Necromancing the Slayer (The Sunnydale Project)

The first book I ever reviewed for VOYA was a Buffy the Vampire Slayer book by Nancy Holder.  I have read almost all of them, and for a while they took up about two shelves of my YA collection.  And then one day came the sad news that they were being discontinued.  Since that time, I have been on my own personal slayer quest: to find Buffy readalikes.  I have throughout the years found a few, but my favorite has hands down been the book Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride.

Synopsis:
“Sam leads a pretty normal life. He may not have the most exciting job in the world, but he’s doing all right—until a fast food prank brings him to the attention of Douglas, a creepy guy with an intense violent streak.

Turns out Douglas is a necromancer who raises the dead for cash and sees potential in Sam. Then Sam discovers he’s a necromancer too, but with strangely latent powers. And his worst nightmare wants to join forces . . . or else.

With only a week to figure things out, Sam needs all the help he can get. Luckily he lives in Seattle, which has nearly as many paranormal types as it does coffee places. But even with newfound friends, will Sam be able to save his skin?” (from Goodreads) (Henry Holt &Co., 2010 ISBN 9780805090987)


Sam thinks he is your average, unambitious dude working dead end jobs and crushing after girls but it turns out, “dead” means something much more to him.  You see, Sam is not your average guy but is in fact a Necromancer.  He just doesn’t really know it at the beginning of our book.  So imagine his surprise when a talking head shows up in a box on his doorstep.  Not just any talking head, but someone he knows that has quite an attitude.  Turns out she kind of liked being attached to her body.  Oops.

Suddenly Sam finds out that much like Sunnydale, there is an unseen part of Seattle that involves councils, power plays, and a whole bunch of evil voodoo mojo out there.  Sam kinda prefers not knowing to be honest because now, well, one of the most powerful necromancers has Sam on his radar and he does not appreciate the competition.  Not that Sam knows he is competition.

Like Buffy, every good slacker hero needs some trusty sidekicks.  It is usually helpful if one is more than just a head in a box, but ghosts work well.  As do smart aleck friends.  And, well . . . maybe a werewolf would be nice.  He may also have to make some deals with some other magical creatures.

And like Whedon, the talented McBride gets in some fun pop culture quips.  In fact, every chapter title is in fact a reference to song lyrics.  Part of the fun of starting each chapter is remembering the songs that the chapter titles come from.

• Each week on our Slayer Saturday posts look for the words highlighted. There will be 3 sets of words each weekend, so make sure to visit all three blogs (Bookish Comforts, Patricia’s Particularity and Teen Librarian Toolbox).
• Write down the words each week (Sept. 8 – Oct. 20), putting them in an order that makes sense. All together these words create a quote from Buffy.
• During the last week a form will be made available on all three blogs where you can turn in the quote that you have pieced together.
• On the last weekend of The Sunnydale Project, Oct. 27, the quote will be revealed! We will then draw a winner from those who have correctly completed the quote.

Filed under: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Hold Me Closer Necromancer, Joss Whedon, Lish McBride