I Woke Up Dead at the Mall

I Woke Up Dead at the Mall by Judy Sheehan  288 pages

What happens to teenagers’ souls when they are murdered? Why they go to the Mall of America, of course! There is a special, ethereal fifth level where the teens prepare themselves to “move on,” or into the light if you’re a fan of The Ghost Whisperer.

Sarah Evans is surprised, no shocked, to find herself waking up dead, wearing the same Godawful mango chiffon bridesmaid dress that she was wearing at her father’s wedding. She is surrounded by other teens who have also been murdered. These are teens in her class that are preparing to move forward with the help of a “death coach,” Bertha. If she can’t move on, she’ll suffer a fate worse than death: she’ll become a mall walker. Think zombie.

Once sixteen-year-old Sarah figures out how she died, she is certain that her father is in grave, extremely grave danger. She believes she knows who her killer is and why that certain someone has plans to off Dad.

The story and plot are quirky. I think it’s supposed to be funny, but I didn’t find myself laughing out loud as I’d hoped when I saw the title. Ya gotta love the title. It would be ease to slip into religion, but Sheehan avoids it. Her”God” is the Boy, otherwise known as the “Boss of You.” He wasn’t well developed and came off as flat.

Sometimes languid, sometime spirited, Sarah is the most complex character in the story. I Woke Up Dead at the Mall receives 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world. 

Teen Spirit

Teen Spirit by Francesca Lia Block             234 pages

Julie’s life has been pretty decent.  She doesn’t have a lot of friends, but she, her mother, and her grandmother have always been close, and Julie has always felt like that was enough.  When her grandmother dies, everything starts to fall apart.  A week later her mother loses her job and reveals that they are about to lose their house.  They are forced to move to a small apartment and her mother seems to retreat into her own world, leaving Julie feeling completely alone.  She makes one friend at her new school, Clark.  Clark is kind of odd, but really nice.  They become study partners and Julie tells him a little of her story.  One night, she asks him to help her try to contact her grandmother’s spirit.  Julie feels like she is close, but she can’t break through.  Clark reluctantly agrees, and they do contact a spirit, but it isn’t Julie’s grandmother.  It seems they have contacted a more malevolent spirit and Julie and Clark have to figure out how to fix things before the spirit can do irreparable harm.  A good, supernatural, love story, lots of teen fans of ghost stories and romances will like this.