My Dead Girlfriend

As the youngest member in the long and unfortunate Bleak bloodline, Finney has few pressures that weigh more heavily upon him than his impending, and most likely, cataclysmic death. The Bleak family is notorious for its members meeting their demise: Margaret Bleak, a magician's assistant was literally sawed in half, and Archibald Bleak, a zookeeper, was smothered by manure. Downtrodden and consumed by his fear of death, Finney attracts nothing but trouble at his high school and pines for his lost love, Jenny. Finney and Jenny met many months ago at a traveling carnival where they shared time on the Ferris wheel, were bored by a puny roller coaster and fell in love on the Bucket of Blood. How will Finney find his lost love and what will he do when he realizes that, like most of his extended family, Jenny is quite dearly departed? This is the first series created by Wight, who is best known for his work on the television show The O.C. Wight has an uncanny knack for capturing the ferocity of teenage emotions in both ink and words. His artwork is poppy (assuredly the most enjoyable aspect of this book) and the fast-paced story will appeal to teenage readers. (Feb.)