Dead Letter Office (Parish Mail Series #1)- Kira Snyder
Do you like: New Orleans? Ghost stories? History? Mysteries? Choose your own adventures? Stories set in high school? Magic? Swoon worthy boys? Girls with gumption?
If you replied yes to ANY of the above then you're going to love Dead Letter Office!
The first book in the Parish Mail series throws you right in with a killer first line: The dead man smiles at me. WELL THEN why don't we just get started, eh? Who doesn't love a good old mystery or a ghost story. Great news: this is both! While certainly unsettling from ghosts to zombies, evil fiends to Voodoo, there is no shortage of the creepy, supernatural or paranormal here. However, I wasn't scared out of my wits mainly because my curiosity for the mystery and my inner historian took over. We also have a leading lady who doesn't wallow, who is recklessly brave, endearingly hopeful and most of shines with an inner strength and resolve that we often don't see in heroines in contemporary YA these days. Add to that mix THREE boys from which to choose (no, literally it's part of the choose your own adventure aspect) and an equally impressive best friend in Tilly. I'm hard pressed to find a reason NOT to read this series.
And now time for a little fan girl rant: Snyder does an amazing job of capturing the setting---New Orleans, where and I may be paraphrasing the past brushes up against the present and sometimes it pokes through. Having been a dedicated NOLA obsessee for years now, I can say with all honestly this book does the town justice. From the mansions of the garden district to the cities of the dead in the cemetery, every description takes you to the place itself. I can almost smell the moss and sweet tea.
Lastly, as a Coliloquy title, Dead Letter Office, features that hallmark choose your path points in the book where we as readers influence the story's direction. This book however has many more of these points than other Coliloquy titles I've read and that's a great thing. It felt quote like reading a Goosebump choose your own adventure and I loved that!
You don't want to miss out on this series. And if you do, well then something is seriously wrong with you. Overall: A
Dead Letter Office is out now from Coliloquy. Get your copy here (it's a steal at $5!).
