Advance Reader Copy (ARC) via Netgalley included.

When 13 year-old Boo wakes up in heaven he assumes his defect heart is responsible and sets about figuring out how to settle in to his new life, his reborn life.

Boo, whose real name is Oliver Dalrymple, didn’t fit in at his school back in America. He was a science geek who memorised the entire periodic table and didn’t really mix well with people.

When he discovers that heaven is divided by age and nationality, meaning he will remain a 13 year-old surrounded by other 13 year-olds, he isn’t pleased. But heaven is the perfect opportunity to carry out some new science experiments, so at least he has that to occupy his time and his mind.

Boo soon learns that it wasn’t the hole in his heart that killed him, he is a ‘gommer’, someone who was murdered. His murderer may also be in heaven, something that hasn’t happened before. Killers aren’t allowed into heaven.

Boo and Johnny, a classmate who was killed at the same school, set out to find Gunboy, the boy who killed them with no real idea of what they will do once they find him. They just know they need to find him.

Told through Boo’s eyes as he writes it all down for his parents, this novel deals with the idea of god, friendship, forgiveness and asks whether people can really change.

I enjoyed spending time with Boo and the friends he made in heaven. At times I thought I had it all figured out, but even with the ending I predicted I had no idea how the author, Neil Smith, was going to get us there and as I kept turning the pages I was less and less sure that my predictions would be right.

Boo* is a reminder of what good YA should be; it’s entertaining, it’s thought provoking and although it involves suspending your disbelief it doesn’t treat its readers like idiots.