May Bird and The Ever After

[TheSpiritDragon]

May Bird and The Ever After, by Jodi Lynn Anderson, is a very unique story. May Ellen Bird lives with her mother, Mrs. Bird, and her cat, Somber Kitty, in Briery Swamp, West Virginia. There she spends her summers running about in the woods, a warrior princess. One day, on one of her adventures, she falls into a lake, and her life changes forever.

She begins seeing ghosts in her house and around the woods. One in particular seems to follow her around; a rather odd looking one, with a head the shape of a pumpkin. When May realizes that she's seen him before, she decides to go back to the lake. This time, though, she doesn't return.

She falls into the Ever After, the place souls go when their time is up. Livings aren't allowed there, and she is in danger of being turned into complete nothingness by the evil Bogey. Now she must escape the place of the dead. Fast.

I think this was a very satisfying book. The pacing was good, introductions weren't dragged out but they did give you some good views of the characters. The personalities of the characters were there, from Somber Kitty's annoyed meows to May's thoughts to herself.

I thought that, sometimes, it was a little hard to remember everything that had happened, because so much can happen at once, and the author doesn't always help out. Still, it can be easy to find whatever you've forgotten, so it's not a problem for someone who can do some searching.

I would definitely recommend this book, as the writing style is good and there is a great story within.