The Ferryman Institute, by Colin Gigl

Enjoyable though this book was, well-written it was not. Or perhaps it'd be well-written if it were a screenplay, or a treatment for a movie. I've noted before my dislike for books that are written like movies, where you can easily tell that a scene is described in a certain way because that's exactly what it would look like in the movie version. The Ferryman Insitute falls firmly into this category. And it would probably make a really fun movie, what with all the snark and action sequences. There'd be cool effects and a dreamy leading couple, too. But when I'm reading, I like to be reading, not watching a movie described in words.

The idea is fun: Ferrymen assist those who have just died to their afterlife. If they don't go, they haunt the earth as ghosts. Only one Ferryman has a perfect record - Charlie Dawson, who's been at it for 250 years and is so. totally. over. it. Then he meets a girl and is given a choice; he saves her life and...well, you can pretty much figure out the rest. There are some twists and turns, betrayals, realizations, epiphanies. It's all rather run of the mill, with a few literary references thrown in to prove just how well-read the author is. So it's fun, fun enough to keep reading til the end, but it's full of clichés and as predictable as they come. All in all, not worth it for someone who reads a lot, but a good choice for someone who'd rather be watching a movie than reading a book.

If you can't wait til it comes out in theaters...