It’s A Wonderful Death Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway!

Posted October 6, 2015 by Melissa in Uncategorized / 3 Comments

Happy book birthday to It’s A Wonderful Death by Sarah J. Schmitt and welcome to my stop in its blog tour  hosted by YA Bound Book Tours!  Below you can check out my FIVE star review (I seriously loved it!) and enter one wonderful tour-wide giveaway. Thanks so much for stopping by and enjoy!
*****

Title: It’s A Wonderful Death

Author: Sarah J. Schmitt
Genre: YA Paranormal
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Published: October 6th, 2015
Page Count: 320 Pages
Format: eARC
Source: From tour host/Edelweiss in exchange of my honest opinion

Book Summary:
Seventeen-year-old RJ always gets what she wants. So when her soul is accidentally collected by a distracted Grim Reaper, somebody in the afterlife better figure out a way to send her back from the dead or heads will roll. But in her quest for mortality, she becomes a pawn in a power struggle between an overzealous archangel and Death Himself. The tribunal presents her with two options: she can remain in the lobby, where souls wait to be processed, until her original lifeline expires, or she can replay three moments in her life in an effort to make choices that will result in a future deemed worthy of being saved. It sounds like a no-brainer. She’ll take a walk down memory lane. How hard can changing her future be?

But with each changing moment, RJ’s life begins to unravel, until this self-proclaimed queen bee is a social pariah. She begins to wonder if walking among the living is worth it if she has to spend the next sixty years as an outcast. Too quickly, RJ finds herself back in limbo, her time on Earth once again up for debate.

RJ is a snarky, unapologetic, almost unredeemable, very real girl. Her story is funny and moving, and teens will easily connect with her plight. Prepare to meet the Grim Reaper, who’s cuter than you’d expect; Hawaiian shirt–wearing Death Himself; Saint Peter (who likes to play Cornhole); and Al, the handler for the three-headed hound that guards the gates of Hell. This cast of characters accompanies RJ through her time in the afterlife and will do their best to gently shove her in the right direction.

 *The Reader’s Review*

     My rating: 5/5 stars

Peeps, I don’t know if I should cry or laugh or shake my fist at the sky. This book, gosh, this book was so awesome. It’s the kind of book that YOU KNOW right from the start that you’ll enjoy and will probably remember for the rest of your life. It’s sooooo beautiful. And funny and a million other great things.
Why I loved It’s A Wonderful Death:
1. RJ. This girl is awesome. A handful to be honest, and at times so darn frustrating, but she’s cool nonetheless. Since RJ was reaped by accident, she never shut ups about it and achieves what no one else in the afterlife had ever achieved– an audience to gain back her mortality. RJ made me laugh constantly and I liked her attitude. I did at times yell at her halfheartedly to stop talking, but I was 100% cheering her on to gain back her right to live. Is she a mean girl? Yes, a bit, but a redeemable one. She does have a good heart.
2. The Afterlife. I guess we’ll never know until we get to experience it for ourselves, but the afterlife in It’s A Wonderful Death is such a swift process and it doesn’t sound THAT bad. You die, you board a train, arrive at a lobby-type place, grab your life disc, watch your most memorable moments, and then go to judgement to either be placed in Heaven or Hell (which is like a rehab kind of place). After that, I think you can even get a job because you have to be useful somehow. This Afterlife is so queer, and the people that run it are even more queer! Definitely not how you imagined them to be. Like Death Himself! So amusing.
3. The Life-Changing Journey. Like I said at first, this book stays with you because RJ’s journey makes you stop and think about how your choices not only affect your life, but others as well. RJ gets the opportunity to revisit A Christmas Carol style some key points during her lifetime where she made choices that ruined the outcome for others and further pushed herself to the bad side, and with the help of the other characters wanting her to have a second chance in life, she reflects and stands up to the obstacles she feared to face in the past.
4. A story that doesn’t need romance to be GREAT. Okay, a must admit I was a bit bummed about it at first because I do love romance in my books, but now reflecting upon it,  It’s A Wonderful Death did pretty great without it. I’m talking about romance with the main character here, because there is a teensy teensy bit with secondary characters. But I really don’t want to go in there because I feel like crying.
Tells you a secret? I was originally going to give this book four stars, but nope, I can’t bring myself to do it, it’s not enough. Romance? Who needs romance when you have so many feels running around because of the sheer beauty of friendship and second chances? And UGH, feels for how life and fate are the way they are! FIVE STARS, YOU GUYS, FIVE HAPPY, YET TEAR-STAINED STARS. ♥
*****

About the Author

Sarah J. Schmitt is a K-8 school librarian and Youth Service Professional for Teens at a public library who, in addition to planning a variety of events, enjoys opening up the world of books to 
reluctant readers. She runs a teen writing program that combines Skype visits from well-known authors and screenwriters and critique group style feedback. Prior to immersing herself in the world of the written word, Sarah earned her Masters of Science in Higher Education Administration and Student Affairs from Indiana University where she worked with first year college students as they acclimated to college life. Sarah lives outside of Indianapolis with her husband, two kidlets and a cat who might actually be a secret agent. She is an active member of SCBWI, ALA and the Indiana Library Federation and is a regular participant at the Midwest Writer’s Workshop. Her debut novel, IT’S A WONDERFUL DEATH, comes out Fall 2015 from Sky Pony Press.

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