Middle Grade / Audio Book / Fantasy
ABOUT THE SERIES:
The
Scythe Wielder’s Secret is a thrilling young adult fantasy/adventure series by
Christopher Mannino. The first two books in the trilogy, School
of Deaths and Sword
of Deaths, are out
now, with the third book Daughter of
Deaths expected to be released in 2017.
The Scythe
Wielder’s Secret series has received rave reviews and been compared to
bestsellers like Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, and Percy Jackson. It is
recommended for readers who enjoy magical realism, fantasy, paranormal, middle
grade, young adult, and/or books with a strong female protagonist.
ABOUT THE BOOK: School of Deaths (The Scythe Wielder’s
Secret, Book 1):
Thrust into a world of men,
can a timid girl find bravery as the first female Death?
Suzie Sarnio is a thirteen-year-old whose world is turned upside down when she discovers that she is destined to be a Death. She always believed the Grim Reaper was a fairy tale image of a skeleton with a scythe, but now, forced to enter the College of Deaths, she finds herself training to bring souls from the Living World to the Hereafter. As her year progresses, Suzie uncovers a plot to overthrow the World of Deaths. Now she must learn and embrace the reason she was chosen to be the first female Death in a million years.
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HALL WAYS REVIEW: Hooray! It always thrills me when a new, FABULOUS middle grade book comes on the scene, and School of Deaths is one of them. With a road trip on the calendar, the timing was perfect for me to have an audio book to pass the drive time. The quality narration of this
fast-paced, clean adventure kept me toting my iPad around from car to hotel and back home to keep listening. The only unfortunate part of listening to the book versus reading it were that some of the characters' unconventional names were hard to understand or remember. (Suzie, Frank, Billy, Jason -- got it. Cyndril (?), Lovthar (?), Athanasis (?) -- ehhhh . . .)
The book has a unique
premise in that those who usher the dead into the after-life are recruited from
the living, and grim reapers aren't really so grim and occupy a world full of beauty. (There is a great explanation for how reapers got their reputation in the mortal world.) Another strength is that through the main character, Suzie, readers receive great
messages of courage, perseverance, and the power of faith in self. Suzie also illustrates that it's okay to be afraid, okay to
cry, and okay to lean on friends. The story line covers a lot of heavy issues including bullying,
sexism, and discrimination -- and shows that most of it occurs due to fear. Suzie handles these situations very well for a thirteen-year-old, but what she had experienced in the mortal world was probably good preparation for it.
There are twists and turns, and as some
mysteries are resolved, others are uncovered. Readers are expected to take a lot at face value and without explanation, which could bother some but didn't bother me. The dragons don't play much of a part in this book. However, the dragon lore is revealed and enough happens that it's clear that readers can expect dragons to be major players in the upcoming installments. The ending gives readers
the resolution they want with teasers enough to come back for book two, Sword of Deaths, which was published in print and eBook in January of this year and for which the audio book comes out next month.
I would recommend this book for middle grade readers on up to early high schoolers. There is no swearing or sexual situations (the budding romance is simple, innocent, and appropriate), but sensitive readers may find the deaths and violence -- neither of which are overly graphic -- disturbing.
Thank you to Book Publicity Services and the author for providing me an audio book download in exchange for my honest review -- the only kind I give.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Christopher Mannino’s life is best described as an unending creative
outlet. He teaches high school theatre in Greenbelt, Maryland. In addition to
his daily drama classes, he runs several after-school performance and
production drama groups. He spends his summers writing and singing. Mannino
holds a Master of Arts in Theatre Education from Catholic University, and has
studied mythology and literature both in America and at Oxford University. His
work with young people helped inspire him to write young adult fantasy,
although it was his love of reading that truly brought his writing to life.
Christopher’s
debut novel School of Deaths (The
Scythe Wielder’s Secret, Book 1) was published in May 2014 by MuseItUp
Publishing. The second book in the trilogy, Sword
of Deaths (The Scythe Wielder’s Secret, Book 2), was published in August 2015. The third
book Daughter of Deaths is expected
to be released in 2016. His series has
received rave reviews and been compared to Harry Potter and The Hunger Games.
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