Ocker, J.W. Death and Douglas, 362 pages. Sky Pony Press,
2017. $17. Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: PG; Violence PG.
For twelve-year-old Douglas Mortimer, death has been a way
of life. He practically sleeps with the
dead since he lives in the Mortimer Family Funeral Home his parents run. Douglas has always thought that death was
natural and normal. He knows how to deal
with death. Until he doesn’t. Until the day when bodies start showing up
with a letter carved in their cheeks.
Suddenly Douglas has to face a different kind of death and he’s not sure
he’s up to it. He and his friends decide
to secretly investigate the murders, which starts out almost as a game, but
gets progressively more frightening, especially to Douglas.
The writing style
and New England town in the fall are reminiscent of Ray Bradbury’s Something
Wicked This Way Comes. I loved the
descriptive writing, though it may offer a mild challenge for elementary
readers. The story is divided into days
of the week, which makes it cool, especially with the plot arc. I thought the depiction of growing up and
being surrounded by death was done in a sensitive manner and it is refreshing
to have parents who are alive and intelligent in a young adult novel.
EL, MS - ADVISABLE.
Michelle in the Middle
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