Horn Book (Mon Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2019)

Lacy wakes to find herself an inhabitant of a cemetery populated by ghosts that rise each night (arbitrary rules make the afterlife oppressive). As she struggles to help the dead express themselves in an open mic night, Lacy awakens the ghost of Edgar Allan Poe, forges new relationships, and comes to terms with her own demise. The darkly comedic novel is structured as a play, with varying degrees of success.

Kirkus Reviews

A newcomer arrives at Westminster Cemetery and shakes things up amongst the Dead. Of the 178 cemetery residents, only 10 arise regularly. One is 17-year-old Sam, who died wearing his Civil War uniform over 150 years ago. Ever the tortured artist, Sam longs to be a writer like Edgar Allan Poe—the cemetery's most famous resident. When Lacy Brink, 16, arrives—the first "recently Deceased" person since 1913—Sam is immediately smitten. But Sam's straight-laced mother, Mrs. Steele, wants to see vulgar (read: modern) Lacy Suppressed (read: confined to her grave for all eternity). As newly-assigned President of the Entertainment Committee, Lacy dares to host an open mic night among the rule-bound residents. Will she succeed, or will her antics get her Suppressed (and crush poor Sam's heart)? "Originally written for the Deceased," this play in two acts blends prose with stage directions for a hybrid structure. The resulting alchemy capitalizes on the strengths of both media to create a unique, fully-realized world. The secondary characters—some based on real people—read as caricatures against the more realistic and nuanced Lacy. But this duality also equates to good comedy. Given the stuck-in-time atmosphere, though, some residents' dialogue seems mismatched (give or take a few choice phrases) to the antiquated necropolis. All characters are assumed white.Quoth the Raven, "Encore." (Paranormal script/prose hybrid. 13-adult)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

This foray into experimental, gothic theatrical storytelling by Amato (Guitar Notes) intriguingly integrates modern sensibilities with archaic authoritarianism. Lacy Brink is a 16-year-old with a penchant for poetry. While on her way to an open mic night, she wakes up dead, having become a ghost resident of the same Baltimore cemetery that houses Edgar Allan Poe. She-s also the most interesting thing to happen to the residents of the graveyard in over a century. As she attempts to come to terms with her life-challenged state, Lacy is slowly introduced not only to those with whom she-s sharing her afterlife, but also to the 10 rules of etiquette for the cemetery-s residents-a code of conduct governing everything from behavior to appearance and occupation (-No screaming, no yelling, no wailing-). Failure to follow the list can get one removed from the community. To prove her worth, Lacy attempts to set up an open mic night-much to the dismay of the leader of the spirits, Mrs. Steele. While the intricate worldbuilding and characterization are richly imagined, the novel-s playbook format distracts with frequent tense shifts and asides; clunky execution further muddies the underlying messages about rectifying past transgressions. Ages 13-18. Agent: Nancy Gallt, Gallt & Zacker Literary. (Sept.)