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Deeply disturbed by the death of his best friend Dick, thirteen-year-old Tom Underwood is astonished when Dick returns to the earth and takes him into the afterlife for a visit.

Gr 5-7 A book with an unusual but poorly executed theme. Six months after his best friend's death from a brain tumor, 12-year-old Tom is still grieving. One night, Dick returns from the hereafter and takes Tom to his new home. He pressures Tom to stay with him, where time stands still in a never-ending June. For one poignant moment, Tom is tempted to stay, but he decides to return to the world and live out his life. The writing is muddled with far too many adjectives, and the third-person narrative causes readers to believe that it is the author, and not Tom, who worships Dick. The fantasy is not satisfying. The transition from reality is confusing, making it difficult to suspend disbelief while deciding whether Tom is visiting or dying. Little happens as the boys reminisce and Dick describes life in his new world. The childish vision of the hereafter as a trouble-free Main Street, USA., is not interesting, and indeed may create some problems for those who hold a more orthodox view of life after death. Coping with the sudden loss of a friend is still best presented in Paterson's Bridge to Terabithia (Crowell, 1977). Virginia Golodetz, St. Michael's College, Winooski, Vt. Copyright 1986 Cahners Business Information.