Gravepyres School for the Recently Deceased

Gravepyres School for the Recently Deceased
by Anita Roy
Publisher: Red Panda

I am pretty sure that most students will find few of their classmates scarier than ghosts. But in the case of the latest transitioner, Joseph Srinivas, he actually had to sit in a classroom full of people who had recently deceased, yes you read it right he had actual ghosts as classmates.

Through this lockdown I have had the chance to read a number of books, some are still to be completed, but Gravepyres School for the Recently Deceased, was a book I could complete over a weekend.
Anita Roy has very beautifully explained the story of Jose and Mishi in the school ‘Gravepyres school for the recently deceased’. The words and language in this book are simple and straight forward, which makes it easy for readers. Even the cover of the book is so spooky and has such great detailing. It has vultures as the whole story is based on them.

Joseph was not really good at any of his classes, and these were not history and geography but included cloudforming, mathamythics, and learning how to ‘See’. In the language of the dead, 6+4 was equal to anything but 10. Ridiculous right! But there is only one thing Jose really wants to learn, how to get back home.

When Joseph stumbles upon the secrets of the, ‘Eternal Spring’ and the vultures who are guardians of ancient knowledge, his hopes rise. Along with his loyal friend Mishi, he tries to make his way back to the Land of the Living, back home to his parents and little sister. The fate of the heavy world is resting on the shoulders of two mere children.

In the Epilogue of the book, the author has made it look like the Mathamythics teacher, Professor Styx is reading the book to Mishi, as a ‘deadtime’ story. The book was apparently Mishi’s favorite and now, mine too!

Anita Roy has also acknowledged SAVE (Saving Asia’s Vultures from Extinction) and the staff at Hawk Conservancy Trust who allowed her to meet their vultures. They probably gave her inspiration to write this wonderful book and the cover seems inspired from there too.

The book is extremely captivating and for those of you planning to read it , I am sure that within the first 20 pages you will get an idea of the storyline and the background of the characters and there is great detail which allows the reader to picture the scene in their heads.