Kevin Kirk Chronicles: My Mom's a Mortician

What a fun read with an unusual setting! From the get-go, I was hooked. This book was funny, sad, thought provoking and sensitive. I love the descriptions throughout. Especially the one of Herb Conrad's wife toward the ending: 'She was a big-boned woman who would have been anyone's first pick when choosing sides for a neighborhood football game.' haha I can picture her! Wonderful choice of words. And later on, I love the description of how loudly Mr. and Mrs. Conrad snored: '...so loud it sounded like he had backed his diesel truck up to my door and left it running.' haha

In the interest of good journalism, I am going to begin this review with a disclaimer. The author of the exciting new series from Covenant, the Kevin Kirk Chronicles, is one of my dearest friends and I am mentioned in the dedication. This means, of course, that the "review" will be a bit different than an ordinary review. However, I first read this book in manuscript form just after I met Patricia. At that time, I read it quite objectively, and found it to be an incredible book, balancing powerful spirituality with a fun, realistic and entertaining young hero. So, while I can't be objective about Patricia, I can remember just how the book made me feel the first time I read it. This book is the first of three in the series. Kevin Kirk's life has gone along in fairly stable and traditional ways until the summer before he begins seventh grade. Suddenly his parents announce that his mother has just obtained a degree in mortuary science (something he had managed to not think too much about until now) and they have purchased a mortuary in Armadillo, Arkansas. Not only that, but they will be living in the apartment over the business. "That was the weirdest thing I'd ever heard in my life. How could I eat dinner knowing someone was decomposing just below the kitchen floor? How could I invite friends over-if I could even find friends now? Who'd want to hang out with someone whose houseguests are in rigor mortis?" However, there are even more surprises for Kevin. He discovers that his family has been keeping other secrets from him as well. Why didn't his parents ever tell him he had an older sister named Kelsey, who died before he was born? And why didn't he know his parents had become Mormons just before that baby's death, and then stopped attending church when his father became furious with God for taking his daughter? Kevin begins a struggle to understand his family's secret past, and each complicated event helps him to face his own feelings and fears about family, death and faith. He has a little help with his challenges, though. Their first "customer" is Cletus McCulley, who is a member of the Church. When Kevin sees the man's body, he is startled to realize that although they never met in this life, Kevin and Cletus know each other. How can you be friends with someone you've never met? Cletus seems determined to help his friend Kevin with his trials and his fun, giving him guidance on everything from developing compassion for the school bully, whose life isn't what it seems, to the joys of fishing. With the help of Cletus, his new best friend, Dani, and an unofficial big sister who helps everyone accept Kelsey's death, Kevin takes the steps that prepare him for the day a Book of Mormon miraculously appears at a yard sale. There are few books, particularly for children, that span the emotions effectively. Kevin's story is told in first person, and he tells much of it in a gently humorous way, able to poke fun at himself. However, the tone smo