Fans of Adam Gidwitz and Neil Gaiman will love this middle-grade adventure about two boys, a mysterious, old book with some dark secrets, and a horde of angry demons. Nothing could go wrong, right? When Walter Prairie is struck dead by a bolt of lightning, he’s fast-tracked through the Afterlife Academy and assigned as a Guardian Agent to protect a High-Level Target. Walter’s HLT, Charlie Dewdle, isn’t the most popular kid in school. He’s a bit paranormally obsessed. And he has just found an old book that could be used to open the Gateway for demons to wreak havoc on earth. Now, it’s up to Charlie and Walter to fight an eclectic horde of enemies and protect humankind at all costs. But saving the world isn’t so easy. Especially when your protector doesn’t know the first thing about the underworld, bullies like Mo Horvath are trying to hunt you down, pretty and popular Melissa Bittner is suddenly talking to you, and your parents think you’re going crazy. A Whitney Award Nominee “An appealing ghost story without being creepy, this title would be a great read for any reader looking for a mix of adventure and humor.”—School Library Journal “A fun, suspenseful read. . . . Cole's fast-paced fantasy can be enjoyed by the entire family.”—Deseret News "The adventure of a lifetime--or after-lifetime."--OBERT SKYE, author of the Leven Thumps series "A fast-paced and fun adventure that puts a new twist on the afterlife!"--PLATTE F. CLARK, author of Bad Unicorn “Tons of fun and adventure with every turn of the page. . . . This is the perfect middle-grade book, and I loved it!”—LDSWBR

Fans of Adam Gidwitz and Neil Gaiman will love this middle-grade adventure about two boys, a mysterious, old book with some dark secrets, and a horde of angry demons. Nothing could go wrong, right? When Walter Prairie is struck dead by a bolt of lightning, he’s fast-tracked through the Afterlife Academy and assigned as a Guardian Agent to protect a High-Level Target. Walter’s HLT, Charlie Dewdle, isn’t the most popular kid in school. He’s a bit paranormally obsessed. And he has just found an old book that could be used to open the Gateway for demons to wreak havoc on earth. Now, it’s up to Charlie and Walter to fight an eclectic horde of enemies and protect humankind at all costs. But saving the world isn’t so easy. Especially when your protector doesn’t know the first thing about the underworld, bullies like Mo Horvath are trying to hunt you down, pretty and popular Melissa Bittner is suddenly talking to you, and your parents think you’re going crazy. A Whitney Award Nominee “An appealing ghost story without being creepy, this title would be a great read for any reader looking for a mix of adventure and humor.”—School Library Journal “A fun, suspenseful read. . . . Cole's fast-paced fantasy can be enjoyed by the entire family.”—Deseret News "The adventure of a lifetime--or after-lifetime."--OBERT SKYE, author of the Leven Thumps series "A fast-paced and fun adventure that puts a new twist on the afterlife!"--PLATTE F. CLARK, author of Bad Unicorn “Tons of fun and adventure with every turn of the page. . . . This is the perfect middle-grade book, and I loved it!”—LDSWBR

From the realms of the Afterlife Saga comes a new spin on this gothic world...When a bunch of misfit orphans all find themselves on a bus heading towards a new life, one called Afterlife, it wasn't quite what they had in mind. But even fate can play games and five teens will soon find themselves asking even more questions than ever before. Questions about an uncertain future in this new world and the very first one on the top of that long list...What does the King of Heaven and Hell have in store for them? This is a continuation of the Afterlife Saga, suitable for young adults but a must read for all Afterlife fans!

When I wake up at Locklear Academy, I have no memory of how I got here... or any memories at all. Oh, yeah, and did I mention that I'm dead? If I ever want to pass on, I'm going to have to recover my past. Easier said than done. But Locklear, aka Ghost Academy, specializes in helping spirits take care of their unfinished business. There are just a few problems. First, the X-ers, an extremist group whose main goal is to forcibly send ghosts like me into the great whatever beyond, painfully and without that sense of peace we crave. Then there's the polter-ghost who has been following me around since I got here. But my biggest distraction comes in the form of Rafe: a fox shifter with the most adorable dimples, carrying around way more guilt than any ghost deserves. Maybe I shouldn't have a crush in the afterlife, but I'm dead, not blind. As my memories start to resurface, so do the threats from the X-ers. The clock is ticking and every moment I'm here becomes more dangerous. Not just because of the X-ers, but because the more time I spend with Rafe, the less I want to move on.Ghost Academy is a YA paranormal academy / urban fantasy that will contribute to your reading related insomnia. This is book one of the Ghost Academy Duology and a spin off of Blakemore Academy.

Suppose you knew that, though you yourself would live your life to its natural end, the earth and all its inhabitants would be destroyed thirty days after your death. To what extent would you remain committed to your current projects and plans? Would scientists still search for a cure for cancer? Would couples still want children? In Death and the Afterlife, philosopher Samuel Scheffler poses this thought experiment in order to show that the continued life of the human race after our deaths--the "afterlife" of the title--matters to us to an astonishing and previously neglected degree. Indeed, Scheffler shows that, in certain important respects, the future existence of people who are as yet unborn matters more to us than our own continued existence and the continued existence of those we love. Without the expectation that humanity has a future, many of the things that now matter to us would cease to do so. By contrast, the prospect of our own deaths does little to undermine our confidence in the value of our activities. Despite the terror we may feel when contemplating our deaths, the prospect of humanity's imminent extinction would pose a far greater threat to our ability to lead lives of wholehearted engagement. Scheffler further demonstrates that, although we are not unreasonable to fear death, personal immortality, like the imminent extinction of humanity, would also undermine our confidence in the values we hold dear. His arresting conclusion is that, in order for us to lead value-laden lives, what is necessary is that we ourselves should die and that others should live. Death and the Afterlife concludes with commentary by four distinguished philosophers--Harry Frankfurt, Niko Kolodny, Seana Shiffrin, and Susan Wolf--who discuss Scheffler's ideas with insight and imagination. Scheffler adds a final reply.

“Prose’s book is a stunning achievement. . . . Now Anne Frank stands before us. . . a figure who will live not only in history but also in the literature she aspired to create.” — Minneapolis Star Tribune In June, 1942, Anne Frank received a diary for her thirteenth birthday, just weeks before she and her family went into hiding from the Nazis in an Amsterdam attic. For two years, she described life in hiding in vivid, unforgettable detail and grappled with the unfolding events of World War II. Before the attic was raided in August, 1944, Anne Frank furiously revised and edited her work, crafting a piece of literature that she hoped would be read by the public after the war. And read it has been. In Anne Frank, bestselling author Francine Prose deftly parses the artistry, ambition, and enduring influence of Anne Frank’s beloved classic, The Diary of a Young Girl. She investigates the diary’s unique afterlife: the obstacles and criticism Otto Frank faced in publishing his daughter’s words; the controversy surrounding the diary’s Broadway and film adaptations, and the social mores of the 1950s that reduced it to a tale of adolescent angst and love; the conspiracy theories that have cried fraud, and the scientific analysis that proved them wrong. Finally, having assigned the book to her own students, Prose considers the rewards and challenges of teaching one of the world’s most read, and banned, books. How has the life and death of one girl become emblematic of the lives and deaths of so many, and why do her words continue to inspire? Approved by both the Anne Frank House Foundation in Amsterdam and the Anne Frank-Fonds in Basel, run by the Frank family, Anne Frank unravels the fascinating story of a memoir that has become one of the most compelling, intimate, and important documents of modern history.

I didn’t even want to go to the party. I just wanted to stay home with my librarian-witch grandmother and her mystical book club. But my best friend Skyler begged me. So I went. Not only was it the worst party of my life, it was the last party of my life. I should have known there was something really strange about the band—especially when the lead singer bit me before taking off with my best friend. Now I'm chasing down a band of dangerous vamps with my best guy friend, Vaughn. Who also happens to be the boy I’ve been secretly crushing on forever. And out on the road, anything can happen. All I ever wanted was for things to change with Vaughn. For him to finally see the real me. But this isn’t exactly what I had in mind. So be it. Let the afterlife begin. The Afterlife series is best enjoyed in order. Reading Order: Book #1 The Afterlife of the Party Book #2 I'm with the Banned Book #3 A Sucker for You