The Afterlife Academy

The Afterlife Academy by Frank L. Cole is my favorite of all his books! It is so unique and funny! We first meet Walter. In the first few paragraphs of the book, he dies (SPOILER ALERT!) He is sent a sorting office where he gets to choose a career before he eventually goes to heaven. Walter knows almost immediately what he wants to do--he wants to become a guardian agent! (Agent, not angel--he hasn't gone to heaven yet).

Walter's assignment is to protect a boy about the same age named Charlie, who has discovered The Summoner's Handbook. This book contains the power to open a portal from the underworld, and all the demons want to get their hand on it! Walter has had no training, but somehow he and Charlie need to work together to outwit the demons and somehow destroy this book.

The humor in this book is top class. I giggled out loud several times while reading it. Walter and Charlie are both so different, but they are stuck together. The result is a lot of comedy. For a subject matter that could have easily turned dark and too creepy for young readers, Cole has expertly found a great balance of adventure and humor to make the book appropriate. For example, the demons are not satanic, and most of them are basically big goons with less-than-average intelligence.

The main theme of the book is actually on bullying. It talks about the effects of bullying, how to deal with bullying (and how NOT to deal with bullying). These lessons are taught both in Charlie's personal life at school, and also in his interactions with beings from the underworld.

I highly recommend this book! I wish there was more to read!