Closing Down Heaven

Choyce, Lesley. Closing Down Heaven. 2016. 176p. ISBN 978-0-8899-5543-1. Available at FIC CHO on the library shelves.

Hunter’s life is pretty unremarkable. No one ever truly looks at him at school, or pays attention to him. For sixteen years he’s felt on the outskirts of humanity, not truly a part of it. When a bike ride in the woods goes horribly wrong, Hunter finds himself in a warm and comfortable place. Archie welcomes him, but can’t really answer any of Hunter’s questions about what this place is or what he is supposed to do here. Hunter questions Archie if this is heaven, and Archie tells him it may be. Hunter is curious if there is a God, but Archie avoids the question.

Hunter then notices there is another person here. Trinity is a girl from his school, and they were in sixth grade together. She asks Hunter the same questions he had asked Archie, and he’s not sure how to answer. He shares with her how he died, and she tells him that she overdosed, but it happens almost three months later, yet almost no time has passed for Hunter.

Archie returns and informs Hunter that a decision was made to close heaven down, and therefore everyone must return to Earth, starting with the most recent arrivals. Trinity vanishes, and soon it’s Hunter’s turn. He awakens back by his crumpled bike, and is found by searchers. Hunter is bothered by fragments of thoughts he had while in heaven, and everything comes back to him. Can he save Trinity from her fate?

Told in free-verses, this short book will appeal to fans of poetry and those who are interested in second chances.