Review by Booklist Review
When 16-year-old Tegan Masters finds herself dead and stuck in a heaven crafted out of her worst memory, she is determined to pass the blame on to the angel who messed up her afterlife. Complaining to her assigned angel, Zelda, Tegan is taken her on a tour of her memories to determine whether a mistake has been made or if Tegan is in denial. The last thing Tegan wants to see is her upsetting past, but she has to find meaning in her lived experience or spend a thousand years in purgatory. Tegan is forced to reckon with the life she lived and define what happiness means to her--and she might, meanwhile, have a few pointers for the angels on how to redesign Heaven. By combining childhood heartache, teenage angst, and queer romance, Plozza balances out the exuberance of being alive and the devastation that Tegan only feels after she's gone. A take on life after death that will leave readers entranced, frustrated, and on the edge of their seats.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Sixteen-year-old Tegan Masters believes that a critical mistake has been made: she's dead and, instead of going to heaven, she arrives at the Marybelle Motor Lodge in Wildwood, N.J., the location of her worst memory. According to Zelda--the cute but snarky angel who has reengineered the lodge down to the last detail, including the slimy mushrooms and the hidden foosballs--this is the place of Tegan's happiest memory and where she will spend the rest of eternity. After Tegan files a complaint, the bureaucratic powers-that-be decree that Tegan and Zelda have one month to build their cases. Either Zelda must prove that her calculations were correct and Tegan is, in fact, where she belongs, or Tegan must persuade the powers that she's not in heaven, but hell. As the duo traverse Tegan's memories--depicted in third- person POV chapters--she confronts sweet and bitter recollections. Via Tegan's prickly yet endearing first-person narration, Plozza (Meet Me at the Moon Tree) strikes an expert balance between poignancy and irreverence, tackling topics such as death, parental abandonment, and self-worth in this queer romantic comedy that's as tender as a bruise. Tegan and Zelda cue as white. Ages 14--up. Agent: Katelyn Detweiler, Jill Grinberg Literary. (May)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Now that she's dead, a queer 16-year-old girl must pass a major test to get into heaven. Tegan Masters is dead. She wakes up in what could possibly be the most depressing motel in all of New Jersey: Wildwood's Marybelle Motor Lodge. It's where Dad took Tegan and little sister Quinn in the wake of their mother's leaving two years earlier. According to Zelda, the teenage angel behind the motel desk, they're standing in heaven--"an exact replica of your happiest memory on Earth." But according to Tegan, it's actually her worst. And so, Tegan has gone to Upper Management to complain. If heaven is supposed to represent happiness, why is she here? Upper Management, having already had some issues with Zelda's methodology, poses a challenge. If Tegan is right, and there's a better representation of happiness from her life, then Zelda will be terminated--but if Zelda is right, and she chose Tegan's happiest memory, Tegan will be sent to purgatory. So begins an emotional and epic this-is-your-life trip, with Zelda trying to prove her case. What neither girl expects is the sweetness of catching feelings for the other. A fresh take on a possible afterlife, this narrative is filled with depth and wit, despite its dark tone. Its realistic depiction of a girl's reservoir of coping mechanisms for dealing with those who have let her down is exceptionally well written. Major characters are cued white. A worthy read about a short life brimming with possibility. (Paranormal romance. 14-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
