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Me & Death: An Afterlife Adventure
The story of one boy’s experience with the (not so) sweet hereafter.
Fresh from having stolen a piece of fruit and taunting the grocer, Jim, a fourteen-year-old wannabe gangster, bully, and car thief, is run over by a car. What follows is a hilarious, bleak, and ultimately hopeful visit to the afterworld, courtesy of Richard Scrimger, one of the country’s finest writers.
This is an afterlife peopled with unforgettable characters that might be drawn from video angry Slayers, tearful Mourners, and scary Grave Walkers. Jim meets them all and is given the chance to return to earth with the extraordinary gift of knowing what happens when we die. Now he must deal with living demons, including a neighborhood torturer and a truly creepy older sister. With imagery from the mean streets as well as the arcade, Me and Death is thought-provoking, exciting, sad, and funny — sometimes all at the same time.
Fresh from having stolen a piece of fruit and taunting the grocer, Jim, a fourteen-year-old wannabe gangster, bully, and car thief, is run over by a car. What follows is a hilarious, bleak, and ultimately hopeful visit to the afterworld, courtesy of Richard Scrimger, one of the country’s finest writers.
This is an afterlife peopled with unforgettable characters that might be drawn from video angry Slayers, tearful Mourners, and scary Grave Walkers. Jim meets them all and is given the chance to return to earth with the extraordinary gift of knowing what happens when we die. Now he must deal with living demons, including a neighborhood torturer and a truly creepy older sister. With imagery from the mean streets as well as the arcade, Me and Death is thought-provoking, exciting, sad, and funny — sometimes all at the same time.
187 pages, Paperback
First published February 17, 2010
66 people want to read
About the author
Richard Scrimger
35 books29 followersI was born with very little hair and very little feet and hands. They all grew together and I still have them, together with all my organs except tonsils. I do not have four children -- they have me and we all know it. I write and teach and talk about writing and other things. Actually, I talk a lot. I’m right handed, my car has a dent in the passenger side door, and my blood type is A-. The motto of South Carolina is Dum spiro spero.— success comes by breathing. I like black licorice and rice pudding and ratatouille and coffee. Lots of coffee. My hair usually needs cutting. How much more do you need to know about anybody?
I have been writing since 1996. No, that's not true. I wrote for years before that, but no one cared. Since 1996 I've published fifteen books for adults and children. You can read more about them somewhere else on this site. A few of the books did very well. Some came close. A couple didn't do well at all. My most recent offering is Ink Me, a tragicomedy about a tattoo gone wrong, told in supercool phonetic speak by our learning-disabled hero. Zomboy – an undead story – is due out next year. (My editor and I are arguing about certain scenes right now.) And I am writing a semi-graphic novel about kids who fall into a comic book.
Do you want more details? Really? Okay, then.
In 1996 I published my first novel, Crosstown (Toronto: The Riverbank Press), which was short-listed for the City of Toronto Book Award.
Humorous short pieces about my life as an at-home dad with four small children used to appear regularly in the Globe & Mail and Chatelaine, and can still be found fairly regularly on the back page of Today's Parent. I reworked some of this material into a full-length chunk of not-quite-non-fiction, which was published by HarperCollins as Still Life With Children.
I started writing children's fiction in 1998. Two middle-school novels, The Nose From Jupiter and The Way To Schenectady did well enough to require sequels. There are four Norbert books so far, and two Peelers.
My work has received a lot of attention in Canada and The United States. The Nose From Jupiter is a Canadian bestseller. It won a Mr Christie Book Award, was on most of the top ten lists and has been translated into a Scottish dozen languages (that’s less than 12). Bun Bun’s Birthday, From Charlie’s Point of View, Mystical Rose, and Into the Ravine made a variety of short lists and books of the year – Quill and Quire, Canadian Library Association, Globe and Mail, Chicago Public Library, Time Out NY (kids), blah blah. Ink Me is part of the “7” series – linked novels featuring seven grandsons with quests from their common grandfather. Pretty cool, eh? As my most recent book, it is my current favorite. But watch out for Zomboy next year. It’s a killer!
I have been writing since 1996. No, that's not true. I wrote for years before that, but no one cared. Since 1996 I've published fifteen books for adults and children. You can read more about them somewhere else on this site. A few of the books did very well. Some came close. A couple didn't do well at all. My most recent offering is Ink Me, a tragicomedy about a tattoo gone wrong, told in supercool phonetic speak by our learning-disabled hero. Zomboy – an undead story – is due out next year. (My editor and I are arguing about certain scenes right now.) And I am writing a semi-graphic novel about kids who fall into a comic book.
Do you want more details? Really? Okay, then.
In 1996 I published my first novel, Crosstown (Toronto: The Riverbank Press), which was short-listed for the City of Toronto Book Award.
Humorous short pieces about my life as an at-home dad with four small children used to appear regularly in the Globe & Mail and Chatelaine, and can still be found fairly regularly on the back page of Today's Parent. I reworked some of this material into a full-length chunk of not-quite-non-fiction, which was published by HarperCollins as Still Life With Children.
I started writing children's fiction in 1998. Two middle-school novels, The Nose From Jupiter and The Way To Schenectady did well enough to require sequels. There are four Norbert books so far, and two Peelers.
My work has received a lot of attention in Canada and The United States. The Nose From Jupiter is a Canadian bestseller. It won a Mr Christie Book Award, was on most of the top ten lists and has been translated into a Scottish dozen languages (that’s less than 12). Bun Bun’s Birthday, From Charlie’s Point of View, Mystical Rose, and Into the Ravine made a variety of short lists and books of the year – Quill and Quire, Canadian Library Association, Globe and Mail, Chicago Public Library, Time Out NY (kids), blah blah. Ink Me is part of the “7” series – linked novels featuring seven grandsons with quests from their common grandfather. Pretty cool, eh? As my most recent book, it is my current favorite. But watch out for Zomboy next year. It’s a killer!
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
September 29, 2017
The bases of this story is a cross between A Christmas Carol and The Five People You Meet in Heaven. As a matter of fact it is extremely similar in many points.
First, there are a few typos, but more than that some of the sentences are badly written or don't even make sense at times.
Second, the storyline had promise, and really could have expanded a bit. The ending seemed a bit abrupt, but not terribly so.
Many times the story felt rushed, and some details seemed left out. Why mention the dad if he plays no role at all. The structure of the book seemed a bit choppy as well.
The boy is a bad kid. He gets hit by a car and almost dies. He is visited by three "ghosts" in an area where they are trapped. He has to change his ways, or he could be stuck there with them for eternity. He fights to get back, and he does change.
Then the story gets choppy. It's a short story, but it still could have had smoother transitions and better editing.
First, there are a few typos, but more than that some of the sentences are badly written or don't even make sense at times.
Second, the storyline had promise, and really could have expanded a bit. The ending seemed a bit abrupt, but not terribly so.
Many times the story felt rushed, and some details seemed left out. Why mention the dad if he plays no role at all. The structure of the book seemed a bit choppy as well.
The boy is a bad kid. He gets hit by a car and almost dies. He is visited by three "ghosts" in an area where they are trapped. He has to change his ways, or he could be stuck there with them for eternity. He fights to get back, and he does change.
Then the story gets choppy. It's a short story, but it still could have had smoother transitions and better editing.
Read
April 1, 2011What made me pick this book, wasn't the cover, but the back paragraph of the book was what drew me in to read it. Because the book title and the cover picture,made me question what this book was really about, even when I read the back flap. How the back talks about a wanabe gangster, and the cover says Me and Death. So this really is what really drew me in to reading this book.
One thing that I liked about this book, was how it had a type of Charles Dickens 'A Christmas Carol' to it. What I mean by this, is that in both of these books, the character that wasn't nice, which where Scrooge and Jim. What I also liked, was how the writer even included Scrooge in this book. He was included a few times, but only breifly when Jim was talking about himself. One thing that I didn't like in this book, would be when this kid named Lloyd's dad made him sleep in the trunk. Jim was told by his friend in prison, Raf, to go break into this cars trunk, which is the car they tried to steal before, to see whats in there. And what Jim found, was Lloyd sleeping in the trunk. But what was weird, was that his dad wasn't trying to kill Lloyd, but he made him sleep in the trunk, which had holes for air drilled into it. I feel like it really wasn't needed in this book, because it just came out of nowhere, with everything else happening surrounding this encounter.
What surprisd me in this book, was when the three ghosts came to take Jim to three events, he was a ghost himself. And the ghosts, who took him to these events, unlike in 'A Christmas Carol', two ghosts, Wolfgang and Tadeusz brought Jim to his past events. The third ghost, Morgan, brought him to when his body was loaded in the ambulance, which was happening at that present time.
I don't beieve anything in this book, could be changed, except for what Lloyds father did to him by making him sleep in the trunk. I thought it was a bit much and really unnecisar.
For next time, I think that I will look more at the back page that just the cover title, because once I read the back page, I got interested in this book, and I ended up really enjoying this book. So I will definitely look at the back page of a book, even if the title and picture on the cover page make me question about what this book is about.
One thing that I liked about this book, was how it had a type of Charles Dickens 'A Christmas Carol' to it. What I mean by this, is that in both of these books, the character that wasn't nice, which where Scrooge and Jim. What I also liked, was how the writer even included Scrooge in this book. He was included a few times, but only breifly when Jim was talking about himself. One thing that I didn't like in this book, would be when this kid named Lloyd's dad made him sleep in the trunk. Jim was told by his friend in prison, Raf, to go break into this cars trunk, which is the car they tried to steal before, to see whats in there. And what Jim found, was Lloyd sleeping in the trunk. But what was weird, was that his dad wasn't trying to kill Lloyd, but he made him sleep in the trunk, which had holes for air drilled into it. I feel like it really wasn't needed in this book, because it just came out of nowhere, with everything else happening surrounding this encounter.
What surprisd me in this book, was when the three ghosts came to take Jim to three events, he was a ghost himself. And the ghosts, who took him to these events, unlike in 'A Christmas Carol', two ghosts, Wolfgang and Tadeusz brought Jim to his past events. The third ghost, Morgan, brought him to when his body was loaded in the ambulance, which was happening at that present time.
I don't beieve anything in this book, could be changed, except for what Lloyds father did to him by making him sleep in the trunk. I thought it was a bit much and really unnecisar.
For next time, I think that I will look more at the back page that just the cover title, because once I read the back page, I got interested in this book, and I ended up really enjoying this book. So I will definitely look at the back page of a book, even if the title and picture on the cover page make me question about what this book is about.
July 31, 2013
I was searching my library one day, when I stumbled upon this book. It was short, which was good because that was the type of book I was looking for. And even better, it was about a boy named Jim, who was run over, in a coma, and with the help of three ghosts has to realize why he was a horrible person in the first place.
Sign me up.
Bottom line, I really enjoyed this book. Once I got halfway through, I just couldn't put it down! So if you are looking for a quic, simple, and mindless read, then this is the book for you! If not, then you are better off skipping this read.
Sign me up.
Bottom line, I really enjoyed this book. Once I got halfway through, I just couldn't put it down! So if you are looking for a quic, simple, and mindless read, then this is the book for you! If not, then you are better off skipping this read.
rubbish
December 18, 2019So. I don't write too many reviews these days... but this book... ... it had that creeper feel to it. That's the only way to describe it. The language wasn't awful, but it was... crude? And the writing was just... emotionless? I don't know. Ultimately, I didn't finish it.
January 29, 2021
I picked up this short and simple book to read in one sitting, trying to get myself back into the habit of reading regularly. after this garbage i might just stick to movies.
November 20, 2025
Lei este libro en rush para el club de mi queridisima Scarlet (can’t let the old traditions die) pero mmmm no lo se, siento que esto fue como los fantasmas de scrooge en esteroides jajaja
el final un poco rebuscado y como que no me encanto.
pero fue entretenido
el final un poco rebuscado y como que no me encanto.
pero fue entretenido
July 24, 2010
In the story “Me and Death”, ‘death’ as implied by the title, pervades the entire story, in so that the story begins with a near death experience and ends with one. From this main theme many sub-themes are further developed, namely the social commentaries of failed and abusive families and coming of age and entering into adulthood.
The story takes the readers on an adventurous and wild but most times thought-provoking journey with the young protagonist, 14 year old Jim. Jim is introduced to us as a bully, a trouble-maker and a menace to society. However after a near death experience, he meets Tadeusz, one of the many ghosts who he encounters on the path to become a ‘reformed’ person. Interestingly, what all these ghosts have in common is that they are confined to Roncy because of their unhappy and or troubled past. Tadeusz takes Jim to the Jordan Arms; what would appear to be heaven, as he and Jim ascend into the clouds. However Jordan Arms is no Garden of Eden. Everything is grey, everyone there has lost their color and what they all share in common is misery and sadness. There, Jims gets the opportunity to look back at his life, acknowledge the people who he has hurt and in the process he gets a wake up call.
“Me and Death” is a cleverly written book which has multiple didactic lessons. The author brings to light, sometimes in a comical way, many issues which plague society. Jim’s mother is a drunk and she hardly pays him any attention and his sister abused him as a child in an attempt to seek the attention of her mother. Worthy of mention is the absence of Jim’s father in the story. Jim hardly knows anything about him. These facts cause the readers to empathize with Jim and even justify his malicious and rebellious behavior since the readers come to understand that Jim is simply not loved.
Also, through the relationship between Lloyd and his father, another important issue which arises is abuse in the family. Lloyd is locked in the trunk of his father’s car and has to sleep there as a form of punishment. The author admits that Lloyd’s situation in the book was channeled from a true story in which a five- year- old boy in Texas suffered similar abuse from his father.
I would recommend this text to teenagers and young adults because there are many valuable lessons that can be learnt from the text. The story was at most times enjoyable although at other times predictable. What i enjoyed the most was Jim’s wit and good sense of humor, even in his near death experience. He says and does things which a real life 14-year-old would do.
Richard Scrimger has brought an interesting story to his readers, one in which a teenage boy stops being a boy and becomes a man.
The story takes the readers on an adventurous and wild but most times thought-provoking journey with the young protagonist, 14 year old Jim. Jim is introduced to us as a bully, a trouble-maker and a menace to society. However after a near death experience, he meets Tadeusz, one of the many ghosts who he encounters on the path to become a ‘reformed’ person. Interestingly, what all these ghosts have in common is that they are confined to Roncy because of their unhappy and or troubled past. Tadeusz takes Jim to the Jordan Arms; what would appear to be heaven, as he and Jim ascend into the clouds. However Jordan Arms is no Garden of Eden. Everything is grey, everyone there has lost their color and what they all share in common is misery and sadness. There, Jims gets the opportunity to look back at his life, acknowledge the people who he has hurt and in the process he gets a wake up call.
“Me and Death” is a cleverly written book which has multiple didactic lessons. The author brings to light, sometimes in a comical way, many issues which plague society. Jim’s mother is a drunk and she hardly pays him any attention and his sister abused him as a child in an attempt to seek the attention of her mother. Worthy of mention is the absence of Jim’s father in the story. Jim hardly knows anything about him. These facts cause the readers to empathize with Jim and even justify his malicious and rebellious behavior since the readers come to understand that Jim is simply not loved.
Also, through the relationship between Lloyd and his father, another important issue which arises is abuse in the family. Lloyd is locked in the trunk of his father’s car and has to sleep there as a form of punishment. The author admits that Lloyd’s situation in the book was channeled from a true story in which a five- year- old boy in Texas suffered similar abuse from his father.
I would recommend this text to teenagers and young adults because there are many valuable lessons that can be learnt from the text. The story was at most times enjoyable although at other times predictable. What i enjoyed the most was Jim’s wit and good sense of humor, even in his near death experience. He says and does things which a real life 14-year-old would do.
Richard Scrimger has brought an interesting story to his readers, one in which a teenage boy stops being a boy and becomes a man.
August 20, 2010
Have you wondered what life would be like after you died? Fourteen year old, Jim's life is crap now. He runs around with the wrong crowd. He helps his friend, Ral, to jack cars. He bullies other kids in his neighborhood. He gets his daily allowance of fresh fruit from the local grocery by using the five finger discount. Jim's mom is a drunk and seldom home. His sister, Cassie, who seems to talk to ghosts, is always dissing him; putting him down. When Jim gets hit by a car while chasing one of his victims, his life really turns to crap.
Luckily,Jim gets another chance to get it right. Three types of ghosts show him how the people in his neighborhood felt about him and how he effected their lives. He is shown what the afterlife would be like for someone like him. A gray, lonely, miserable afterlife, full of Mourners, Grave Walkers, and Slayers. After getting the dickens scared out of him, Jim realizes he wants a chance to change his life. Jim comes back as a changed boy, trying to right the wrongs of his past. He finds it's not as easy as he thought it would be to right a lifetime of wrongs.
Luckily,Jim gets another chance to get it right. Three types of ghosts show him how the people in his neighborhood felt about him and how he effected their lives. He is shown what the afterlife would be like for someone like him. A gray, lonely, miserable afterlife, full of Mourners, Grave Walkers, and Slayers. After getting the dickens scared out of him, Jim realizes he wants a chance to change his life. Jim comes back as a changed boy, trying to right the wrongs of his past. He finds it's not as easy as he thought it would be to right a lifetime of wrongs.
May 7, 2012
The story of one boy’s experience with the (not so) sweet hereafter.
Jim, a fourteen-year-old wannabe gangster, bully, and car thief, is run over by a car. What follows is a visit to the after world. Jim is given the chance to return to earth with the extraordinary gift of knowing what happens when we die. Now he must deal with living demons.
This is an interesting little book however, I think it’s a little bit too short.Because it’s so short, the moral never really goes beyond “don’t be a jerk or you’ll end up as a depressed ghost.” But does it need morals? Maybe it’s really just a view into a life of a kid who has bad things happen to him, where everyone is unhappy and ghosts show up. The story is a lot better if you don’t expect deep digging into the human psyche. But I did want some of that deepness, especially since Jim goes pretty quickly from punk to prince. It would have been nice to have more description of that character growth, would have made it a bit more real and more punch-in-the-gut awesome.
overall,Me and Death is thought-provoking, exciting, sad, and funny. It doesn’t end with a definitive solution to anything, but it does end with hope for better things.
Jim, a fourteen-year-old wannabe gangster, bully, and car thief, is run over by a car. What follows is a visit to the after world. Jim is given the chance to return to earth with the extraordinary gift of knowing what happens when we die. Now he must deal with living demons.
This is an interesting little book however, I think it’s a little bit too short.Because it’s so short, the moral never really goes beyond “don’t be a jerk or you’ll end up as a depressed ghost.” But does it need morals? Maybe it’s really just a view into a life of a kid who has bad things happen to him, where everyone is unhappy and ghosts show up. The story is a lot better if you don’t expect deep digging into the human psyche. But I did want some of that deepness, especially since Jim goes pretty quickly from punk to prince. It would have been nice to have more description of that character growth, would have made it a bit more real and more punch-in-the-gut awesome.
overall,Me and Death is thought-provoking, exciting, sad, and funny. It doesn’t end with a definitive solution to anything, but it does end with hope for better things.
February 20, 2010
3.5 stars
The Little Bookworm
Me and Death reminded a little of A Christmas Carol which obviously influenced this book. In fact, that was even pointed out in one chapter of the book. Jim was a no good burgeoning thug until he had an near death experience and three extremely disturbing visions accompanied by three extremely different ghosts. There are even parallels to the ghosts in A Christmas Carol. When he wakes up, he tries to live a different life and make amends for the bullying and stealing he's done, but he finds that is harder to do than he thought. I was amused by some of his attempts. I was surprised by the ending. I thought that something else was going to happen but it made sense, especially given something Jim sees in one of his visions. I liked the ending and enjoyed the story overall. Some of it seemed too simple, but then maybe things in life are simple sometimes. It's just a matter of saying "Sorry."
The Little Bookworm
Me and Death reminded a little of A Christmas Carol which obviously influenced this book. In fact, that was even pointed out in one chapter of the book. Jim was a no good burgeoning thug until he had an near death experience and three extremely disturbing visions accompanied by three extremely different ghosts. There are even parallels to the ghosts in A Christmas Carol. When he wakes up, he tries to live a different life and make amends for the bullying and stealing he's done, but he finds that is harder to do than he thought. I was amused by some of his attempts. I was surprised by the ending. I thought that something else was going to happen but it made sense, especially given something Jim sees in one of his visions. I liked the ending and enjoyed the story overall. Some of it seemed too simple, but then maybe things in life are simple sometimes. It's just a matter of saying "Sorry."
June 11, 2010
Jim is a bully and deliquent, with little concern for anyone in his life. He's going about his usual routine of stealing from the local corner grocery store when he is hit by a car and whisked away to the afterworld. There he's told that his glimpse of this miserable place is to serve as a warning to him... if he doesn't change his mean and dishonest ways, he'll end up like these ghosts that have to sadly wander the world forever.
I unfortunately began to dislike this book just after reading a few pages. I found it much too didactic, much too similar to the ideas from Dicken's "Christmas Carol". Although I did manage to finish it (hoping that it might get better), the behaviours and changes in the characters weren't very convincing. Oh and even though it's catalogued as juvenile, it might actually fit YA better, as it does describe and make several references erections, etc. I say save your precious time for something else...
I unfortunately began to dislike this book just after reading a few pages. I found it much too didactic, much too similar to the ideas from Dicken's "Christmas Carol". Although I did manage to finish it (hoping that it might get better), the behaviours and changes in the characters weren't very convincing. Oh and even though it's catalogued as juvenile, it might actually fit YA better, as it does describe and make several references erections, etc. I say save your precious time for something else...
August 14, 2015
1.5 stars
I barely made it through this book. For once thing, the pacing was really weird with the character transformation happening very early on and the rest of the novel was just made up of Jim apologizing to a million different people which was very repetitive and didn't add much to the story.I would have rather read more of his memories and have him face his past more fully.
The message of the story didn't really expand beyond "don't be an asshole". Jim's whole motivation to be a good person was so he doesn't end of in an awful afterlife and not to actually do the right thing.
Not worth reading.
I barely made it through this book. For once thing, the pacing was really weird with the character transformation happening very early on and the rest of the novel was just made up of Jim apologizing to a million different people which was very repetitive and didn't add much to the story.I would have rather read more of his memories and have him face his past more fully.
The message of the story didn't really expand beyond "don't be an asshole". Jim's whole motivation to be a good person was so he doesn't end of in an awful afterlife and not to actually do the right thing.
Not worth reading.
February 23, 2012
Reading Level: Grades 7 - 9
Jim is proud to be a thug, a bully and a thief, until he stumbles off a curb and gets run over by a car. That is when he learns that souls with unfinished business (and punks like him always have unfinished business) are doomed to spend eternity haunting their old neighborhoods or hanging out at the Jordan Arms, an otherworldly fleabag hotel. Can he prevent his body from dying and change his ways before it is too late?
For more book reviews from the HPPL Youth Department, click here.
Jim is proud to be a thug, a bully and a thief, until he stumbles off a curb and gets run over by a car. That is when he learns that souls with unfinished business (and punks like him always have unfinished business) are doomed to spend eternity haunting their old neighborhoods or hanging out at the Jordan Arms, an otherworldly fleabag hotel. Can he prevent his body from dying and change his ways before it is too late?
For more book reviews from the HPPL Youth Department, click here.
May 10, 2010
The moral of the story is: don't be a piece of crap in this life or you'll end up miserable in the next one.
Jim is a rotten guy -- bully, liar, thief, lousy friend, general jerk. Until he gets run over by a car and, while he lies in a coma, his soul is shown a few things by three ghosts. He knows now that he shouldn't be a rotten guy, but it's hard to change your ways in the real world.
Jim is a rotten guy -- bully, liar, thief, lousy friend, general jerk. Until he gets run over by a car and, while he lies in a coma, his soul is shown a few things by three ghosts. He knows now that he shouldn't be a rotten guy, but it's hard to change your ways in the real world.
January 15, 2011
This story is quite short, but I suppose that it says what it needs to say: you should be good in your life, because if you're not, then you're pretty much screwed for the afterlife. Also, don't make fun of people, because you never know what else is going on in their lives. And if you're ever given a second chance, you better damn well take it.
October 30, 2011
November Teen Books for Adults Book Club. Really not much point to this one in my opinion. It is a fast read, but the characters are flat and fairly worthless. The story rambles with no direction or point that seems apparent. Parents are a mess for most of the kids and the world does not even care. One bad dad get's his, end of story. Not worth my time and glad to be done.
May 26, 2012
A little didactic, but only a little. Kind of fun in an enjoyably creepy way. Teenaged tough has a near-death experience and becomes reformed a la Scrooge. The Scrooge analogy is explicitly drawn in the story - I like that the characters talking about the resemblance are referencing the Muppet Christmas Carol as their only experience of the tale.
May 5, 2010
I really liked this book. There were a couple of chapters toward the end that I thought were uneven until I finished the book & realized it all fit in. A feel good book about making amends, treating people well & doing the right thing.
April 16, 2011
Great fun, with interesting male protagonists (huzzah!) and a fun story that manages to combine humour with more serious issues of death and consequences. Okay, I make it sound more preachy than it is - but it's a lot of fun to read. Bring it home for your 13+ year old - they will love you for it!
November 30, 2010
A modern twist on A Christmas Carol features Jim, a wannabe thug, who gets a second chance after being hit by a car and left unconscious. Scrimger's trademark humour lightens the tale and makes it fresh for a new audience.
September 14, 2014
It was ok. The beginning was interesting, looking back at his past. Then after he just kept apologizing to different people. I feel like he had it too easy with Marcie. He barely knows her and they act like girlfriend and boyfriend.
June 30, 2010
An imaginative retelling of "A Christmas Carol". The protagonist is a young teenage thug who has a chance at redemption.
November 8, 2012
Well I can't say it was terrible but it certainly wasn't worth reading. It's supposed to be a modern twist on A Christmas Carol but it was a very poor twist.
November 11, 2011
Quirky, unusual, funny, a little morbid, a little sad and surprising. That ending was so sudden, though.
January 28, 2017
Cute and iconic
February 19, 2010
Read for professional review.
November 15, 2011
Can't give a rating right now as this is included in judging for a literary award.
September 8, 2016
Interesting read. Don't remember hating it just thought it was kind of a morbidly weird story.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews