The girl Alli and the boy Nick who died in a car accident do not die—they wake up in an in-between world where other “almost-dead” children exist. In addition, in this world, as in a museum, everything that is worth preserving is kept. Alli longs with all her soul to return to the world of the living. Nick doesn’t have the same desire, but he does have something else—an extremely important matter.
Puzzle-like adventures, an engrossing world, vivid characters, and deep feelings—everything is in Neal Shusterman’s book, the first part of the trilogy about the skinners of the In-Between. It’s a book about children—but… hardly for children. Teenagers from 13 to 100 will certainly enjoy reading it, but they will also find many profound ideas, wonderful lyricism, and gentle, not-at-all-American humor.