A PYN Review of Sebastian and the Afterlife

A PYN Review of Sebastian and The Afterlife

SJ Byrne, PYN Reviewer

Like any other afternoon he would pick up his girlfriend, Sebastian crossed the front lawn on the way to his car, except this time he died. Following the silent directions of the Grim Reaper, he's led to a stone archway. Instead of stepping into the brilliant white light filling the arch, he chooses to follow a glowing orb that leads him over the edge of a cliff, into the undeniable revelation that he is dead. The orb takes him to Sapentia, a school for recently deceased teen spirits that have unfinished business in the mortal world.

      With guidance from their teachers, the young spirits bond together and learn how to navigate the realm they will call home, for however long it takes to achieve inner peace. Each student is given certain articles to aid them on their personal mission: glasses that allow them to view any moment of their past life, tablets that record their every thought without a writing instrument, and a compass to guide them between the realms.

Positive his unfinished business pertains to receiving one last kiss from the girlfriend he left behind, Sebastian makes his first jaunt to the land of the living, to discover his loved ones haven’t handled his death very well; his sister has stopped playing her beloved piano and hides in her room while his best-friend has quit the soccer team to become the dutiful student. Bent on getting his kiss, Sebastian embarks on a self-destructive journey that could jeopardize his very soul.

Sebastian and the Afterlife is an entertaining look at what 'life' might be like for a young spirit who leaves the living world behind before they're ready. Though the authors writing style wasn’t entirely to my liking, I really enjoyed the ingenuity of his imagination; intrigued, I wanted to read on and see the story through to the end. As a big fan of novels in a series, I anticipate there will be more fun adventures of this kind from William J. Barry.