i LOVED this book! it is breath-taking and captivating; couldn't put it down!

Young teenager Dan and his family are having an extremely difficult time coping with the death of Dan's older brother Eli. Dan has created a Book of the Dead that has the names of people (famous and not) who have died, when and how they died, and more importantly, why they died. This story is not as morbid as it seems. It also chronicles a summer in which Dan meets and fall in love with a beautiful, mesmerizing, visiting New Yorker and befriends Wally, a brilliant nerd that Dan and his old gang have been bullying for years. It's a busy summer for Dan as he searches for closure, hopes for love, and discovers for himself how to keep a friend and be one. Very good book about bereavement in all its' stages and the journey of self-discovery.