Having the gift of sight would probably be helpful, but would it be scary? Imagine you are sleeping and you suddenly wake up to find a ghost sitting on your bed or standing over you, just waiting for you to open your eyes. That would be pretty terrifying for some. For others, it might be entertaining. Who knows. In this world filled with paranormal activity, Alex McKenna is the lead character and Bush has added a little bit of spice to his character. He sees ghosts and solves mysteries! Who doesn’t love that?
This story begins with a little bit about the Academy of Souls and Ophelia’s current state, a ghost. Once dead, she resolved herself to finding her lost sister’s soul instead of letting herself accept the light. She’s had plenty of chances, but without knowing if her sister has found peace too after her soul was taken by a snatcher, she can’t leave the in-between. Locked in an alternate school overlaying an actual school in the living world, she becomes quickly aware of Alex, a boy who can see ghosts, her specifically, and who may have also had contact with her sister. Alex McKenna and his girlfriends/sidekick just unwrapped a horrific mystery, but is all too willing to jump into this one to help Ophelia and friends. It is now just a race against time to find Ophelia’s sister, Haven, but will they be in danger of separating from their souls as they progress?
Bush dives into a ghost realm, filled with creativity and original content. While some scenes are a bit extreme, the overall plot is entertaining. The character development does provide a bit of confusion at times with the multitude of extended mention of frivolous characters that do not contribute to the story-line, but this narrator does not disappoint. Rothenberg does show his skill in his ability to captivate his audience by drawing personalities into the characters that Bush has created with his voice. His narration is entertaining and suits the story quite well. The pace appears to be well kept and steady during voice relay, while the tone of story switches back and forth between a light and more serious setting in the appropriate places. If you are interested in reading YA Paranormal, supernatural mysteries, and suspense, you may want to pick this one up.
An audiobook was provided to Turning Another Page by Audiobookworm Promotions and in no way affects the honesty of this review. We provide a four-star rating to Alex McKenna & the Academy of Souls by Vicki-Ann Bush.
Note: review originally published on May 14, 2021. This story has undergone a cover update and may have been reformatted since the time of this review.
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