“I can’t be dead…that’s ridiculous.”

But a feeling inside told him that this was not a dream.  His face sank and his stomach sickened as he came to grips with his current state.

“So, I’m a ghost?” The rationalization was disorienting.

How far would you go to be with the one you love?

Are you tired of the barrage of supernatural young adult fiction littered with vampires and werewolves?  Are you looking for something a little different that still brings with it something beyond the normal life?  Do you like excellent writing and a tremendous story?  Well if you do then Sebastian and the Afterlife by William J. Barry is the book for you.

The story revolves around Sebastian, a recently deceased teenager who finds himself at a school for spirits who aren’t quite ready to move on to the afterlife.  He makes some new friends at the school and they must work together to come to grips with their own deaths and figure out what it is that is holding them back, but just like life in the mortal realm things are never quite so simple as they seem.  Will they survive their own death in a world where the Grim Reaper reigns supreme and growing threat by spirit draining villains lurks in the darker places of the spirit realm?

William J. Barry fills the book with stories within stories, layering the life and death of the various characters together in a seemless orchestration of events that is easy to follow and connect together when the time is right, making the book an absolute pleasure to read.  But don’t worry, not everything is tied up in a neat little package by the end of the book.  Little threads are left loose, just enough to suggest a sequal, not enough to leave you irritated by it.  Personally I look forward to the day when I can return to the world of Sebastian and the Afterlife.

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