Title: School of Deaths
Author:
Christopher Mannino
Genre: YA
Fantasy
Thrust into a
world of men, can a timid girl find bravery as the first female Death?
Thirteen-year-old
Suzie Sarnio always believed the Grim Reaper was a fairy tale image of a
skeleton with a scythe. Now, forced to enter the College of Deaths, she
finds herself training to bring souls from the Living World to the
Hereafter.
The task is
demanding enough, but as the only female in the all-male College, she quickly
becomes a target. Attacked by both classmates and strangers, Suzie is
alone in a world where even her teachers want her to fail.
Caught in the
middle of a plot to overthrow the World of Deaths, Suzie must uncover the
reason she’s been brought there: the first female Death in a million years.All purchase links can be found at http://www.christophermannino.com/school-of-deaths.html#.U81VLPldWSo
EXCERPT:
She wanted to scream but no sound came. She wanted to run, but her legs wouldn’t move. The hooded man grinned.
Suzie’s heart
pounded as she opened her eyes. Laughter echoed in the back of her head. The
terrible laughter she heard every night. She wiped the sweat from her face,
pushing aside the sheets. Sunlight spilled into her room from between frilly
curtains. Mom would be knocking on the door to wake her soon.
She turned to one
side as the dream started to fade. Every night the same nightmare. Every night
she heard the laughter. The hooded man with a scythe. The feeling of complete
terror.
What did it mean?
Above her clock
radio, a worn teddy bear stared at her with its single eye. She pulled the bear
to her chest and clutched it with her bony fingers.
Suzie Sarnio. The
hooded man had written her name down. He always wrote it right before the
laughter began. The man looked like Death. But why would Death have a stammer?
“Suzie,” said
Mom, knocking on the door. “Come on, you’ll be late for school.”
“I’m coming.”
Suzie changed,
staring at the mirror in her pink-wallpapered room. Each rib stuck out from her
chest; she counted all twenty-four. The skin on her face stretched tightly over
her skeletal face, and dark patches surrounded each of her gray eyes. As much
as she tried to comb it, her long black hair tangled into stringy knots. Her
arms hung from her shoulders like twigs, and her legs looked too weak to hold
her up. In the past few months, she had lost nearly half of her weight. She
glanced at an old picture, taken last year, on the first day of seventh grade.
A chubby, pigtailed girl with freckles smiled back at her from the photo. Her
braces gleamed in the sun, only a month before their removal. Suzie sighed. She
opened the door, looking for a moment at her room. She didn’t want to start another
year of school. Slowly, she turned around.
"Hey, squirt,
watch out,” said Joe.
“Sorry.” Joe was a pest and a bully, but he was her big brother, and Suzie supposed she loved him.
“Get your skinny butt out of the way already. We’ve got a run before school.”
“Today’s the
first day—”“Sorry.” Joe was a pest and a bully, but he was her big brother, and Suzie supposed she loved him.
“Get your skinny butt out of the way already. We’ve got a run before school.”
“After last year, coach says we have to practice early.”
Suzie stepped aside, watching the bulky frame of her brother lumber downstairs.
“Later.” He winked at Suzie. “Have fun at school.” He ran out the front door, slamming it behind him, while Suzie went to the kitchen and sat down.
“I’ve made you a special breakfast,” said her mother, carrying a plate and a glass of orange juice.
“Let me guess, something big.”
Watch the trailer
here:
Book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AeszKiTz0kMy Review:
Note: This review contains no spoilers.
I’m always up for a read with interesting characters and even more intriguing plot. The moment I read through, School of Death’s blurb, I knew I wanted to read it and I’m sure glad I did. I love the fact that Suzie is the kind of character you can find yourself connecting with right away. She’s down to earth, with very believable, every day kind of issues and the fact that she’s taken away to this otherworldly school just adds more to her plate. Yet, she’s able to deal with her problems and find solutions to them as she moves along, proving she’s a strong female lead.
The plot itself was beyond intriguing. It definitely took me for a spin. I wasn’t expecting the story to take me where it did, and it definitely kept me guessing all the way toward the end. The author did a wonderful job at keeping me both entertained and fascinated by the world he created.
Would recommend this School of Deaths to YA lovers
everywhere.
Christopher Mannino’s life is best described as an unending creative outlet. He teaches high school theatre in Greenbelt, Maryland. In addition to his daily drama classes, he runs several after-school performance/production drama groups. He spends his summers writing and singing. Mannino holds a Master of Arts in Theatre Education from Catholic University, and has studied mythology and literature both in America and at Oxford University. His work with young people helped inspire him to write young adult fantasy, although it was his love of reading that truly brought his writing to life.
Mannino is
currently working on a sequel to “School of Deaths” as well as an adult science
fiction novel.
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