In the dystopian world Pale is set in, dead people can go to work. Dead children can go to school. Dead people can even come back from the dead. All you need is to be given the Lazarus Serum quickly after you die and that’s it.
But there is a catch – you become pale, like a ghost. You are exiled from society, and forced to live where dead people are supposed to live – in a derelict graveyard. Jed, the narrator of the book, could not think of anything worse than to become a pale. However, when he is hit by a car and given the Lazarus Serum, he begins to live his nightmare.
I really enjoyed this book, it was fairly easy to read, but tense at the same time. The storyline was intriguing, and the ending really surprised me. However, I did feel the last few chapters of the story were a little fast paced and frantic compared to the rest of the book.
Having said that, the ending was very dramatic so fitted in with the story. On the whole it was a good book and one that I would recommend to others.
The version I read was published by Barrington Stoke, which specialises in books for dyslexic readers – this is a really good idea if you have students with the condition.
Review by Astrid Finlay