REVIEW:School of Deaths By Christopher Mannino

Thirteen-year-old Suzie Sarnio always believed the Grim Reaper was a fairy tale image of a skeleton with a scythe. Now, forced to enter the College of Deaths, she finds herself training to bring souls from the Living World to the Hereafter. The task is demanding enough, but as the only female in the all-male College, she quickly becomes a target. Attacked by both classmates and strangers, Suzie is alone in a world where even her teachers want her to fail. 
Caught in the middle of a plot to overthrow the World of Deaths, Suzie must uncover the reason she's been brought there: the first female Death in a million years.

              Book One in The Scythe Wielder's Secret Trilogy

This is one amazingly well written novel. The writing style just pulls you into the story and you can imagine it going on in your head. At least I could.

Suzie is pulled from a decent life into a life full of Death, pain and teasing because she is the only female Death in a school full of male deaths.

Billy is one of the first male deaths she meets.You can see the connection they have. He is strong and you find out so much about his character and all the pain he has had to endure. The struggles he goes through. That is until he came to the school of deaths and felt like he was really living for once.

Then there is frank, there is always something off about him but boy oh boy what you will find out about him is unthinkable. He sought out Suzie and is always very nice and supportive,but why?

Billy is by far my favorite of all of the main characters and I love reading how he develops in the book and of course i root for him and Suzie through the entire book.

If you love death, mystery, and the unknown science fiction novel you will adore this book and it is a must read for you.

Loved it.

5 Stars

 Christopher Mannino's life is best described as an unending creative outlet. He teaches high school theatre in Greenbelt, Maryland. In addition to his daily drama classes, he runs several after-school performance/production drama groups. He spends his summers writing and singing. Mannino holds a Master of Arts in Theatre Education fromCatholic University, and has studied mythology and literature both in America and at Oxford University. His work with young people helped inspire him to write young adult fantasy, although it was his love of reading that truly brought his writing to life. Growing up with adventure and fantasy stories filled with magic and imagination fueled him to create stories of his own.

School of Deaths began when Mannino spent a semester abroad at Oxford. On one side-trip, he became stranded on the Cornish coast, by Tintagel, the legendary birthplace of King Arthur. Following a sleepless night above a noisy pub he climbed to a rocky peninsula to watch the dawn. Feeling completely alone, and attacked by winds from every direction as he clung to a cliff, Mannino imagined a character isolated in a strange world, attacked and bullied. 

The Scythe Wielder's Secret is a series of Young Adult fantasy novels, which address issues of bullying, sexism, and social justice, all in a rich epic fantasy adventure world. As a teacher, Mannino hopes to inspire teenagers and other readers to dream and confront issues through their own determination. 

Learn more about Mannino and his books at www.ChristopherMannino.com