Book Review: “Peter Green and the Unliving Academy: This Book is Full of Dead People” (The Unliving Chronicles #1) by Angelina Allsop

“Peter Green and the Unliving Academy: This Book is Full of Dead People” (The Unliving Chronicles, #1) by Angelina Allsop (2018)

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Fiction

Page Length: 299 (electronic review edition)

Synopsis:

Fourteen-year-old Peter Green can’t remember how he died.
All he has are his pajamas, a silk tie, and a one-way bus ticket to Mrs. Battisworth’s Academy and Haven for Unliving Boys and Girls, a strange and spooky school for dead orphans like himself. But that’s all he needs: the Unliving Academy has everything, from vampires in the hallways, to monsters in the cafeteria, to ghosts in the basement.

And that’s just the teachers; the students are far stranger.

As Pete learns to fit in with his new supernatural schoolmates, he starts to discover his own uniquely undead abilities, and even begins enjoying his life after death…but he just can’t shake the feeling that he’s forgotten something (or somebody!) important.

Somebody he left behind in the land of the living.

Somebody he loved very much.

Somebody who’s in terrible danger. (description from Goodreads)

Review:

Peter Green and the Unliving Academy takes readers on a supernatural fantasy journey. Peter wakes up in the afterlife with no recollection of memories and finds himself confused and lonely. He soon joins other orphan students at Mrs. Battisworth’s Academy where he must learn to grow up, learn how he died, and move on from his passing. It’s a concept that is very interesting and very well executed from the beginning. I felt that the novel is action-packed and entertaining to have a school full of otherworldly creatures. Peter is able to make friends fast which eases his feelings of not belonging and it helps him to adjust better.

I appreciated that Allsop added many details and aspects to make the reading experience immersive and fun. Besides the school having supernatural creatures there are sports games that involve a spider mascot, a club that Peter joins to home other special abilities, and werewolf training classes. There are always new things happening in the forefront and all over the academy to keep the reader engrossed in the plot. We even see Peter grow into a stronger person and how he evolves from being the shy quiet kid that started school at the beginning of the story.

Besides all of the fun action-packed scenes that take us through Peter’s adventures, this novel also talks about grief. Since it’s a story set in an afterlife of sorts, everyone has regrets or unfinished business which they’ve either moved on from or still feel stuck by it. The story opens up many discussions about healing from grief and how everyone processes it differently. This discussion comes up, especially when Peter starts to get revelations about his own passing. This debut novel was an exciting thrill ride and I love all of the concepts, character growth, and smooth plot progression. The novel is full of many lighthearted spooks and it had me immersed in the story from the opening pages.

Final Verdict: