The Riley Bloom Series - Alyson Noël

Book Description from Alyson Noël's site:

"Riley Bloom left her sister, Ever, in the world of the living and crossed the bridge into the afterlife—a place called Here, where time is always Now. Riley and her dog, Buttercup, have been reunited with her parents and are just settling into a nice, relaxing death when she's summoned before The Council. They let her in on a secret—the afterlife isn't just an eternity of leisure; Riley has to work. She's been assigned a job, Soul Catcher, and a teacher, Bodhi, a curious boy she can't quite figure out.

Riley, Bodhi, and Buttercup return to earth for her first assignment, a Radiant Boy who's been haunting a castle in England for centuries. Many Soul Catchers have tried to get him to cross the bridge and failed. But he's never met Riley..."

Book Description from Alyson Noël's site:

"Having solved the matter of the Radiant Boy, Riley, Buttercup, and Bodhi are enjoying a well-deserved vacation. When Riley comes across a young ghost named Rebecca, Riley soon learns Rebecca's not at all what she sees. The daughter of a former plantation owner, she is furious about being murdered during a slave revolt in 1733. Mired in her own anger, Rebecca is keeping the ghosts who died along with her trapped in their worst memories. Can Riley help Rebecca without losing herself to her own nightmarish memories?"

I read both of these books in a couple of hours. They're aimed at a younger age group than The Immortals series, which feature Riley's older sister, Ever; the only survivor of a car accident that claimed the lives of her family. Riley was first introduced in The Immortals books as a spirit who visited her grieving sister and caused a little bit of impish trouble.


Riley is a very likable character: a sweet girl with a bit of a rebellious side. She is headstrong and somewhat defiant, but she does things impulsively out of the goodness of her heart.


Both books take place in "Here & Now" instead of the traditional idea of "Heaven." Noël's idea of the afterlife is something completely different than what most people imagine it to be, and God isn't mentioned, just the Council. I really liked the afterlife she created, her descriptions of "home life" with her parents, and the noted differences in the idea of school.


Perfect reads for middle grades and young teens. I'm looking forward to the final two books in the series, Dreamland and Whisper, both which are yet to be released.