The Life and Death Parade
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
One year ago, Kitty's boyfriend Nikki Bramley visited a psychic who told him he had no future. Now, he's dead.
With the Bramley family grieving in separate corners of their home, Kitty sets out to find the psychic who read Nikki his fate. Instead she finds Roan, an enigmatic boy posing as a medium who belongs to the Life and Death Parade -- a group of supposed charlatans that explore, and exploit, the thin veil between this world and the next. A group whose members include the psychic . . . and Kitty's late mother.
Desperate to learn more about the group and their connection to Nikki, Kitty convinces Roan to return to the Bramley house with her and secures a position for him within the household. Roan quickly ingratiates himself with the Bramleys, and soon enough it seems like everyone is ready to move on. Kitty, however, increasingly suspects Roan knows more about Nikki than he's letting on. And when they finally locate the Life and Death Parade, and the psychic who made that fateful prophecy to Nikki, Kitty uncovers a secret about Roan that changes everything.
From rising star Eliza Wass comes a sophisticated, mesmerizing meditation on the depths of grief and the magic of faith. After all, it only works if you believe it.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Katherine "Kitty" Damice is a 16-year-old orphan who lives in an English castle with her deceased mother's former employers, Lord and Lady Bramley. The previous summer, a psychic told the Bramley's youngest son, Nikki, that he had no future. Now Nikki is dead, and his family is falling apart. Kitty goes in search of the fatalistic fortune teller, hoping for answers. Instead, she finds Roan, a teenage medium. Roan, who belongs to a religious traveling carnival called the Life and Death Parade, offers to help Kitty and bring the Bramleys closure by contacting Nikki. His s ance proves cathartic, and the grateful family invites him to move in. But as Roan teaches Kitty about "the LDP," she can't stop questioning his motives. An intriguing premise, clever twists, and evocative writing buoy Wass's debut novel. Flashbacks chronicle the events preceding Nikki's demise, heightening suspense, and although shallow plotting and underdeveloped characters dampen the story's impact, Wass delivers some keen observations regarding love, faith, and grief. Ages 14 18.
