KISS ME, I'M DEADby J.G. Sandom BEFORE THERE WAS 9/11 . . . THERE WAS 6/15 On June 15, 1904, over a thousand New Yorkers, mostly German immigrants on a Church outing, died when the General Slocum steamship caught fire and sank in the East River. It was the greatest mass killing in New York City history . . . until 9/11. When her Jewish boyfriend is accused of the crime by the German community, 15-year-old Mallory Meer risks everything to solve the mystery behind the senseless tragedy. Was Dustin guilty? Or was someone else responsible for the fire that killed over a thousand men, women and children-including Mallory's own baby sister? Only Mallory can understand what this tragedy truly means. Because she's not only one of the victims . . . she's one of the dead. An extraordinary story of revenge, misogyny, anti-Semitism, the quest for justice, and of a love so powerful that not even death could extinguish it. Twilight meets Titanic Mallory Meer is like any other teenage girl. She likes to have fun. She thinks her sister is ridiculous. Her parents drive her crazy. She's got a terrible crush on Dustin and follows him everywhere. Mallory even has a summer job-figuring out the truth about the fire on the General Slocum steamship, the disaster that killed her sister. Mallory is determined to get to the bottom of it, to find out who's guilty, and to finally bring them to justice. Sometimes Mallory gets angry, very angry, and strange things happen when Mallory gets angry. Yes, Mallory is like any other teenage girl . . . except Mallory is dead. Ranked one of the Top Ten Children's Books of the year (2006) by the Washington Post, KISS ME, I'M DEAD was named a Notable Book for Teens by the Association of Jewish Libraries Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee, a Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) Teen's Top Ten, and nominated for a Cybils literary award, a Best Books for Young Adults (BBYA) by the American Library Association (ALA), and listed on Horn Book's Recommended American Historical Fiction list. The Washington Post said, "(J.G. Sandom) writes with a precision and delicacy unusual for YA fiction," and called the book, "A subtle gem." In its starred review, School Library Journal said, " KISS ME, I'M DEAD tells a remarkable story in a remarkable way." Horn Book Magazine called the work, "A decidedly unconventional ghost story . . . (and) a tightly wound novel." Kirkus Reviews termed it, "A remarkable account." Midwest Book Review called it, "a wonderfully different kind of ghost story." And Romantic Times said, " KISS ME, I'M DEAD is a book you shouldn't pass up." Originally released in hardcover by Penguin/Dutton under the title The Unresolved and pen name T.K. Welsh, the novel is being re-released by Cornucopia Press in time for the 120th anniversary of the General Slocum tragedy.
