May Bird and the Ever After / Jodi Lynn Anderson / 317 pages / First Book in a Series

Your fear of water may very well be justified.  May Bird falls - or is pulled - into the lake at Briery Swamp and ends up in Ever After, where all manner of departed spirits dwell and few, if any, living beings are ever encountered.  May must find the Book of the Dead, which holds the answers to everything in the universe, if she is to get back home.  Although May had no friends at school, and was often teased mercilessly, she discovers that Somber Kitty and Pumpkin are her true friends.  Can they help her avoid Bo Cleevil?  This book answers the question "Is there life after death?"  in a most unique and thought-provoking way.