This book is a refreshing YA social horror featuring a great main character (who -- young, Black, and gay in the American south -- happens to be very representative of the author) and a lot of thrills and chills that go nicely with its overall messaging. I loved how the human characters interacted, and that the emphasis was not too much on romance.
The story was a tad heavy-handed at times; the author perhaps contrived elements that were a little too big for him to successfully combine at this stage of his development as a writer (for example, the internal rules and logic of Dead World and astral projection were confusing, and the stuff about the ancestor spirits needed more context so as not to seem like it came from a whole different book). But this is a great ride and shows tons of potential. I will definitely look out for more from this author -- especially if he continues to write characters like himself. This type of representation is sorely needed in YA horror and fantasy.
The story was a tad heavy-handed at times; the author perhaps contrived elements that were a little too big for him to successfully combine at this stage of his development as a writer (for example, the internal rules and logic of Dead World and astral projection were confusing, and the stuff about the ancestor spirits needed more context so as not to seem like it came from a whole different book). But this is a great ride and shows tons of potential. I will definitely look out for more from this author -- especially if he continues to write characters like himself. This type of representation is sorely needed in YA horror and fantasy.