Once Dead, Twice Shy: A Novel (Madison Avery Book 1)

“With a Kim Harrison novel, I expect action, humour, worldbuilding, strong female characters, true friendships, and a bit of realistic romance. I found it all right here.” From Publishers Weekly A seasoned author of supernatural tales, Harrison makes her YA debut with the story of 17-year-old Madison Avery, who is killed by a "dark reaper" named Kairos on her prom night. But by stealing Kairos's amulet in the process, Madison manages to retain her soul. Along with Barnabas, a beautiful "light reaper," and Grace, her guardian angel, Madison plots to repossess her body and protect her prom date from Kairos and from the dark reapers' attempts to control time and fate. Having been content as an outsider ("I was happier being myself-purple hair, loud music, dead, and everything-than trying to fit in"), Madison must build her trust in others in order to save her life and discover her fate-whether or not she even believes in fate. Though rules and explanations seem at times a little too convenient, Harrison weaves an exciting battle, not between good and evil, but between free will and destiny. A compelling blend of mysticism, suspense and surprise make for a quick and pleasurable read. Ages 12-up. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition. Madison's prom was killer—literally. For some reason she's been targeted by a dark reaper—yeah, that kind of reaper—intent on getting rid of her, body and soul. But before the reaper could finish the job, Madison was able to snag his strange, glowing amulet and get away. Now she's stuck on Earth—dead but not gone. Somehow the amulet gives her the illusion of a body, allowing her to toe the line between life and death. She still doesn't know why the dark reaper is after her, but she's not about to just sit around and let fate take its course. With a little ingenuity, some light-bending, and the help of a light reaper (one of the good guys! Maybe . . . ), her cute crush, and oh yeah, her guardian angel, Madison's ready to take control of her own destiny once and for all, before it takes control of her. Well, if she believed in that stuff. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition. From Booklist Madison is dead. After she fled her prom with a mysterious guy and ended up in a crashed car—only to survive and then be struck down by this guy’s magical sword—she has existed in a curious state of purgatory. She still walks around, interacts with others, eats, and sleeps, only now she does so in the company of Barnabas, a light reaper—a kind of angel who fights off dark reapers trying to harvest the souls of people about to make fate-altering decisions. There are also timekeepers, dark wings, guardian angels, seraphs, and magical amulets. If you’re already clutching your head in despair, you won’t be alone: the architecture of Harrison’s world is confusing even after several explanations. However, for ardent fans of the good-looking undead, this has plenty of verve, an enjoyable role reversal (Madison is constantly rescuing the good-guy hunk), and is quite fun when the supernatural characters are placed within a regular high-school milieu. Like it or not, a sequel is rising from the underworld as we speak. Grades 8-11. --Daniel Kraus --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition. From School Library Journal Grade 7-10–With her purple-tipped hair and Goth style, Madison didn't fit in when she was alive, and she has real problems now that she is dead. She went to the prom with popular and handsome Josh, but when she found out that her dad had arranged the fix-up, she ran off with the dangerously charming Kairos. This was a bad idea. Kairos is a dark timekeeper who needed to strike down Madison because his own time was about to run out and when he tried, she stole his amulet. This event sets off a unique adventure in which Madison is stuck somewhere between life and death. Caught up in a world of dark and light reapers, seraphs, and guardian angels, she has to fight to get the correct amulet and to reunite her body and soul so that she can live out a life cut short. The characters and their specific jobs and places in the hierarchy of heaven and earth are hard to follow, perhaps because this first book in the series is the setup for those that follow. The final chapters are by far the best as readers finally get a handle on all of the intricacies of the story and become attached to some of the characters, such as Grace, a funny and charming guardian angel who often speaks in limericks. –Jake Pettit, Thompson Valley High School, Loveland, CO Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition. New York Times bestselling author Kim Harrison was born and raised in the upper Midwest but has since fled south to better avoid snow. She spends her time tending orchids, cooking with some guy in a leather jacket, and training her new dog. Her current vices include good chocolate and exquisite sushi. Kim is the author of the bestselling Hollows series, including The Outlaw Demon Wails , and she contributed to the paranormal collection Prom Nights From Hell . Nacida en el Midwest, Kim Harrison ha sido acusada de ser bruja (entre muchas otras cosas), pero jamás ha visto a un vampiro. Le fascinan los cementerios, el jazz a medianoche y se viste siempre de negro. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. Read more