Kindle Edition Audiobook Download to your Nook (eBook) Download from Apple iTunes (eBook) Download from Smashwords (eBook) Amazon Amazon Vicki-Ann Bush Category:  Young Adult/Teen Publisher: Creative James Media; 2nd edition ISBN-10:  1956183426 Type: Fiction Pages: 308 Copyright: October 17, 2023 ISBN-13: 9781956183436 Price: $5.99 (eBook) The Dead Need Him... Seventeen-year-old Alex McKenna is a transgender boy who comes from a rich history of Strega witches. Possessing the ability to communicate with the dead, he uses his talents and understanding of what it means to be different to bridge the gap between the living and the beyond. With his girlfriend Margaret and his spirited great-grandmother by his side, Alex helps lost souls resolve their earthly connections and move on. When a series of murders plagues his neighborhood, Alex discovers the gruesome truth behind a sixty-year span of deaths and the sinister being responsible. Will Alex save the next victim and stop the murderer for good? Or will this be his final case?        Excerpt His thoughts took him to a waking dream, one where he pulled Margaret a little closer and kissed the back of her neck. She rolled over and their eyes locked. He kissed her cheeks and then her lips. Caressing her hair away from her face, he kissed her again, this time with fire. She ran her fingers over his chest and navigated to his arms and then to the back of his hair, playing with it between her fingers. The warmth of her soul spilled out to his. Margaret stirred, bringing him back to reality. Gazing upon her one more time before closing his lids, his last thought before sleep was, I need to find a way to tell her.

Well Written On Many Levels
There is so much I like about this book. I love the paranormal aspect. Ghosts, witches (and they're Strega!!), demon spirits, I love them all, so I was really into the whole premise of this book; a psychic teen with witchy powers communicates with the dead and saves lives. How can you go wrong?

But what really sets this book apart is the main character, Alex. Alex is a teen, but he's also a trans male, and I do believe this is the first time I've read a YA book in which the trans aspect of the MC is secondary. I love how the book handles Alex as a typical teen high schooler, just trying to make it by, doing his homework, hanging with his girlfriend, and, oh by the way, killing some evil spirits. The trans part of Alex is sprinkled in very organically, like it's no biggie (just like how it should be in real life). Alex's character is treated as a typical boy, because he IS a typical boy, who just also happens to be trans. And that's what makes this book so special in my opinion.

Also, there was some kick butt paranormal stuff, too.

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Vicki-Ann Bush has done it again!
Alex McKenna & The Geranium Deaths is a fast-paced storyline with full, rounded characters, demonstrating the conflicting dark and light of souls. Bush's books are always about love in all its beautiful ways, and she shows us how that energy brings healing and peace. For those interested in quantum physics, it is a book you won't be able to put down. Although this book stands alone, I highly recommend reading all of the books in the series, starting with book one. You'll be glad you did.

Lynn Rosenberg, Author
“Bush has created a very likable and interesting character in young Alex and his side-kick Margaret. This story grabs the reader’s interest from the beginning and we follow Alex through this mystery into a world most of us know nothing about. It’s a page-turner!”