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Dead Serious
The Ungrateful Dead
Middle school is a life and death experience for Annabel Craven, a girl able to communicate with the spirit world with her phone. From the author of I TEXT DEAD PEOPLE!
All Annabel Craven wants is to be normal. But that’s hard to do when ghosts keep texting her. And keeping her secret from her nosy new stepsister isn’t going to be easy.
When a ghost girl named Harper begs Anna to help her rejoin the living, Anna warns her that it’s impossible. Once you’re dead, you can’t just start living again . . . or can you?
Includes morbidly-cute black-and-white illustrations!
"Goosebumps lite, featuring mean girls,machinations, and cell phones with unusual apps."--Booklist
From the Hardcover edition.
210 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 13, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
October 24, 2019
I think it was a very interesting book it was very detailed and it was not a scary book but it was like a scary book for kids. It's about this girl that has a new step sister that nobody knew about but her stepdad. In the book, it describes her sister really nosey. read it and see how it ends.
December 7, 2016
I read this book with my two oldest daughters (ages 8 and 6). My eight year old loved it. My six-year-old did not. It's the second book in a series, so there were some things that didn't make sense, but overall, we didn't have much trouble jumping into the story.
Anna can communicate with dead people, but the most recent ghost she runs across is refusing to stay dead. While trying to juggle her new life with a stepdad and new stepsister, she also has to deal with Harper, the ghost that won't accept defeat.
As I read this to my kids, I realized that it's geared too old for them. I had to edit some parts of the book because it was too scary or too grotesque for my kids. As far as the story goes, it was okay. I liked the idea of a girl who could text dead people and see ghosts when everyone else can't.
While I was expecting something more along the lines of Monster High, this book is better suited for older kids that like books a little creepier than your average middle-grade novel. It's best for kids in the 10-14 age range. Obviously, my own kids were too young for it.
Content: A few curses/Lord's name in vain. Some scary/creepy situations (seances, Ouija board, etc), and some disturbing imagery (zombie loses body parts and reattached them, ghost sitting on her own dead body, that kind of stuff).
Where did I get this book? I received an advanced reading copy (ARC) from the publisher.
Find more reviews for middle grade books on Batch of Books
Anna can communicate with dead people, but the most recent ghost she runs across is refusing to stay dead. While trying to juggle her new life with a stepdad and new stepsister, she also has to deal with Harper, the ghost that won't accept defeat.
As I read this to my kids, I realized that it's geared too old for them. I had to edit some parts of the book because it was too scary or too grotesque for my kids. As far as the story goes, it was okay. I liked the idea of a girl who could text dead people and see ghosts when everyone else can't.
While I was expecting something more along the lines of Monster High, this book is better suited for older kids that like books a little creepier than your average middle-grade novel. It's best for kids in the 10-14 age range. Obviously, my own kids were too young for it.
Content: A few curses/Lord's name in vain. Some scary/creepy situations (seances, Ouija board, etc), and some disturbing imagery (zombie loses body parts and reattached them, ghost sitting on her own dead body, that kind of stuff).
Where did I get this book? I received an advanced reading copy (ARC) from the publisher.
Find more reviews for middle grade books on Batch of Books
October 29, 2016
The second one was at the library so I figured I'd give it a go, I mean, sometimes the sequel is an improvement, I mean look at the Series of unfortunate events, dude didn't hit his stride till book 3 or so. It worried me slightly that the book was much thinner than the first.
I still really like the idea behind these 2 books, and I'm still all for them being comic books cause I just feel like it would flow better, and the little flow issues and details could be handled in the background of images, like the clues are there, but you have to go back and look for them. There's room for improvement, and I will read the next one, if it's coming, I feel it's coming, and I've still got this big bit of optimism that it gets so MUCH better with the next one.
It was better in some regards bust still suffering from the same issues as the first one was. Once again some of the things I'll be mentioning will be spoilery, there will be warnings before we get to that part.
Overall the writing level was the same, it still felt like a middle-grade book even though it was labeled YA. the fact that it's shorter than the first one, being only 199 pages, allows for even less mystery, and subplots and all the little details that would improve the twists and turns, and it especially made further character development difficult.
I'll admit I actually got a little emotionally invested here, like my anger and my injustice was spiked, way worse than it was in the first book, and because it was shorter, it didn't have time to ebb which kept me reading, so in that regard it did a good job, it made me care about a characters well being, it made me feel for them, but only for a specific situation.
Ok Now we're getting into slightly more spoilery bits so I advise you to stop here
1. Ok so Anna legit came upon the scene of a ghost girl ranting about just falling [pushed really] off a third story balcony [we never learn why the heck she was freaking there in the first place, she didn't live there, but that mystery was never solved]. ANYWAY, this girl died, Anna can see the ghost ranting but she doesn't up and call the police, not an ambulance, not someone who can come TAKE CARE OF THIS TRAGEDY before anyone else unwittingly stumbles upon like hello, this is a dead girl on the ground in broad daylight call someone to take care of this. What is with these characters completely ignoring the fact that dead bodies need to be taken care of by professionals, the ghost can wait, someone needs to contact the police so her parents can be alerted. Ugh this lack of focus on what happens to the bodies of the dead are so ghosted over, pardon the pun, that it's almost as if the people who actually come handle these situations only come up when the plot actually needs them like no, they exist, they gotta be there. How is this not all over the news, how are parents not panicked that there's a killer on the loose going after young girls? Why is no one at school whispering about it? It could have easily drummed up panic in the background characters and made sneaking around harder due to watchful parents and cops patrolling the streets. It could have added tension [I'ma harp on the tension a lot, AGAIN]
2. Then when Anna goes up to talk to the ghost she's this cold, apathetic sort of badass almost [ALMOST] when talking about what just happened and what the ghost needs to do, with a small monologue about how she's gotten better at handling this ghost thing. Really? REALLY? It's been like maybe 6 months since you've moved here, you've handled one ghost legitimately, and that almost killed somebody else here, ok you haven't improved that much, yer not that cold unfeeling brat, you need to calm your shit down. Like this was a total 180 from what she actually is, and who she returns to being like a page later, so it was just very jarring to read, and it was not consistent with who Anna was at the end of the first book. If you want her to be a cold, almost ruthless handler of souls then she needs to grow into that person. She wasn't that person at the end of the last book, not even close, so she can't just be that person at the beginning of this book, such a harsh transition of character needs to be worked through. This immediately lowered my hopes.
3. I'm glad Anna has a friend in Eden, and It's actually cool that Eden's a with, like that's pretty epic and useful, but the fact that Anna has to tell us that, like she literally narrates it out, this is a case of "telling too much instead of showing", yes exposition is sometimes needed to move a plot along but in the second chapter, really, we need it this early?? There's just a little too much of this series, and I feel it would improve the story so much, and bring the readers in so much better if it showed more and told less, like 80% show 20% tell. This feels like 60% show, 40% tell. That's a little too close to half telling the story instead of immersing us in it and that's just too no good.
4. I really hate those quickie marriages that totally disregard how a child might feel about the entire thing. Like yeah, she's not a little kid, she understands how this works. It just grinds my gears personally when a parent takes very little consideration of how the child would feel. Like yes, you;r the adult, you're in charge, it is your life and you have the right to your happiness. But SURPRISE you brought a kid into this world, a kid that legit can't go anywhere if you bring a new person to live into this home with you, a child who can feel displaced, not listened to, tossed aside, etc. Like yeah you think having a parent to help out would be good, and the family will be a more concise unit, but the bond you've built, or at least THINK you've built with this other human does not exist between that person and your kid. It can take a much longer time for that level of relationship to form between a step-child and the step-parent, and at times the kid might honestly not want to have that relationship with this person. Like yeah it's cool if they come over to hang out, but to live there with them, and get parented by someone who might not know how to parent, can feel demeaning and just like, who gives you the right to try and parent me, you're literally nothing to me.
It's just frustrating that even under the best of circumstances children can still feel this way about a new parent, and in this scenario the 2 have barely known each other, gotten married, he convinced Anna's mom to work for him only, he's moved in and invoked a shit ton of new rules, and he's being a fairly strict father to someone he barely knows, and has, as far as the book has shown me, not tried to built much of a bond with Anna. This is what pissed me off, this is what made me keep reading for the sake of a happy ending, as well as for Anna's sake cause she obviously doesn't like the situation.
5. On page 54, 14 lines from the bottom, there's a sentence that reads "she lived her for a few months", it should say "here", there's an e missing, this is an editing issue, nothing to really blame anyone too much about, we're all only human after all, just wanted to tell ya so it can get fixed up later.
6. Tabitha, so many things here where do I begin.
6.1 - I hate the vindictive, smile to your face, stab you in the back, turn people against you type of people. I hate them more when they come outta left field. I get that she was there to add conflict to the story aside from the ghost, like yeah the ghost was the main conflict in the first book and a side conflict was bullies, now the "bully" so to speak is more aggressive and lives in the same house. I applaud the attempt at increasing the conflict and making progression harder on the protagonist, it does pull people into the story better when they can all band together to hate on someone who is pretty terrible. So kudos there, but I really hate this child.
6.2 - Anna's mom didn't know the dude had a kid, that's super suspicious ok, no if I got married and they were like surprise I have a kid and she's coming to live with is, you are packing a night bag and going to find a new building to sleep in for the next month until we settle this whole "keeping important news, such as children, and inviting them to live here without any permission from me". I'm not saying I wouldn't welcome the kid but I gotta know they exist, like what if you married someone who doesn't want children and then monday morning it's like surprise, you're a parent, like how rude is that shit, and the fact you kept that information makes you seem sneaky and very untrustworthy.
6.3 - Big spoiler, Tabitha believes in paranormal stuff. That was thrown in at the end, and I just wished we were shown more hints about this stuff, like in her clothes, in her decoration of her room. Sure she may not want to broadcast that stuff, but there should be like little things most people might miss on the first look around, that Anna might have found through her repeated visits to Tabitha's room that at the end of the book it's more believable that she's into spooky things.
6.4 - Tabitha was getting chummy with Spencer and Johnny. How was Olivia not beyond pissed about Spencer, unless they're over and it was never mentioned, or they were never an item it was just a crush. And even then how the heck did the 2 guys not get into a fight, like they had to all 3 at some point been near each other, how the heck did they not figure out they were both almost with the same girl at the same time. That could have gone so bad for Tabitha, and ruined a bunch of friendships, not just between Spencer and Johnny, but whenever friends split up at times the group of friends is sort of pressured to pick sides, this could add more tension between Anna and the relationship she's trying to salvage with Johnny.
7. Archer was another one that came outta left field, I like him as a character, but I share Anna's suspicious about why, if he's Lucy's cousin, why didn't we get a few mentions back in book one, like why'd he never hang out with his cousin, why did he sit aside and do nothing as she got bullied, why's he not being very angry and revenge seeking like, that was technically manslaughter on Olivia's part?? Where is the emotion!?
7.1- Archer is a warlock, ok sure that's one thing that might be ok to tell instead of show, since it would be a good plot twist if the story built up to it a bit more. I'm not saying it couldn't have been vague clues that eventually led Anna to a shocking realization, it would have just taken way more time and pages than what was used. I just kinda felt like eh, we have a witch, you had to be a warlock? Is there a secret coven of magic users in this town? Why'd Eden know you? Yes he's strong, stronger than her maybe, but still, she never explained why exactly she wanted Archer away from Anna specifically. Is there something in this town that they DO know of that she needs to be kept away from? So many loose ends surrounding one character.
8. The fact that Anna's mom and Winston are under a spell to be together is crossing severe consent and respect lines and it should be far more terrifying to all parties involved than it is treated, which is another instance of missing the chance to add tension and drama and suspense and pull readers into the story for a more spooky angle. It at least gives the audience the knowledge that there's something stronger hanging around town and it has Anna's life in it's sights, if not Anna specifically then the people in the manor.
9. At the end of the book the last chapter is wrapped up again by Anna narrating that all of a sudden she's made friends with her step-sister and they're volunteering at a call center to help the living. It felt like one of those end of movie montages where it's like "where are they now", and it's the biggest case of telling instead of showing I have seen yet in this duology [so far]. If Anna was writing that down in a journal, such as Harper had started earlier in the book, it would have worked better instead of her narrating what was happening. That's a quick and easy way to handle giving a lot information in an acceptable telling manner. I still feel you can't just pull out the fact that a character suddenly has a journal, even Harper mentioned that she's started to keep a journal again like she used to when she was alive, to make this idea feel more believable Anna would have had to start keeping a journal much earlier in the book.
I still really like the idea behind these 2 books, and I'm still all for them being comic books cause I just feel like it would flow better, and the little flow issues and details could be handled in the background of images, like the clues are there, but you have to go back and look for them. There's room for improvement, and I will read the next one, if it's coming, I feel it's coming, and I've still got this big bit of optimism that it gets so MUCH better with the next one.
It was better in some regards bust still suffering from the same issues as the first one was. Once again some of the things I'll be mentioning will be spoilery, there will be warnings before we get to that part.
Overall the writing level was the same, it still felt like a middle-grade book even though it was labeled YA. the fact that it's shorter than the first one, being only 199 pages, allows for even less mystery, and subplots and all the little details that would improve the twists and turns, and it especially made further character development difficult.
I'll admit I actually got a little emotionally invested here, like my anger and my injustice was spiked, way worse than it was in the first book, and because it was shorter, it didn't have time to ebb which kept me reading, so in that regard it did a good job, it made me care about a characters well being, it made me feel for them, but only for a specific situation.
Ok Now we're getting into slightly more spoilery bits so I advise you to stop here
1. Ok so Anna legit came upon the scene of a ghost girl ranting about just falling [pushed really] off a third story balcony [we never learn why the heck she was freaking there in the first place, she didn't live there, but that mystery was never solved]. ANYWAY, this girl died, Anna can see the ghost ranting but she doesn't up and call the police, not an ambulance, not someone who can come TAKE CARE OF THIS TRAGEDY before anyone else unwittingly stumbles upon like hello, this is a dead girl on the ground in broad daylight call someone to take care of this. What is with these characters completely ignoring the fact that dead bodies need to be taken care of by professionals, the ghost can wait, someone needs to contact the police so her parents can be alerted. Ugh this lack of focus on what happens to the bodies of the dead are so ghosted over, pardon the pun, that it's almost as if the people who actually come handle these situations only come up when the plot actually needs them like no, they exist, they gotta be there. How is this not all over the news, how are parents not panicked that there's a killer on the loose going after young girls? Why is no one at school whispering about it? It could have easily drummed up panic in the background characters and made sneaking around harder due to watchful parents and cops patrolling the streets. It could have added tension [I'ma harp on the tension a lot, AGAIN]
2. Then when Anna goes up to talk to the ghost she's this cold, apathetic sort of badass almost [ALMOST] when talking about what just happened and what the ghost needs to do, with a small monologue about how she's gotten better at handling this ghost thing. Really? REALLY? It's been like maybe 6 months since you've moved here, you've handled one ghost legitimately, and that almost killed somebody else here, ok you haven't improved that much, yer not that cold unfeeling brat, you need to calm your shit down. Like this was a total 180 from what she actually is, and who she returns to being like a page later, so it was just very jarring to read, and it was not consistent with who Anna was at the end of the first book. If you want her to be a cold, almost ruthless handler of souls then she needs to grow into that person. She wasn't that person at the end of the last book, not even close, so she can't just be that person at the beginning of this book, such a harsh transition of character needs to be worked through. This immediately lowered my hopes.
3. I'm glad Anna has a friend in Eden, and It's actually cool that Eden's a with, like that's pretty epic and useful, but the fact that Anna has to tell us that, like she literally narrates it out, this is a case of "telling too much instead of showing", yes exposition is sometimes needed to move a plot along but in the second chapter, really, we need it this early?? There's just a little too much of this series, and I feel it would improve the story so much, and bring the readers in so much better if it showed more and told less, like 80% show 20% tell. This feels like 60% show, 40% tell. That's a little too close to half telling the story instead of immersing us in it and that's just too no good.
4. I really hate those quickie marriages that totally disregard how a child might feel about the entire thing. Like yeah, she's not a little kid, she understands how this works. It just grinds my gears personally when a parent takes very little consideration of how the child would feel. Like yes, you;r the adult, you're in charge, it is your life and you have the right to your happiness. But SURPRISE you brought a kid into this world, a kid that legit can't go anywhere if you bring a new person to live into this home with you, a child who can feel displaced, not listened to, tossed aside, etc. Like yeah you think having a parent to help out would be good, and the family will be a more concise unit, but the bond you've built, or at least THINK you've built with this other human does not exist between that person and your kid. It can take a much longer time for that level of relationship to form between a step-child and the step-parent, and at times the kid might honestly not want to have that relationship with this person. Like yeah it's cool if they come over to hang out, but to live there with them, and get parented by someone who might not know how to parent, can feel demeaning and just like, who gives you the right to try and parent me, you're literally nothing to me.
It's just frustrating that even under the best of circumstances children can still feel this way about a new parent, and in this scenario the 2 have barely known each other, gotten married, he convinced Anna's mom to work for him only, he's moved in and invoked a shit ton of new rules, and he's being a fairly strict father to someone he barely knows, and has, as far as the book has shown me, not tried to built much of a bond with Anna. This is what pissed me off, this is what made me keep reading for the sake of a happy ending, as well as for Anna's sake cause she obviously doesn't like the situation.
5. On page 54, 14 lines from the bottom, there's a sentence that reads "she lived her for a few months", it should say "here", there's an e missing, this is an editing issue, nothing to really blame anyone too much about, we're all only human after all, just wanted to tell ya so it can get fixed up later.
6. Tabitha, so many things here where do I begin.
6.1 - I hate the vindictive, smile to your face, stab you in the back, turn people against you type of people. I hate them more when they come outta left field. I get that she was there to add conflict to the story aside from the ghost, like yeah the ghost was the main conflict in the first book and a side conflict was bullies, now the "bully" so to speak is more aggressive and lives in the same house. I applaud the attempt at increasing the conflict and making progression harder on the protagonist, it does pull people into the story better when they can all band together to hate on someone who is pretty terrible. So kudos there, but I really hate this child.
6.2 - Anna's mom didn't know the dude had a kid, that's super suspicious ok, no if I got married and they were like surprise I have a kid and she's coming to live with is, you are packing a night bag and going to find a new building to sleep in for the next month until we settle this whole "keeping important news, such as children, and inviting them to live here without any permission from me". I'm not saying I wouldn't welcome the kid but I gotta know they exist, like what if you married someone who doesn't want children and then monday morning it's like surprise, you're a parent, like how rude is that shit, and the fact you kept that information makes you seem sneaky and very untrustworthy.
6.3 - Big spoiler, Tabitha believes in paranormal stuff. That was thrown in at the end, and I just wished we were shown more hints about this stuff, like in her clothes, in her decoration of her room. Sure she may not want to broadcast that stuff, but there should be like little things most people might miss on the first look around, that Anna might have found through her repeated visits to Tabitha's room that at the end of the book it's more believable that she's into spooky things.
6.4 - Tabitha was getting chummy with Spencer and Johnny. How was Olivia not beyond pissed about Spencer, unless they're over and it was never mentioned, or they were never an item it was just a crush. And even then how the heck did the 2 guys not get into a fight, like they had to all 3 at some point been near each other, how the heck did they not figure out they were both almost with the same girl at the same time. That could have gone so bad for Tabitha, and ruined a bunch of friendships, not just between Spencer and Johnny, but whenever friends split up at times the group of friends is sort of pressured to pick sides, this could add more tension between Anna and the relationship she's trying to salvage with Johnny.
7. Archer was another one that came outta left field, I like him as a character, but I share Anna's suspicious about why, if he's Lucy's cousin, why didn't we get a few mentions back in book one, like why'd he never hang out with his cousin, why did he sit aside and do nothing as she got bullied, why's he not being very angry and revenge seeking like, that was technically manslaughter on Olivia's part?? Where is the emotion!?
7.1- Archer is a warlock, ok sure that's one thing that might be ok to tell instead of show, since it would be a good plot twist if the story built up to it a bit more. I'm not saying it couldn't have been vague clues that eventually led Anna to a shocking realization, it would have just taken way more time and pages than what was used. I just kinda felt like eh, we have a witch, you had to be a warlock? Is there a secret coven of magic users in this town? Why'd Eden know you? Yes he's strong, stronger than her maybe, but still, she never explained why exactly she wanted Archer away from Anna specifically. Is there something in this town that they DO know of that she needs to be kept away from? So many loose ends surrounding one character.
8. The fact that Anna's mom and Winston are under a spell to be together is crossing severe consent and respect lines and it should be far more terrifying to all parties involved than it is treated, which is another instance of missing the chance to add tension and drama and suspense and pull readers into the story for a more spooky angle. It at least gives the audience the knowledge that there's something stronger hanging around town and it has Anna's life in it's sights, if not Anna specifically then the people in the manor.
9. At the end of the book the last chapter is wrapped up again by Anna narrating that all of a sudden she's made friends with her step-sister and they're volunteering at a call center to help the living. It felt like one of those end of movie montages where it's like "where are they now", and it's the biggest case of telling instead of showing I have seen yet in this duology [so far]. If Anna was writing that down in a journal, such as Harper had started earlier in the book, it would have worked better instead of her narrating what was happening. That's a quick and easy way to handle giving a lot information in an acceptable telling manner. I still feel you can't just pull out the fact that a character suddenly has a journal, even Harper mentioned that she's started to keep a journal again like she used to when she was alive, to make this idea feel more believable Anna would have had to start keeping a journal much earlier in the book.
October 1, 2020
For more reviews, check out my blog: Craft-Cycle
I bought this and the first book at a library sale. Was intrigued by the cutesy-morbid style and the pun-y titles.
As with the first one, I thought this one was just okay. Interesting concept but the plot centers mostly around teenage drama with some supernatural elements thrown in. These books try to throw too many elements together and end up only completing them half-heartedly, leaving the reader a bit disappointed with the results.
I did like the artwork and style elements. It really added to the feel of the book. Unfortunately, the story just wasn't there. I don't like any of the characters and they all act in strange, counterintuitive ways (Ah, yes, a girl has just fallen to her death. I won't report the body or try to figure out why she fell. I'll just creepily watch her ghost for a bit). They don't feel realistic and solely act to keep the supposed plot moving along. It makes for a very odd reading experience that just isn't satisfactory.
There are many confusing plot holes (why is Harper still going to school? if this is the school she's always gone to, why are people not concerned about her reappearance? if this is a new school, did she enroll herself?). They really disrupted the flow of the story for me because at times the character's actions and the events didn't make sense.
Not a fan of this series. Cool concept, but the execution could have been better.
I bought this and the first book at a library sale. Was intrigued by the cutesy-morbid style and the pun-y titles.
As with the first one, I thought this one was just okay. Interesting concept but the plot centers mostly around teenage drama with some supernatural elements thrown in. These books try to throw too many elements together and end up only completing them half-heartedly, leaving the reader a bit disappointed with the results.
I did like the artwork and style elements. It really added to the feel of the book. Unfortunately, the story just wasn't there. I don't like any of the characters and they all act in strange, counterintuitive ways (Ah, yes, a girl has just fallen to her death. I won't report the body or try to figure out why she fell. I'll just creepily watch her ghost for a bit). They don't feel realistic and solely act to keep the supposed plot moving along. It makes for a very odd reading experience that just isn't satisfactory.
There are many confusing plot holes (why is Harper still going to school? if this is the school she's always gone to, why are people not concerned about her reappearance? if this is a new school, did she enroll herself?). They really disrupted the flow of the story for me because at times the character's actions and the events didn't make sense.
Not a fan of this series. Cool concept, but the execution could have been better.
March 1, 2017
Cooper, Rose The Ungrateful Dead (Dead Serious 2), 199 pgs. Delacorte Press, 2016. $12.99. Language G; Mature Content G; Violence G.
The second in the Dead Serious novels, The Ungrateful Dead could still be read as a stand-alone book. Anna is “a guided,” someone who helps the dead transition. While walking home from school, Anna comes across the body of a beautiful teen girl named Harper, who looks as if she has fallen from a balcony. Harper doesn’t really want Anna’s help because Anna doesn’t have much fashion sense, but does accept help from a ghost who does. Lucy, a vindictive ghost who has issues with Anna, tells Harper how she can come back alive. Anna must navigate how to deal with her new mean-girl stepsister, following her mother’s sudden remarriage to the local mortician while allowing Harper to “live” in her stepfather’s large home.
This book is a fast read and has some fun cartoonish line art sprinkled in. Anna’s world is a bit of a soap opera for someone so young. Apparently dead teenage girls are even more shallow in death, so the dead aren’t likeable and the book reads like a middle school drama fest with a few dead people thrown in.
MS-OPTIONAL. Michelle in the Middle
http://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2017/...
The second in the Dead Serious novels, The Ungrateful Dead could still be read as a stand-alone book. Anna is “a guided,” someone who helps the dead transition. While walking home from school, Anna comes across the body of a beautiful teen girl named Harper, who looks as if she has fallen from a balcony. Harper doesn’t really want Anna’s help because Anna doesn’t have much fashion sense, but does accept help from a ghost who does. Lucy, a vindictive ghost who has issues with Anna, tells Harper how she can come back alive. Anna must navigate how to deal with her new mean-girl stepsister, following her mother’s sudden remarriage to the local mortician while allowing Harper to “live” in her stepfather’s large home.
This book is a fast read and has some fun cartoonish line art sprinkled in. Anna’s world is a bit of a soap opera for someone so young. Apparently dead teenage girls are even more shallow in death, so the dead aren’t likeable and the book reads like a middle school drama fest with a few dead people thrown in.
MS-OPTIONAL. Michelle in the Middle
http://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2017/...
January 25, 2017
In this sequel to I Text Dead People, ghosts continue to text and hassle Anna. Newly-dead, super-popular Harper refuses to “cross over” and finds a way to inhabit her old body. To Anna’s dismay, Lucy also makes a return appearance. When reincarnated Harper becomes friends with Tabitha, Anna’s new stepsister, Anna’s woes escalate. Tabitha’s dislike of Anna and friendship with Harper make Anna’s life wretched as she tries to get the ghosts back to the other side. Add to the mix a curious spell on her parents and typical teen issues and you have a somewhat scary and at times gruesome read that middle school readers would enjoy. Dark humor, detachable body parts and a few dark but cute black-and-white illustrations add enough scare without being overly gruesome. It’s a quick, edgy read for horror fans, especially girls. Fans of the first installment will no doubt enjoy this one, but this title can stand on its own.
October 17, 2017
I chose this book to read for the #spookathon 2017 challenge - "Read a book with a spooky word in the title". This is the 2nd book from I Text Dead People. I loved both of the books! This story again follows Anna and her ability to talk with the dead. This book picks up from where the 1st left off and goes on a whole new adventure with new dead people. A wonderfully creepy book to read around Halloween. I expect there will be another book because of how it ends... Well I hope there will be another. I would recommend this to everyone. Just enough creepy and eerie for every age.
August 2, 2022
i read the first one in 2015 and it was incredible for little 12 year old laila and 19 year old laila thinks this was nice to read cause she owed it to her younger self but shouldve probably reread the first one before heading into this because i forgot most of what happened and was confused about what they were talking about half of the time
May 29, 2024
Preteen Mean Girls meets ghostbusters, not much resolution. Pretty crummy and dark for a kids book. Had some laughable moments for an older adolescent group 10+
June 21, 2024
Una buena continuación a la novela anterior. Una pena que como saga, ahora queda inconclusa.
September 25, 2016
Fresh from her previous adventure in I Text Dead People in which she had to convince vengeful teen ghost Lucy to cross over, Annabel Craven, a girl who receives text messages from the dead, encounters another recently deceased teen. The new ghost, Harper, died when she was pushed off a balcony by someone she didn’t see and is reluctant to move on. While Annabel struggles to cope with Harper, she learns that Lucy did not actually cross over either. Then, her mother and Winston, her new stepfather, start acting weird. Oh, yes, and she finds out she has a stepsister when Tabitha, Winston’s previously unmentioned daughter, arrives to join their dysfunctional family. Even her witchy best friend, Eden, betrays Annabel with a secret spell. It is difficult to keep the characters straight since all the girls seem to be equally obsessed with clothes, boys, and status, and all the adults are clueless, but short chapters and black and white sketches do their part to hold readers’ interest.
November 2, 2016
Middle schooler Annabel Craven is able to communicate with the dead--or they can communicate with her through texts on her cellphone. But Harper Sweety, a local Mean Girl, refuses to cross over to the great beyond and causes much trouble for Anna. I felt sorry for Harper as she patches herself together and tries desperately to return to the living. Things get a little more complicated for Anna with the addition of a stepsister from whom she needs to keep all this a secret. Although I'm not wildly enamored with this series, it has plenty of creepy--and amusing--moments, and is less Dead Serious than its title might warrant. Middle grade girls in particular will enjoy this one. I like it, despite some of its flaws, including its predictability, because it is different from the usual horror series.
August 15, 2016
This book grabs your attention right from the start when Anna stumbles upon both the body and the ghost of Harper. Harper is selfish, spoiled and dead; and for Anna that's more of an annoyance than a problem. Anna can see ghosts as well as receive texts from them. Though reluctant, Anna reaches out to help Harper move on from this world to whatever lies beyond. Anna and her friend Eden soon realize that something is not quite right about Harper. The story starts out strong but gets a bit bogged down in the middle with teenage drama. Overall though, it's a fun read and even though I have not read the first book in the series, I easily picked up the story-line. Great for 6th grade and up.
October 24, 2016
Anna gets texts from dead people. It's her job to help them cross over, but Harper flatly refuses to go. She discovers a way to inhabit her old body and Harper is back on the loose again. Anna has to figure out a way to get Harper to cross over while dealing with a new stepsister, a crush with memory loss and a whole host of other ghostly issues.
This book ended very abruptly and confusedly. I would recommend it as an optional purchase for ages 9-12.
This book ended very abruptly and confusedly. I would recommend it as an optional purchase for ages 9-12.
October 16, 2016
This is the second in the series but stands alone just fine.
October 25, 2016
Very fun quick read. Similar to Ghost Girl.
December 12, 2016
Really good addition to the series, sets up for next book at the end.... really want to read it!!!!! ;D
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