Me & Death - An Afterlife Adventure was written by the award winning author, Richard Scrimger. The story is about a "piece of crap" kid named Jim, whom after a series of nasty choices which include stealing a fruit, kicking a cat, and taunting another kid, is hit by a car. Luckily, for himself, he is not killed but he goes on a Scrooge-like adventure with some nasty spirits to help put his life in perspective. The overall plot in the story is the question, will Jim change his ways or will he come back and continue to be the rotten little brat he was before?

Personally, I found the writing style to be a bit weak and forced; it didn't seem to run smoothly or have any flow. Even though the author used a lot of descriptive writing throughout the book, for example, street names and naming places in the afterlife, I still found that I couldn't really get into the story. Some of Jim's expressions like his, "what the yuck" I thought were silly and unrealistic. For the "piece of crap" he was, he used yuck as a replacement for the F-word? It didn't make any sense.

I put the book down at some point and didn't get around to finishing it for a few weeks later which was an indication that I found it to be lacking in depth and I couldn't become engaged. The characters including Jim, his mother, sister, ghosts, and friends were defined, but just enough. I felt they could have been more thoroughly developed despite the fact that I found myself reacting to Jim's horrible choices and feeling disgusted with his mother's drunken behavior at times. The strong similarity to Dickens's classic A Christmas Carol also proved to be unfavorable to me because I knew exactly what to expect and how the story was going to play out for the most part. Overall, I could tell that this was a strong writer, considering his use of dialogue and language, but the impression I got was that this book was not up to par with his potential. ( )

Jim is a troubled teen trying to fight his way through a hard and painful life. A horrible home environment has led Jim down a path of juvenile delinquency and victimizing. He lies, he steals and he bullies everyone in his neighborhood. When a tragic accident leaves Jim in a coma, he gets the chance to see how his actions and his very existence affect those around him. Is it too late for Jim to make things right?

Though sometimes the action and the characters fall a little flat, Me & Death would be good to hand to reluctant teen readers who want a quick read with action and some supernatural elements. ( )

Have you wondered what life would be like after you died? Fourteen year old, Jim's life is crap now. He runs around with the wrong crowd. He helps his friend, Ral, to jack cars. He bullies other kids in his neighborhood. He gets his daily allowance of fresh fruit from the local grocery by using the five finger discount. Jim's mom is a drunk and seldom home. His sister, Cassie, who seems to talk to ghosts, is always dissing him; putting him down. When Jim gets hit by a car while chasing one of hi ...more Have you wondered what life would be like after you died? Fourteen year old, Jim's life is crap now. He runs around with the wrong crowd. He helps his friend, Ral, to jack cars. He bullies other kids in his neighborhood. He gets his daily allowance of fresh fruit from the local grocery by using the five finger discount. Jim's mom is a drunk and seldom home. His sister, Cassie, who seems to talk to ghosts, is always dissing him; putting him down. When Jim gets hit by a car while chasing one of his victims, his life really turns to crap.
Luckily,Jim gets another chance to get it right. Three types of ghosts show him how the people in his neighborhood felt about him and how he effected their lives. He is shown what the afterlife would be like for someone like him. A gray, lonely, miserable afterlife, full of Mourners, Grave Walkers, and Slayers. After getting the dickens scared out of him, Jim realizes he wants a chance to change his life. Jim comes back as a changed boy, trying to right the wrongs of his past. He finds it's not as easy as he thought it would be to right a lifetime of wrongs. ( )

Here's how I feel, this book has a great premise but a consistently weak delivery. The main character is a 14 year old delinquent named Jim. He's a bad boy written in a way designed to make you dislike him and it works. He has a near fatal accident and during his time in a coma visits a hotel where he meets dead people from his hood. In a very short time, Jim realizes all the bad choices he made and tries for absolution of these sins. Miraculously he wakes up a better person. This book had potential but fell flat, just couldn't get into it. ( )

14 year old Jim is NOT a nice person. He's a bully and a thief, and right away you don't like him, which is the point. Jim gets hit by a car which results in a coma. During that time, he travels to a heavenly hotel where he meets characters who are dead, but once lived in his neighborhood. In an ending that comes about much too quickly, Jim recognizes the bad choices he made and seeks forgiveness for those actions. When he wakes up he is a better person. Although I usually like this author, this particular book did not resonate nearly as strongly as some of his previous work. I just couldn't get into it and didn't really enjoy it.