Dead Rules by Randy Russell

Release date: June 21 2011





In Dead Rules, Jana Webster (of Webster and Haynes) innocently dies in a bowling accident. Which Jana actually would have handled pretty well if her boyfriend, Michael Haynes (also of Webster and Haynes), would’ve died with her. Instead, he is still among the living, leaving Jana to navigate though her new home at the Dead School. Yup, school for the dead.

Everyone in Dead School can be separated into two groups, the Risers and the Sliders. A Riser is what Jana is, on the fast track to the greater good. Sliders are the deadlies who did awful stuff in life. Sliders have stolen and killed before.

Jana is warned to stay away from the Sliders. Nothing good can come out of them…or so the rule-following Risers say. Than Jana meets Mars Dreamcote, the hot, sweet, sensitive Slider with whom she is not going to fall in love. Really. No love. Her true love is Michael.

And Jana will make him join her.

I love how all the characters twist and turn throughout the novel. I thought I understood them, but they all had their own inside motivations and secrets. For instance, Jana’s bud Wyatt started out as a freaky, mutilated Slider. Further into the book he was revealed to be loyal, sarcastic, a kick-ass friend… and my favorite character.

In the beginning of Dead Rules, Jana sounds like a crazy, lovesick ghost. Before death, Michael was her sweetheart Romeo and only friend. Jana loves him, and she is sure he shares her feelings. (It’s obvious Jana never read Dateable: Are You? Are They? : P) Sheesh, I felt super sorry for her. In life her best friend (except for Michael) was a literal Ken doll. Ironically, it is on her quest to bring Michael back to her that Jana starts coming out of her shell. I liked her determined attitude. Jana knows what she wants accomplished and gets it done.

Farts, fudge, and popcorn! Dead Rules deserves four figgystars.


You can also view this review on Figment.