The publisher’s summary compares this title by Casey Lyall (Gnome is Where Your Heart Is) to Ellen Oh’s Spirit Hunters but Waking the Dead is not in the least be scary and Spirit Hunters was. Un Oh’s main character Harper, who hunts down evil spirits to exorcise them, Lyall’s Kimmy has the ability to wake the dead for a few minutes to discover what task has been left undone, make note of it and then attempt to finish it, thus performing a kindness that leaves the recently departed comforted. But Kimmy’s power has taken a turn towards the more powerful and she awakens Devon, a boy around her own age, and two senior citizens and they stay alive. Turns out, there is a witch messing with the sparks of the living in order to increase her own power and life span and it may be up to Kimmy, her family, the undead trio and new magical friend Tamsin to defeat the witch and return life to its usual routine. So much to enjoy in this one-Kimmy’s supportive family which includes mom, step dad and grandmother, her desire to help each and every dearly departed that comes into her family’s funeral home, and certainly the mystery of what’s happening to Kimmy’s power and the life sparks and how everything will ultimately be resolved. Perfect for those in grades 4-7 who enjoy magic but do not want the usual tropes with schools, dragons, and spell-learning. Text is free of profanity, sexual content and while the witch does kill her victims, there is no gore or graphic depictions of the deaths.

Thanks for the eARC, NetGalley.1 Emma Romme1 review

Quick Thoughts and Rating: 5 stars! This is an excellent story about a young girl discovering her power to wake the dead and inadvertently capturing the attention of a serious villain. Honestly, I gobbled up this book in one day! I loved the swift pace of the rising action and the excitement I felt approaching the climax of the story. I refused to stop reading because I can’t resist a suspenseful story about a character with a magical ability or special power. Best of all, this story highlights that the greatest magic and power comes from the love and support of family and friends. I am an elementary school teacher in Canada and I would certainly read this book with my class. I have mostly taught in grades 4-8 and I am confident that any of my students in that range would be as captivated with the story as I was. I would recommend this book to anyone in middle grades and up.

Review: Kimmy is a 12 year old girl learning how to use her magical power to wake the dead. Her paternal side of the family uses their power to briefly wake the dead as a way to discover if the deceased has one final wish before moving on. Kimmy is being trained by her Grandmother because she is Kimmy’s only remaining magical relative. Kimmy’s Father passed away as a result of exploring his untapped powers. Kimmy’s entire family is worried that she will follow in her Father’s footsteps. However, the sudden passing of Kimmy’s Grandmother leaves Kimmy without proper training and curiosity about the extent of her power. With Kimmy’s curiosity and lack of training she quickly runs into trouble while attempting to wake a young boy close to her age. The magical mishaps and that follow are wholly absorbing. Kimmy is tugged into a whirlwind adventure to defeat a villain and she needs to rely on her magical and non-magical family and friends to make things right. This is a very heartwarming story with plenty of light/feel-good and even comedic moments spread throughout. Readers will find that the themes of family and friendship really come through while reading this book.1 Ms. Yingling2,482 496

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Kimmy is learning from her Grandma Bev how to bring people back from the dead, albeit briefly, so they can fulfill their last wishes. This is a service above and beyond what most funeral homes offer, and Kimmy is doing fairly well. She knows to have low lights and a soft voice, and to do what she can to assure the recently departed that all will be well, even if it means adopting Mrs. Waters' cat. Her mother knows about this, and Kimmy's father was killed by his own powers, so she is worried. When Granny Bev passes away suddenly, Kimmy is devasted at the loss of her beloved grandmother, and also at the loss of training which she still needs. She has her father's journals and some other family books to consult, but it's not the same. When a boy her age, Devon, dies in a local park unders suspicious circumstances, Kimmy gets involved with trying to solve his murder when she brings him back. Something goes wrong, however, and he stays alive. Not only that, but his family has no idea who he is. This is a huge problem, and Kimmy doesn't have the information she needs to solve it. When Mr. Kingsley and Mrs. Manning pass away at nursing homes, she brings them back as well... and they also stay alive! Tamsin, who works at the funeral parlor, has some insight into why this is happening, which has to do with families putting caps on magic, and Kimmy blowing right through those with her powers. Not only that, but there is an evil witch trying to take the three recently departed people! Kimmy at least knows she is over her head and seeks the help of her mother and stepdad Alex. Will Kimmy be able to break the connection with the people she has raised from the dead before it works to her detriment? And will she find out why she hasn't seen a spark from her grandmother?
Strengths: I loved the beginning, when Kimmy was learning from her grandmother, and I really wished we had been able to spend more time with the two of them. For purposes of the plot, however, it was important to move on. Tamsin worried me at first, but ended up being a good ally. Even Devon, Mr. Kingsley and Mrs. Manning were surprisingly okay with having died and been resurrected, and prove helpful in many ways. There is a good back story for the family powers, and a satisfying mystery with them. This moved along quickly.
Weaknesses: The publisher's blurn describes Kimmy as a witch, but her powers didn't seem very witch . I'm not sure what labeled I would have used, but since she was battling an evil witch, I would have picked something different.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed Ursu's Almost There and Almost Yi, Susie. A Sky of Paper Stars, or Jones' Six Feel Below Zero (but with a bit more paranormal twists).1 Brendan Ward33

I was really drawn in by this book’s premise but I ultimately found the execution to be lacking.

First, I do want to highlight what I appreciated about Waking the Dead. The concept of death and loss is not often explored in children’s books so I appreciate the book’s willingness to touch on those topics. I also found Kimmy to be a flawed, but very strong lead character and I enjoyed her growth as she learned to better channel her powers.

Now for some spoilers. I loved that Kimmy had to process the death of her grandmother, twice, but Grandma Bev’s sacrament to save the other three sparks felt it undercut the theme of coping with loss. It wrapped everything up in too neat a bow for me. The story was written in a way that the characters Kimmy revived would have to die at the end just for the author to find a convenient way to avoid that.

I also found the villain reveal to be abrupt and anticlimactic. The witch was a character we only briefly saw in the narrative up to that point so her reveal was rather weak. On that same note, the finale felt incredibly quick to me with the witch being dealt with in the matter of a chapter. For a character that was built up over the course of the story, I would have enjoyed more time with her.

Overall, Waking the Dead was an enjoyable juvenile fiction book that covers important topics death and coping with loss, but it fails to realize the full potential of its premise. This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.Show full review TacoFan476 3

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