Almost Dead, by Kaz Delaney

What I learned today:
1. It’s never wise to run in ten-centimetre platforms, no matter how well you think you can handle them.
2. My knowledge of the great outdoors is sadly lacking. Tents, for example, have ropes and things that can trip you up. Very easily.
3. My image of psychics wearing too much cheap jewellery and draped in floaty scarves may be way off but, like, since when did psychics look like surfer gods?

Macey sees dead people. This would be disturbing enough, but when she realises the ghost-boy who’s visiting her isn’t actually dead yet, she has no idea what she’s supposed to do. If she doesn’t figure out how to help Nick she’s going to go crazy.

Soon though, she realises that Nick isn’t her only problem. Her mother has walked out and her dad has come home with a whole other family for her to adapt to. The surfer god who’s masquerading as a psychic keeps popping up in her world. Oh, and maybe, just maybe, somebody is trying to kill her.

Almost Dead is a wonderful mix of so many things: romance, humour, mystery, teenage angst, the supernatural, and more. So many elements could be overwhelming, but instead it is delightful. Macey is an engaging, quirky character who is likeable, strong and, at times, frustratingly independent. What happens t her is pretty scary but it’s also told with humour, in a satisfying mix.

Suitable for teen readers, Almost Dead can be read as a sequel to Dead, Actually, but equally well stands alone.

 

Almost Dead, by Kaz Delaney
Allen & Unwin, 2014
ISBN 9781743313268

Available from good bookstores and online.

You can see an interview with Kaz Delaney here.