Wear White to Your Funeral

Arriving October 28, 2016!

Pre-release Review

 

Lisa Acerbo’s latest young adult novel, Wear White to your Funeral is a perfect combination of mystery, romance and page-turning excitement.  From the first chapter, Acerbo sets the team at a local high school and allows us into the heart and mind of her protagonist, Rory Martin.  Rory is a relatable teen character with whom the reader connects immediately.  Acerbo’s dialogue is top notch, and it is through this venue that the reader is drawn into Rory’s world, including her new found relationship with Bowen, a boy with “spiky hair and piercing blue eyes” tattooed with the quote “Do not go gentle into that good night.”

As the relationship between Rory and Bowen progresses, Acerbo creates romantic tension between the characters that is palpable.  She allows us to remember and recognize the tingling sensations of first love and first lust.

In addition to character development, Acerbo weaves in historical content from  Fairfield County, Connecticut, telling the story of the infamous “white lady” who resides in the Easton cemetery.  With her research on the history of this woman, Acerbo adds to the mystery and thrill of the story, as our two main characters hunt for the ghost and discover a deadly story along the way.  At one point, Rory receives a threatening call from a local killer who tells her, “you’ll be dead son.  Don’t forget to wear white to your funeral like the last victim did…”

And so the reader is drawn into this fast paced thrilling tale of young love facing up to their darkest fears of ghosts and killers.

A must read for young adults – an accessible, well-written and page-turning story!

Emma Balter, Madison Middle School Instructional Chair