Where did I get it? I saw a recommendation for it on Twitter a couple of weeks ago and ordered it immediately from Wordery. I really recommend Wordery for books, by the way. Their prices are often very similar to Amazon and it means you can avoid Amazon.
What's it about? Mila is a junior in school and her best friend Riley has just died. Everyone is convinced it is suicide. A week earlier, two popular girls called June and Dayton took their own lives in the park, and then Riley did too. But Mila doesn't believe Riley would do that and is convinced she's been murdered instead.
She and Riley are witches, so Mila turns her attention to magic to try to help. At the abandoned house they used for witchy stuff, a red grimoire turns up. It has a spell in the back to raise the "wrongly dead", so Mila gathers up all the supplies - much to the disgust of local witch Toby - and does magic on Riley's grave at midnight just after her death.
Somehow, she manages to raise not only Riley but June and Dayton too. None of them can remember their deaths or what happened to them, and none of them are too pleased to be raised from the dead as they need to stay under the radar and can't go to see their families or friends.
Mila has to keep up a pretence of normality, but that's not easy when the school newspaper editor Aniyah gets suspicious, and Mila also has to deal with Riley's brother Xander, who she's had a crush on since forever. She's got just seven days to try to work out what happened to the girls before they have to return to their graves.
I was recommended this book because it has a fat protagonist and it didn't disappoint. Mila is fat and although it's not really a plot point, it is mentioned in really positive ways and I liked it.
This is a really funny book despite the sometimes dark subject matter.
What age range is it for? 14+
Are any main characters LGBTQ+? No, that's about the only thing I would have liked to see that wasn't present
Are any main characters people of colour? Yes, Mila is Mexican and Aniyah, although not really a main character, is black - they're in the minority in their town so I liked how this was mentioned.
Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? Not really. There's mention of suicide though. It is somewhat graphic.
Is there any sex stuff? A tiny bit - I liked how Mila felt about sex/making out, a lot
Are drugs mentioned or used? Not unless we're counting stuff in the magic
Is there any talk of death? Obviously. Some of it is a bit graphic but it's all in context, if that makes sense?
Are there swear words? Yes. I loved this aspect! It was very believable and real.
What criticisms do I have? I think the only thing is that I would have liked to see more of Mila's family. We got a few scenes with her sisters, which were lovely scenes, but I'd have liked to see her parents a bit too. I get that it's the kind of media where the parents are missing completely so that the teens can get on with the plot, but even so.
Would I recommend the book? Yes absolutely. It's so funny and really good.
Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? Just because I was excited to get to it!
What other books is it like? I don't know about books, but other reviews have compared it to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I never watched that, but it reminded me a lot of Teen Wolf, which I loved. Just teens getting involved in things bigger than them and trying to deal with it!
How many stars? Five out of five.
Where is the book going now? I'm keeping it for sure.
