Bone Hollow

Gr 3–6—While trying to save a chicken on the roof, orphan Gabe falls, is impaled on a weather vane, and dies. However, he's not entirely dead, and finds himself still wandering around town, joined by his loyal dog Ollie, until he is ostracized by his neighbors and forced to flee. While on the run, Gabe and Ollie meet a mysterious girl named Wynne who invites them into her home, only for Gabe to discover that she is a grim reaper of sorts, helping the dead pass on from the living world into the afterlife. She hopes to train Gabe to follow in her footsteps. Although not a direct sequel to Ventrella's debut middle grade novel Skeleton Tree, many of the same themes, particularly those revolving around death and grief, are reprised in her sophomore effort. Gabe, although a little bland, is likable, and his attitude regarding death evolves over the course of the story from bitterness about the death of his parents and, even more so, the death of his grandfather, to an acceptance that death is a natural part of life. While the pace is a little sluggish and the topic will likely not appeal to every child, this offbeat novel may bring comfort to young readers trying to better understand death and loss.