries, in cafes, on the toilet, and sometimes, when his laptop runs out of power, he writes in his head. Before he got paid to do this, he worked in London and spent a lot of time stuck on the train—which is where he wrote his first book, The Unlikely Adventures of Mabel Jones . Will Mabbitt lives with his family somewhere on the south coast of England. The Box Present Day Jake Green was definitely alive. He was alive when he woke up, he was alive all day at school, and he was currently still alive as he trudged his way home through the little village of Elmbury. Being alive was something Jake took for granted. For as long as he could remember, he had always been that way. Jake found being alive quite easy. All you needed to do was not die—and so far, for Jake, that had come naturally.    He turned to head up the dark alleyway that cut between the high flint wall and the back of a row of houses. Jake didn’t normally come this way—like a lot of the living, he associated darkness with danger. But it was a shortcut, and the late-October sun was already low in the sky, and he was eager to get home.   Jake’s phone beeped. He unbuttoned the pocket of his coat and reached inside. It was a message from Sab, his best friend. If Jake was honest, the job of being his best friend wasn’t a highly sought-after one, but they’d found a common interest in playing computer games and a common disinterest in studying. They had a mutual respect for each other, too. Sometimes that was all you needed. Jake opened the text.   Ready for tomorrow, freak?      It was the sort of message that was typical of Sab. He was talking about their school trip: three days away from home. It sounded all right when you said it like that. But three days studying rock formations didn’t sound quite as fun. Still, Jake was looking forward to the trip. It would be good to get away from what Sab called his “Mom and Dad situation.” It was the only thing Sab didn’t make jokes about. Sab knew what it was like. His parents had split up, too. It wasn’t a common interest as such. More of a shared affliction.    Given how things were at home, Jake had jumped at the chance to get away for a while. His suitcase was packed and ready to go, waiting in the spare room at his dad’s place. He typed his reply:   Yup      Then, as an afterthought, he added:   Freak      It was the little details that made their friendship work.    The phone beeped again.   How’s it going? Love you. Dad xx      Jake rolled his eyes. Dad signed all his messages like that. Like he was writing a postcard or something. As though he thought Jake wouldn’t know who they were from.    To sa