Embassy of the Dead

by Will Mabbitt, Taryn Knight (Illustrator)

Overview

Jake Green is dead. Or he might as well be when he mistakenly accepts a package from the Embassy of the Dead in this hilarious adventure of the afterlife, the first in a series.

When Jake Green opens a mysterious box containing a severed finger, he accidentally summons a grim reaper intent on dragging him to the Eternal Void (yes, it’s as fatal as it sounds). Now Jake is running for his life. Luckily, he has a knack for talking to ghosts, which just might help him survive long enough to reach the Embassy of the Dead and plead his case. With the help of a prankster poltergeist and a dead undertaker, Jake dodges fearsome undead creatures, discovers his own ghostly abilities, and gets excused from the school field trip due to a terrible (and made-up) bout of diarrhea. But the Embassy has its own problems, and Jake must be very careful where he places his trust—in both the living and the dead. With a plot that zips and a colorful cast of characters, this delightful new series delivers laughs and shivers in equal measure.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536210477
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	09/08/2020
Series:	Embassy of the Dead
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	775,404
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Will Mabbitt writes. He writes in libraries, in cafes, on the toilet, and sometimes, when his laptop runs out of power, he writes in his head. Before he got paid to do this, he worked in London and spent a lot of time stuck on the train—which is where he wrote his first book,The Unlikely Adventures of Mabel Jones. Will Mabbitt lives with his family somewhere on the south coast of England.

Editorial Reviews

This series opener is delightfully spooky, complemented by scratchy black-and-white illustrations...A creepy romp.
—Kirkus Reviews

The story is earnest, spooky, and cheerfully bleak. Those with a taste for dark tales will certainly enjoy following Jake on his gothic adventure.
—The Horn Book

Knight’s interspersed illustrations provide flavor and occasional spooks (her illustration of the terrifying bonewulf is particularly chilling), but her red-nosed, round-cheeked characters add whimsy and a fairy-tale flair that keep this macabre tale from creeping into too-scary territory. Perfect for fans of The Graveyard Book (BCCB 10/08) looking for slightly sillier fare, this is sure to be a Halloween hit, with ghouls and boys eagerly awaiting the rest of the promised series.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

While clearly replete with ghouls and ghasts of all stripes, this British import is creepy but never too scary, and packed with laughs. Occasional excerpts from ghostly guide The Book of the Dead catalog different types of spirits, and enticingly expand the world of this series-starter for curious readers. ­­Recommend for readers looking for a quick-paced, just-spooky-enough romp.
—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

09/01/2020

Gr 4–7—When the world of the dead is coming for you, what do you do? Twelve-year-old Jake thought he had a lot on his shoulders dealing with his parents' divorce. But one afternoon, Jake is mistaken for the wrong living human by ghostly undertaker Stiffkey, who hands him a mysterious box and vanishes. Naturally curious Jake opens the box, which holds the severed finger of a dangerous Reaper, and brings down a terrible fate upon both himself and Stiffkey—banishment to the Eternal Void. Jake, Stiffkey, an assortment of unlikely ghosts, and their human allies set off on an adventure to secure the finger, save themselves, and stave off the power-thirsty Reaper seeking to be reunited with his finger to enable world (and afterworld) domination. While clearly replete with ghouls and ghasts of all stripes, this British import is creepy but never too scary, and packed with laughs. Occasional excerpts from ghostly guide The Book of the Dead catalog different types of spirits, and enticingly expand the world of this series-starter for curious readers. VERDICT Recommend for readers looking for a quick-paced, just-spooky-enough romp.—Darla Salva Cruz, Suffolk Cooperative Lib. Syst., Bellport, NY

School Library Journal

2020-05-17
A case of mistaken identity leads to the summoning of a grim reaper.

When Jake Green is given a mysterious package by a tall, distinctly odd stranger, it’s only a matter of time before he opens it and discovers the grisly contents: a severed finger. And this isn’t just any severed finger—this is the severed finger of a dark being intent on rebuilding himself and reclaiming the world for the forces of darkness. Suddenly, Jake finds himself up to his elbows in ghosts and ghouls. It’s a good thing he is one of the few who have the special ability to commune with the dead. With the help of Cora, a somewhat recently deceased spirit, and the long-dead undertaker Stiffkey, Jake does his best to outrun evil’s clutches and set things right. This series opener is delightfully spooky, complemented by scratchy black-and-white illustrations. Squeamish readers may not be up for this one: Each chapter heading boasts an image of a dead hand missing its pointer finger, for one thing. But for readers itching for some adventure and some scares, this will certainly do the trick. They won’t be troubled by the slightly uneven pace and the serviceable but hardly revelatory subplot about Jake’s parents’ divorce. Jake, Cora, and Stiffkey are all rendered white—or livid, as the case may be.

A creepy romp. (Horror. 9-12)

Kirkus Reviews

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