The title is very clever, and the main character, 16 year-old Alison, starts out very strong.

This snippet - I'm not sure what, exactly to call it, because it doesn't have a beginning, middle, and an end, so it's not exactly a story - introduces a very likeable if uneven character. Alison is a loving and capable big sister, daughter of an alcoholic mother, but then...

From the minute she gets onto the bus for her own school, Alison loses that capability, being bullied by the mean girls who stick gum in her hair. Then she ends up dead, gets collected by Death and does not seem to be more assertive or more nurtured in A Better Place.

It's a quick, fun read, some interesting ideas here, but if you are hoping for some kind of satisfying conclusion, Alison doesn't find it in these 49 pages. ( )