Waiting on Wednesday

WoW is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, in which we share the titles of upcoming books we eagerly await.

Texting the Underworld by Ellen Booraem. 320 p. Dial/ Penguin, August 15, 2013. 9780803737044.

Publisher synopsis: Perpetual scaredy-cat Conor O'Neill has the fright of his life when a banshee girl named Ashling shows up in his bedroom. Ashling is—as all banshees are—a harbinger of death, but she's new at this banshee business, and first she insists on going to middle school. As Conor attempts to hide her identity from his teachers, he realizes he's going to have to pay a visit to the underworld if he wants to keep his family safe.

"Got your cell?"
"Yeah . . . . Don't see what good it'll do me."
"I'll text you if anything happens that you should know."
"Text me? Javier, we'll be in the afterlife."
"You never know. Maybe they get a signal."

Discover why Kirkus has called Booraem's work "utterly original American fantasy . . . frequently hysterical." This totally fresh take on the afterlife combines the kid next door appeal of Percy Jackson with the snark of Artemis Fowl and the heart of a true middle grade classic.

I had the pleasure of reading Ms. Booraem's debut and sophomore novels, The Unnameables and Small Person with Wings and when I learned yesterday, that this was releasing, I was so excited that I bumped the book I had planned for today. I do happen to agree with the Kirkus quote above. Both books are unlike any I have ever read.