Boo

When Oliver 'Boo' Dalrymple wakes up in heaven, the eighth-grade science geek thinks he died of a heart defect at his school. But soon after arriving in this hereafter reserved for dead thirteen-year-olds, Boo discovers he's a 'gommer', a kid who was murdered. What's more, his killer may also be in heaven. "Instantly charming, never predictable, quietly profound-Boo is both literarily and literally haunting and, in the end, devastating."--Bryan Lee O'Malley, author of Seconds and the Scott Pilgrim series "Part murder mystery, part existential adventure, Boo is an utter charm-bomb of a novel. Neil Smith's version of the sweet hereafter shows not only that heaven can be hell, but answers the eternal question of whether it's better to be dumber with friends or smarter without." -- Zsuzsi Gartner, author of Better Living Through Plastic Explosives "Neil Smith has created a heaven where the sadness and triumph of life aren't flattened or diminished but heightened and intensified. Just like you always suspected it would be. Boo is sad, beautiful, heartbreaking and impossible to put down." -- Andrew Kaufman, author of All My Friends Are Superheros and Born Weird "Boo is an astoundingly original novel and Neil Smith's take on the afterlife is convincing, moving, and often funny as hell. A vision equal parts Murakami and South Park." -- Emily Schultz, author of The Blondes "Who knew heaven could be so funny, so perilous, so exquisitely alive? Boo is a work of singular genius: an adventure story, a mystery and a profound meditation on childhood, lost innocence and the power of friendship to save our lives-and afterlives. I believe in Neil Smith's heaven, with all my heart." -- Jessica Grant, author of Come, Thou Tortoise.