Alexis Vs. The Afterlife

Hart (One Must Kill Another) pokes fun at typical chosen one fantasies with this rollicking tale of a less-than-ideal hero tasked with saving the fate of humanity. Former child actor and wannabe rock star Alexis McRiott, of the teen occult sitcom That’s My Boo, dies right after landing her dream gig of playing a stadium rock show. In the afterlife, it turns out that the magic catchphrases from her sitcom work real wonders, and Alexis accidentally sets off a disastrous chain of events that could spell the end of the world. She teams up with deceased medieval tween Wycock and his Asian cowgirl sidekick, Sheng Yin, to stop the apocalyptic chaos that Alexis’s untimely arrival on the other side has wrought and get her back in time to play her concert, but first Alexis will have to face her embarrassing past as a child star. Though the vulgar humor can verge on juvenile in a way that some readers will find off-putting, Hart harnesses rebellious teen spirit and adolescent angst into a breezy, amusing story featuring satisfying character growth and impressive descriptions of place. This subversive fantasy will appeal to fans of cringe comedy. (Self-published.)