The Afterlife of Mal Caldera

Praise

“Readers in the mood for offbeat fantasy should check this out.” –Publishers Weekly

“The Afterlife of Mal Caldera is a profound unravelling of a life through loss, trauma and family that leads to a bright and vivid afterlife packed with characters to die for!” Rosie Talbot, bestselling author of Sixteen Souls


“This book… felt so intimately familiar, like meeting an old friend… The Afterlife of Mal Caldera brings a heady mix of tender truth and searing wit to the party, where it speaks to the central hunger of the human condition: connection… Mal Caldera is the emo anti-hero we all need, in a queer love story that extends beyond romantic love.” Courtney Smyth, author of The Undetectables


“For a book about the dead, The Afterlife of Mal Caldera pulses with life. Vivid, warm, and dancing between deep heart and heartbreak, humor and sorrow. The familiar ghost story finds a new spirit thanks to Perez’s fresh and thrilling voice, with characters conjured up by their wry and witty prose. I so appreciated the focus on honest, modern love—from friendships to messy romances and everything in between—and finding forgiveness and community when you least expect it. I’m glad Mal got to haunt me for a while.” Nathan Tavares, author of A Fractured Infinity


“Provocative, funny, tragic, honest, and profound. The Afterlife of Mal Caldera will haunt me forever…in the very best way.” Angela Montoya, author of Sinner’s Isle


“Oh, this book aches. Beautiful, messy, and incredibly human, The Afterlife of Mal Caldera will unstitch you and pull you back together again. This breathtaking debut comes at the tangled-up pain of loss from both sides of living, but it’s also a celebration of life, love, healing, and friendship. I can’t recommend this one highly enough!” Jules Arbeaux, author of Lord of the Empty Isles


“A wholly original imagining of an afterlife full of sex, ghosts, and rock and roll, at once shatteringly personal and sweepingly profound. Reed Perez’s debut tenderly conjures to life the messy, hilarious, heartbreaking Mal and a host of characters living and dead, all of them indelible. The ultimate afterparty readers won’t want to miss.” Leanne Schwartz, author of To a Darker Shore and A Prayer for Vengeance


“The Afterlife of Mal Caldera is a warm, cozy burial shroud of a book, full of haunting atmosphere and a phantom found family that is simply to die for. Mal is addictively charming, the perfect companion on this hopeful, heartbreaking journey through a richly imagined afterlife.” Codie Crowley, author of Here Lies a Vengeful Bitch