My Dead Girlfriend by Eric Wright

Relatives.

Some, you absolutely love. Others, well, you love to hate.

It seems it's always the annoying ones that give relatives a bad name. Don't you think? You know the ones I'm talking about. The overexcited aunt who always wants to give you a big, wet, sloppy kiss right smack on the lips. That creepy uncle who gets a kick out of having you pull his finger. The grandmother who shows those embarrassing pictures of you when you were gawky, pimply, and brace faced. Relatives! These are the people that you wish would just go away. Luckily, most do eventually go way somehow. They go home. Perhaps, they disown you. And ah! If you are one of the lucky ones, perhaps, they die! Dead! Buried! Gone forever! Phineas Bleak, however, will never be so lucky. The fact of the matter is his relatives, and I do mean all of his relatives, just won't go away.

Phineas Bleak is literally surrounded by a bleak fate of death and darkness in Eric Wright's, My Dead Girlfriend and lives in the shadows of his ghostly ancestor's legacy. Nope. It's not the typical legacy of moguls, presidents, or criminals. Nonetheless, Phineas does find himself everyday trying to escape the legacy of his family's accomplishments. You see? They have achieved greatness in the most horrifying way. They are renowned for dying gruesome deaths. The bloodier, the gorier, the scarier, all the better!

But Phineas just wants to LIVE! Unlike his family of ghosts, Death is not the way he wants to be remembered. He wants to experience all that life has to offer. He does face many challenges but his passion for LIFE shines through! He shows this passion as he battles the monster bullies, defies his family's legacy, faces off with the grim reaper, plays with man's best friend, and falls in love. My Dead Girlfriend is a quirky, witty, and horrifying tale for the living!

I was not excited to read this graphic novel. I really thought I'd hate it. Honestly, the title frightened me. But as I began to read, I fell in love with Phineas' life force. He faces many issues that today's teens face like bullying. So it was easy for me to empathize with him just as I do my own students. Bullying is so prevalent in schools today and this tale shines a light on the epidemic. Wright cleverly uses monsters to portray the ugliness that is involved with the bully and the act of bullying. But don't let the topic of bullying scare you off. Wright covers all aspects for a great read. Death and dying, love and heartbreak, and success and failure. Due to the graphic illustrations and title, boys would probably be more drawn to this book than girls. But I don't really see this book speaking to one gender more than the other. Girls would enjoy this read, too.

Read it. You'll hate to love it. But you will love it!!