A part of me wishes this book had existed when I was in high school, but on the other hand, I’m not sure I would have been ready. I related to Georgia’s story a little too much. Not the growing up in a funeral home bit, but the all-consuming-anxiety-thought-spiral about death and mortality. It would have been nice to know back then, I wasn’t alone in these feelings. And I think this will help others experiencing the same feel seen.

That is just one of the many reasons I think this book is important, as well as the ace, non-binary and mental health rep. The MC isn’t perfect, and neither are her friends or family, but I found their dynamics and conflicts relatable.

Did I sometimes find Georgia’s choices and perpetual habit of fleeing tough conversations frustrating? Yes. But given her character and struggles I tended to give her a pass. Also, at times, Georgia’s thoughts did feel a bit repetitive. I think the author could’ve scaled back a bit and still got their point across. But other than that, I thought this was a great debut! And bonus points for making me cry!

This book was more morbid and dealt with heavier topics than I was anticipating, but I really enjoyed it. That said, it definitely isn’t for everyone, and I highly encourage potential readers to check content warnings (grief, loss, death, detailed description of corpses, bullying, depression and anxiety, just to name a few). As long as you can handle the CW, I recommend giving this book a read!

This book dragged. Main character was very self absorbed, which is fine, she's a grieving teenager. Her feelings are valid. Then when the *betrayal* was revealed like. Gosh middle school drama. And then when she finally talks to her family and they just brush her off and not one talks. This book was not at all what I thought it was going to be. Which isn't its fault, but had I known, I wouldn't have spent my time

I was expecting a dark comedy about the afterlife where a girl talks with ghosts. I didn’t see the content warnings but you need to. Content warning: This book includes discussions of dying, corpses, grief, depression, and anxiety. In Funeral Girl by Emma K. Ohland, 16 year-old Georgia Richter can awaken the spirit of the nearly departed with one touch. With the next touch, the spirit disappears to a mysterious fate called death. G, as her friends call her, has an all consuming anxiety about death. Her dad inherited his family’s business, the Richter Funeral Home. After her Grandma’s death and her personal introduction to grief, she becomes haunted by a high school classmate, Milo D’Angelo, who sat behind her in a class. She didn’t know him very well in life but in death she comes close by pretending she knew him better and by granting his final wish. This book was a hard read with details about the death industry, embalming, grief and anxiety. It’s not all doom and gloom but about relationships with family, friends, acquaintances, the dead and ourselves. Thanks to NetGalley, Lerner Publishing Group and Carolrhoda Lab for the ARC.

Funeral Girl is a brutally honest book about death and for some readers could be upsetting. I liked how the author focuses on the horrific side of death and its finality but also throws the supernatural twist in that the main character can speak with the dead. This was a really serious book and I was hoping for more of a focus on the supernatural concepts but it definitely dives deeper into the death side of it. Readers who aren't bothered by detailed funeral arrangements and processes that enjoy a supernatural twist on a girl who lives in a funeral girl are really going to enjoy this one!

My heart feels complete after finishing this book. I have a lot I want to say but I’ve binged the last half of this book and I’m exhausted. But just know I loved this, it’s on my favorites shelf, and I will absolutely be recommending this to everyone.

After the death of her grandmother, Georgia gains the power to draw out the spirit from the recently dead. She uses this power to ask them their last wish or if they had anything they wanted to say to their loved ones. When Milo, Georgia’s classmate, dies in a tragic hit and run, she has to deal with what that means, both for her power and for herself. If someone her age can die so suddenly and tragically, what does that mean for her?

Georgia runs away from everything and she’s well along in the process of cutting literally everyone off. Her brother, her best friend, her parents. It becomes repetitive over the course of the novel. When things get hard, Georgia will run away. She will have a conversation with Amy, her best friend, about how she’s never there for Amy. Georgia will apologize and Amy will accept it, or they won’t, and Georgia will feel bad but not change her ways. The conversations and dialogue didn’t feel natural for the characters, didn’t feel like their own unique voice.

I wanted more ghosts. Milo disappeared for several chapters at a time, even though I thought he would play a larger part. He’s a ghost and I was promised more ghosts than what I got. Also, I wanted some closure as to what happened to Georgia’s grandmother.

Past events were alluded to in vague terms and then revealed in what I thought was an odd way, too blunt. It felt unnatural and unbelievable in the context of the story.

I love the inclusion of queer characters. Georgia is asexual and describes herself as such, and Amy is probably non-binary, using they/them pronouns.

This book is an easy read, perfect for middle grade readers or young-young adult. The book deals with character death (minor), panic/anxiety attacks, grief, and talk of death in general. Nothing is too graphic, but the process of embalming is described in some detail.

Funeral Girl is a debut novel by Emma K. Ohland and is a book about grief and anxiety.
Georgia is a 16 year old who lives in a funeral home and can see the ghosts of those recently departed. With her touch, she can awaken the ghosts and it is her mission to find out their last wishes. Until a classmate dies, and she is forced to truly deal with her anxiety about death and grief.
Overall, the book was 3.5*. I really enjoyed how it tackled grief and anxiety. There was also wonderful ace and nonbinary representation. I just felt like the book dragged out a couple of the side storylines which made it a little difficult to read at times.

Thank you #netgalley for the ARC!

I want to thank#Netgalley for letting me read an eArc of #Funeralgirl in exchange for an honest review.

Georgia Richter's family owns the funeral home in her town. Her brother is thrilled to get to take over the family business someday but Georgia has been haunted by it's ghosts since her Grandmother passed away when she was younger. To deal with her Grandma's death Georgia went to the freezer to get one last look at the woman she adored and to sate her curiosity about death. What she didn't expect was the moment she touched her Grandma's cold flesh was to see that same woman standing in front of her asking if Georgia was alright. In absolute fear Georgia breaks down screaming and her family finds her on the floor in the freezer.
After this rumors begin to fly at school that she sleeps with the dead and she becomes known as the Funeral Girl.
As she grows she decides to use this gift she has somehow obtained to wake the dead when she is able and to try and complete their last wishes so they can move on. But when a young man in her class passes away and his body is delivered to her families Funeral Home she is faced with death in a whole new and very personal way.
Georgia wakes Milo for him to realize he is no longer part of this earth and Milo doesn't want to leave, he wasn't ready to go and worries for his family. Georgia and Milo strike up a friendship and after time he begins teaching her and helping her to mend her relationship with her family. However Milo begins to fade, Georgia has never kept a spirit on this plane for more than a few minutes to an hour, it has not been days. When she tries to send Milo on his spirit won't go even though he says he's ready. There must be more he needs but can they find out what it is before he fades entirely?

This one is just such an empathetic and gentle but unflinching portrayal of some of the hardest and most incomprehensible feelings and thoughts I have read.

Funeral Girl reads like it was inspired by a lot of other well crafted funeral home stories, which is a very hyper-specific genre. In comparison to the likes of Pushing Daisies or The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried, it falls a little flat. There are several issues the protagonist faces- her fear of death, her friendship troubles, putting her new ghost friend to rest- but it all comes across as lackluster, just building blocks put together in a way that is technically fine but lacks a spark. Each of the plots feels like it's not explored all the way to the end, and we never. get the satisfaction of seeing a story through. Readers might be drawn to the book for its representations of a-spec and nonbinary characters, but without much else to engage with, they also might be better off with a different story. There's nothing WRONG with Funeral Girl. But there's no spark to it either.

'Funeral Girl' is a wonderful debut novel by Emma K. Ohland. It follows the story of a 16-year-old who struggles with morality. I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was.

Initially I was very excited to pick up Funeral Girl based on its themes and the setting--everything about it seemed right up my alley, but I was ultimately disappointed by the book itself. Our MC, Georgia, has a deep-seated anxiety about death, which is a problem given she lives in a funeral home. When her grandmother dies when she's 13, she discovers she has the ability to summon the ghosts of the dead people she touches, leading her to touch all the dead bodies in the funeral home, chatting up the ghosts for a few minutes, and then fashioning a scrapbook of mementos from these interactions. All fine. The problem begins when Milo, a boy from school, dies in a hit and run. Georgia immediately becomes obsessed with his death--crying over this boy (whom she doesn't know) and letting his fate dictate every waking moment to the point that she starts to ignore her only friend. You could say she does this because her anxiety is that bad, but the book spends so much time throwing shade at people who make a show over grieving over people they don't know that it all seems...weird. Very weird.

Ultimately, Milo's body winds up at Georgia's funeral home and she touches him, summons his ghost, and Milo doesn't want to go to the great beyond, obviously, so he winds up sleeping on her floor and things start to unravel. He asks her to help his parents (how? she doesn't ask.) and so Georgia starts lying to Milo's parents in order to insert herself into their lives, which is also deeply weird. Then her friendship starts to fall apart, not to even mention the book keeps hinting at this falling out Georgia had with her own brother and previous best friend (it takes it until 64% of the way in to finally, blessedly, TELL US what the falling out was over, and only after Georgia has to call her on the rocks best friend to remind her what the something even is, which...okay...). Why keep something that is so pertinent to why this character is the way she is a secret was maddening to me, since I never could figure out what Georgia's deal was. Sure, her grandmother died, but I was never quite sure of how close they were to begin with, and I certainly didn't pick up on any resounding effects of this great betrayal of her ex-best friend. The book even minimizes the damage of this betrayal after the fact because it was when they were 13 and who remembers or cares what happens when you're 13 (according to this book).

So, generally, I had a big disconnect with the main character here and I didn't particularly care for how this big secret was dealt with (why was it a secret?!). Things seemed to happen for the sake of the plot, not because it made sense for the character(s), and I found the whole thing underwhelming. Additionally, the writing was plain and simplistic, with the characters and their actions bordering on too middle grade for the young adult audience this book is marketed toward. I would say it's definitely a book for younger readers (13 and under), if you can overlook the sprinkle of curse words. Ultimately, this fell flat for me.

i knew almost nothing about this book going in, and it was anything like i expected it to be, but i loved it so much. i thought this was going to be an urban fantasy story, and while it is, it is so much quieter than i was expecting. the fantasy aspects are much more minimal, and the story is entirely character driven. it had so many of the things i love: ghosts, queerness, complicated familial relationships, strong and developed friendships . . . it was beautiful and i absolutely adored my time with it.

I didn't know what to expect from Funeral Girl. The main character is named Georgia, like in Dead Like Me, and she lives in a funeral home, like in My Girl and Six Feet Under, so I was on board. For some reason, I thought this might be a dark comedy, but this is a very emo book. The death of Georgia's grandmother rocked her, and she attempts to figure out what happens after death by talking to ghosts at her family's funeral home. The main crux of this book is Georgia working through these fears and feelings and it is very comforting if you have or have had similar fears and thoughts about death.

I was excited for this book because I was eager for the paranormal aspect. I wasn’t expecting the emphasis on the friendship, relationships and grief. I also didn’t really understand what motivated the MC to engage with the spirits. The MC, Georgia, always felt just out of reach. Some of the side characters lacked dimension and made it feel unrealistic. It was more about her every day life and less about the spirit contact. The pacing was also a bit slow and made it difficult to maintain interest. It was an ok read and I would suggest others read it if they enjoy paranormal stories.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC.

I have read several books about ghosts and I always enjoy them. Some are scary, some are funny and some are sad. This one was all of the above and then some.
Many times we are taught how to deal with grief that isn't the best way for us. Trite comments, not talking about it, or any other way to deal with grief is unique to each of us and we must find the best way to cope for ourselves. I thought the author did a great job bringing in different aspects of the grieving process and how no "one size fits all".
I will admit I did shed a tear or two. Mainly because things got resolved and everyone could move on.
This is a great book to open up communication and figure out how to deal with death and also life.
So enjoy and love life!

This is a YA novel about a girl whose family owns a funeral home and struggles with her crippling fear of death. While she can communicate with ghosts, it doesn't really add a paranormal element so much as provide a way for the MC to deal with her fear. Added into the mix is the MC's anxiety over her asexuality.

While the book has some positives such as a young person navigating grief, on the whole it fell flat. I couldn't find a way to relate to the characters and the plot was slow

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC

Thank you to Lerner Publishing Group and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Funeral Girl by Emma K. Ohland is a YA book that combines contemporary YA with the paranormal. The story revolves around Georgia, who works for the parents' funeral home. What people don't know is that she has a magical power. When she touches the dead bodies in her parents' funeral home, she can bring them back to life briefly. But when Milo, one of her classmates, dies, can she stand to bring him back to life? Can she help him fulfill his last wish?

Here is a morbid excerpt from Chapter 1:

"The dead woman’s name was Betty. She was eighty-three when she died from a heart attack alone in the room of her nursing home. There were only seven people at her funeral, if you included me and the pastor. And I wouldn’t exactly say we counted since we were getting paid.
I stood at the back of the chapel in one of my many black dresses and one of my many pairs of black Mary Janes. It was pretty much the uniform. I had a good view of the back of the heads of the five women who attended, and I stood right in line with Pastor Hugh Wilson as he gave his eulogy."

Overall, Funeral Girl is a lovely YA novel that will appeal to fans of Pushing Daisies and A Good Girl's Guide to Muruder. One highlight of this book is how it is a unique blend of paranormal and contemporary YA. The plot was definitely unique. I did take off 1 star, because there was too much "friendship drama" that I wasn't expecting. I wanted more of the ghost and mystery elements. I took off another star, because the ending left me unsatisfied with some important unanswered questions. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of YA books, you can check out this book when it comes out in September.

What worked: Engaging portrayal of a girl dealing with death anxiety that just happens to live in a funeral home. This novel goes a step further than other paranormal ghost stories in which readers are introduced to Georgia, 'G', and are shown the anxieties she daily deals with. I love how the author digs deep into G.'s struggles and not just make this the typical ghost story.

G. lives with her family in a funeral home. While her twin Peter is excited about the prospect of taking over the business, G. struggles. She really wants to believe in an Afterlife, but then again the idea of living forever is equally terrifying. Her first experience with being around ghosts is after her grandmother's death. It's interrupted when G.'s screams in the basement of the funeral home have her parents rush inside. G. never sees the ghost of her grandmother again and fears that she might be caught in eternal limbo.

I really love how G shares her fears, anxiety, and struggles with the topic of death. She also shares what goes on behind the scenes in a funeral home including getting a body ready for burial. The descriptions are very realistic. It brought back memories of when I went to the funeral home after my sister's death and how the funeral director explained the process. All I remember is how my sister looked nothing like she did when she was alive. Ohland nails this and also the many conflicting emotions someone deals with after someone dies.

There's an element of Evan from Dear Evan Hanson where G's experience with Milo, a dead fellow classmate, is taken to the point of his parents and others thinking that she was good friends with him. The truth though is she. like others at their school, didn't know him personally while he was alive. This adds to her stress.

Subdued, bittersweet portrayal of someone dealing with anxiety over death, but also a story that is truthful without just being a ghost tale. Kudos also for showing a teen coming to terms with a paranormal ability while being true to herself.
Good Points
1. Engaging portrayal of a girl dealing with death anxiety with paranormal elements
2. GLBTQA+ representation

eARC provided via NetGalley!

Emma K Ohland hands you your mortality on a silver platter and asks you to converse with yourself about how you grieve in this debut novel. A beautiful novel about the way grief can create breaks and the way grief can fix them.

Grief is a hard thing. Even when you’re feeling it for someone you barely knew.

Even when you can talk to ghosts and try to grant their final request—if she can. That’s what Georgia has done since her grandmother died and she first discovered her “gift.” Georgia and her brother, Peter, are the mortician’s kids. They work at Richter Funeral Home to prep for taking over the family business. When a death racks the school, and Georgia, how will Georgia react? Will she be able to continue talking to the ghosts of those that make their way to Richter Funeral Home? Or will she be too much into grief over a classmate she barely knew to continue using her gifts as she had been?
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Book TWs (taken from the Note to Readers): dying, corpses, grief, depression and anxiety

I don't think I have anything bad to say about this book. The writing is phenomenal the characters and diversity [Asian, non-binary, ace, depression, anxiety] are refreshing, the storyline is intriguing and everything works together to suck you in and keep you reading.

There is so much beautiful language and beautifully human relationships it was hard at times to remember this is a book surrounding death and grief and the fragility of mortality. (btw do not read if you don't like existential spirals because this will more than likely put you in one)

The story was fantastic, Georgia was a beautifully written MC, there is so much about this book to love. I cried the entirety of the last like 3-4 chapters. And even through the authors note, to know someone else was weighed down by the pressure of morality and their impending death at a young age made my thoughts seem a little less out there. I needed Georgia, so than you Emma for sharing her with me and everyone else who will have the pleasure of reading this when it comes out.

(also also, as soon as I hit post on this I'm pre-ordering a copy of this bc I need it on my shelf for easy re-read-ability)