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The Accidental Afterlife of Thomas Marsden

Emma Trevayne (Goodreads Author)

3.39 · Rating details · 710 ratings · 156 reviews

Grave robbing is a messy business. A bad business.

And for Thomas Marsden, on what was an unremarkable spring night in London, it becomes a very spooky business. For lying in an unmarked grave and half covered with dirt is a boy the spitting image of Thomas himself.

This is only the first clue that something very strange is happening. Others follow, but it is a fortune telle ...more

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Hardcover, 247 pages

Published July 28th 2015 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

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Lists with This Book

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Middle Grade Novels of 2015

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· 710 ratings · 156 reviews

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Jul 23, 2014 Stefan Bachmann rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Ah, I loved this. It's a faery story set in Victorian London, so it features poisonous iron, squalor, gateways between worlds, intrepid orphans, otherworldly beings, the usual, EXCEPT NOT, because there's also grave digging. And spiritualism. I especially loved those parts. Spiritualism and séances were kind of a fad in the mid-nineteenth century, and were also kind of creepy because. . . speaking to the dead. Is just creepy. And I had never seen that combined with faeries before. In this book t ...more

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Jul 20, 2014 Heidi Schulz rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: middle-grade

Oh my goodness how I loved this. While accompanying his father on their nightly work robbing graves, Thomas uncovers a body that looks like him down to the last detail. The discovery starts him on a quest to discover who he really is, and an amazing adventure. This beautifully written book feels like both an old-fashioned fairy tale and something fresh and new.
Disclaimer: I know and adore Emma, but that hasn't colored my opinion. This book is wonderful. Anyone who disagrees can go eat an onion. ...more

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Aug 17, 2017 fleur ☆ rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: middle-grade, read-in-2017, disappointed

Stars peered through, bright, watching eyes, blinking in horror at the desecration that was to come.

This book has SO MANY ISSUES but it did manage to drag me out of my reading slump. So, for that, I'm thankful. The Accidental Afterlife of Thomas Marsden is a short and somewhat sweet read for those who are unaware or do not care about how family values are portrayed. There is beautiful imagery, lovely descriptions and the author manages to effectively convey how terrible the big problem actually ...more

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Aug 18, 2015 Hanaa rated it did not like it

Shelves: just-say-no, kids-9-12

It sucks when the cover is more lovely than the actual book itself.

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Nov 24, 2017 Totoro rated it it was amazing

Shelves: i-own, wonderful

how wonderful was this book
oh i loved evvvvrey word

hmm, the story was of course middle grade, full of ..... will i spoil anything by saying it? um i guess i would , so i'll keep my mouth closed.

well the story was set in London 19th century i feel, and is about a 12 year old boy who is very poor and miserable at the beginning but wonderful, magical things are about to happen, but in no way it's cliche. wonderful story line, characters were great i loved them, the twists and turns got me hooked t ...more

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Jul 01, 2015 Kassiah rated it it was amazing

Shelves: mg, pub-2015, favorites-of-2015

5 stars.

This story was absolutely adorable. I can't believe I hesitated in picking it up because I thought it would be scary!

I've been a huge fan of Emma Trevayne for years and years and will definitely read anything that the girl writes. When I saw that she had ventured into the world of middle grade, I was crazy excited. I'm not really into historical fiction, but I guess I make an exception for middle grade and amazing authors. Honestly, I thought it would be hard for her to top Coda, but I t ...more

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Nov 07, 2014 Laura Noakes rated it it was amazing

Shelves: middle-grade, favourites

AMAZING. So good it hurts. Fairies and magic and whimsy and creepiness all rolled up into one. One of the best MG books I've read! ...more

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Aug 27, 2015 Jillian rated it liked it

It was good, but not as good as the first chapter or so promised. I was waiting for a really good supernatural mystery/spooky story, and instead I got a straightforward "hero saves the day" story. I thought I saw twists coming, but there were no twists. There were several Chekhov's Guns that remained unfired. And the ending wrapped things up just a bit too neatly, a bit too quickly. ...more

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Jan 16, 2020 Kevin rated it it was amazing

Emma Trevayne never fails to impress me. Her book The Accidental Afterlife of Thomas Marsden hits the perfect spot. Yes, it follows the formula of the "Chosen One," but I love how I can rely on Emma Trevayne whenever I need a book like this. Easy to read, mythology is something that any readers will learn in an instant, and an intriguing plot. This book needs to be on everybody's shelves. ...more

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May 26, 2020 Etienne rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: unhaul-to-sell-to-donate

This is the kind of book where a lot of people seem to like it and a lot seem to hate it. I unfortunately find myself in the second group. An overly written prose for a middle grade book, a boring story, way too slow, a character which I was never able to like or feel attach to, and so on. The premises was very interesting but the book didn't deliver what it was promising! ...more

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Dec 10, 2015 Karen rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult-fiction

I liked this book well enough to give it three stars. It improves after Thomas finally learns the truth. However, the story moves too slowly and the author unnecessarily withholds information from the reader to prolong the story development. What's more, I found that I had to re-read some sentences and paragraphs to figure out what the heck was going on. The narrative was confusing at times. I thought the author had an interesting idea, but the story simply meandered and dithered too much. The r ...more

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Aug 05, 2018 Wendy rated it it was amazing

Recommended to Wendy by: Goodreads

Shelves: fantasy-adventure, middle-graders

Set in Victorian England “The Accidental Afterlife of Thomas Marsden” is an exciting adventure that begins with grave robbing, the discovery of a dead body that looks exactly like Thomas Marsden along with a cryptic note. Abandoned in a graveyard where years before he was found and adopted by Silas Marsden and his wife Lucy, Thomas begins a search for his identity and lineage uncovering faerie- folk held hostage by the poison of iron and at the mercy of an evil spiritualist.

Blending adventure an ...more

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Apr 25, 2019 Marina rated it liked it

Shelves: i-owned-a-copy, 2019, challenge-new-author-2019, english, dark-angst, novels, contemporary, children-stories, adventure, fairytales

** Books 31 - 2019 **

This books to accomplish Tsundoku Books Challenge 2019

3 of 5 stars!

Wohoo! my 8th Books from Big Bad wolf 2019 is finally finished read! Actually I bought this pieces since the cover is so gorgeous!! And I'm wondering why the boy at the cover looking down to the hole and found someone similar with him as same as his face?? :O

Have you guys read Coraline by Neil Gaiman before? This books is have similar vibe when i read a few first pages but after i finished the books the stor ...more

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Aug 02, 2017 Kayla rated it did not like it

Shelves: covet-these-covers, fiction, middlegrade, not-sure-about, read-in-2017

I found this book at a library sale and was instantly attracted to the gorgeous cover and intriguing title. It seemed a little dark for a middle-grade book, enough so that I dove into it without reading anything about the book so I could get the full, uninhibited experience.

The Accidental Afterlife of Thomas Marsden is kind of hard to pin down with it's genre. Set in the past, with fantasy elements, a mystery plot, as well as a hero's quest, it's truly unlike anything I've ever read before. Pair I found this book at a library sale and was instantly attracted to the gorgeous cover and intriguing title. It seemed a little dark for a middle-grade book, enough so that I dove into it without reading anything about the book so I could get the full, uninhibited experience.

The Accidental Afterlife of Thomas Marsden is kind of hard to pin down with it's genre. Set in the past, with fantasy elements, a mystery plot, as well as a hero's quest, it's truly unlike anything I've ever read before. Paired with some confusing, rushed writing and my surprise at how unfinished this standalone book ended, this book left me unsatisfied and, mostly, disappointed.

Let me first state that I wanted this book to be standalone. It was only in the last thirty pages or so that I realized the plot couldn't possibly wrap up each of its elements neatly in the space left to it. Unfortunately, Trevayne did try to finish it all before the pages ran out. It's extremely hard to write a fantasy book as short as this one. Throwing in all of the half-heartedly realized plot elements that appear in this novel . . . It reads like someone got to the last week of NaNoWriMo and realized they needed to patch up the plot quickly enough to reach their goal on time, never again to revisit the manuscript and fix anything.

I'm still confused. There were points where the characters would literally have the answers to their quest handed to them, with no foreshadowing whatsoever, possibly because, again, there was no time in the novel for anything but easy answers. Elements so fully thrown in that I needed to read whole paragraphs several times over to try to understand what was happening, only to fail. I don't want to spoil anything by leaving any examples, because these random moments would always serve to answer some part of the plot that hadn't been mentioned until the page before.

Mostly, I'm frustrated with this book because it had the potential for so much more. It could have been a cute fantasy, or an interesting mystery. I love books that are complexly written and aimed toward children, because far too many authors in middlegrade tend to belittle their readers. No, what The Accidental Afterlife of Thomas Marsden needed was a thorough overhaul, or at least a duology to spread this cluttered plot out a little more. ...more

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Jan 27, 2017 Anna rated it really liked it

Shelves: childrens-fantasy

Thomas has grown to nearly twelve years old as the child of a grave robber when the night before his birthday he digs into a grave and finds himself, down to the blemish on his cheek. As he delves into his past to solve this mystery he discovers more mysteries and a great evil that perhaps only he has the power to stop.
A nicely put together book with an entrancing story and delightful characters.

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Dec 16, 2018 Vivian Wolkoff rated it liked it

Middle grade fantasy isn't a genre I tend to read. In fact, I think the last middle grade book I read was the very first Harry Porter, when I was still a teenager.
Still, I wanted to pick something up that was:
a. fantasy,
b. not part of a series and
c. didn't have any romance or angst in it.
This book caught my eye when I was browsing the shelves at a local bookstore and I decided to pick it up (the cover is quite gorgeous).
I can't say it was an easy read, but it wasn't the books fault. The book is ...more

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Aug 01, 2017 Katie Bodden added it

Shelves: owned-books

I continually forget to update when I finish a book~ I liked this, but mostly towards the end. It seemed to take a while to get to something interesting, which was slightly annoying, but I did like the information provided. Good read for a kid, but not too bad for an adult :)

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Dec 25, 2014 Carina Olsen rated it liked it

I have wanted to read this book ever since I saw that precious cover. And yet it still took me weeks after it published until I read it. But now I have. I did like it a lot. But it was different from what I thought it would be. Giving it three stars. There was nothing I hated about it, but I still didn't fully love the book.

I don't know where to begin. I'm not really sure what I had imagined this book to be about. Maybe, you know, that Thomas was actually dead, considering he found his body in a I have wanted to read this book ever since I saw that precious cover. And yet it still took me weeks after it published until I read it. But now I have. I did like it a lot. But it was different from what I thought it would be. Giving it three stars. There was nothing I hated about it, but I still didn't fully love the book.

I don't know where to begin. I'm not really sure what I had imagined this book to be about. Maybe, you know, that Thomas was actually dead, considering he found his body in a grave. Yet that is not the plot at all. Instead it is about faeries. And the body was sort of the twin of Thomas. It was a bit confusing.

But even though this book wasn't what I thought it would be, I still ended up liking it a lot. I enjoyed the writing, though it was a bit different too, and a bit weird. But I liked it. And I thought the main character, twelve year old Thomas, was all kinds of awesome. I adored him. And I felt so sorry for him at times too. He lives with his mom and dad. They are very poor. And he and his dad rob graves to afford food. It was depressing. Yet pretty awesome to read about too. And interesting. Yet this book is pretty short, so I felt like it didn't focus enough on Thomas and his life. I would have liked more of that. But anyway. I did like his parents a lot. Wish they had been there more about them. Thomas has a best friend, Charley. I liked him a lot too.

There were some things about this book that I didn't like. I wish it had been more about Thomas, as I was expecting a book about him. Sigh. But instead it focused on the faeries. And I did like that, I did. I just. I loved Thomas. And I wanted more of him. That was disappointing. But I also enjoyed the faerie chapters. I did end up liking Deadnettle. And Marigold. She was pretty great, though I didn't get to know her nearly well enough. Hmph. But anyway. There were some pretty awesome characters in this book.

I did like the faerie parts of the book. I just didn't love it. But my heart was breaking for the faeries. They had been taken from their home so many years ago. More than one hundred and fifty of them had died already, because of the iron and the pain. They are held captive. And used. It was heartbreaking. Yet I felt like I could have gotten to know much more about it. Would have loved it then. Oh, well. It was interesting and I liked reading about it all. But I wanted more. Still, I liked Marigold a lot. And Thomas.

There is a villain in this book. The one who has captured the faeries. But I just. I don't get the big finale with him. It was just silly. And felt so rushed. I wanted much more from that. He was so awful earlier. And his ending was so tame and lame, lol. But still. I did find the whole book interesting and I did like it. I just wish it had been a bit more. Was a bit disappointed. But still glad I read it. Thomas was a great character. I just wanted to get to know him much more. And oh, I wanted a much longer ending. Ack.

I don't really know what else to say about this book. So I will not say much more at all. It is about faeries. And about London, ages back, I think. There is some magic. Some great characters. A few heartbreaking scenes. I was a bit disappointed, yet I liked this book a lot too. The plot was pretty exciting and interesting. I loved reading the scenes after Thomas had gotten some money. I loved how he spent it, how happy it made him. But I hated that he left his family behind for a bit. Hmph. Not okay.

I do own another middle grade book by Emma, called Flights and Chimes and Mysterious Times. Which I'm excited to read as well sometime soonish. It do look so cute. And while I didn't love this first book by her, I did enjoy it, and I am curious about her other books. Her middle grade books looks so pretty. Sigh. I adore pretty artwork. Anyway. I'm glad I decided to finally read this one. It was good. I didn't love it, but I liked it lots. And I think many others would enjoy it too. So yes. I would suggest that you read it.

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This review was first posted on my blog, Carina's Books, here: http://carinabooks.blogspot.no/2015/0... ...more

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May 31, 2016 Milliebot rated it liked it

“Thomas Marsden was eleven years old when he dug up his own grave.”

I mean, let’s just leave the blurb at that, shall we? If a middle grade book about a grave robbing kid who finds himself buried isn’t intriguing enough, then you don’t need to know more about this book.

I love dark middle grade, and the cover of this book probably would have sold me by itself, but I have to say, I expected a little more than what I got from this book.

Thomas is a good kid – yes, his father has him assist with grave “Thomas Marsden was eleven years old when he dug up his own grave.”

I mean, let’s just leave the blurb at that, shall we? If a middle grade book about a grave robbing kid who finds himself buried isn’t intriguing enough, then you don’t need to know more about this book.

I love dark middle grade, and the cover of this book probably would have sold me by itself, but I have to say, I expected a little more than what I got from this book.

Thomas is a good kid – yes, his father has him assist with grave robbing, but they’re basically living hand to mouth and it’s not like Thomas can really do anything about it. He’s well-meaning, curious, brave and intelligent…but I have to say he was a little boring. He felt underdeveloped and I think part of that was due to the short page count of the book. It’s a slim 250 pages, with fairly large print, and overall, I wish that Trevayne had dug deeper (haha omg, pun intended) into Thomas and the faerie world she created. The ending was wrapped up in a neat bow and felt a bit rushed, though I do think she left the door open for future works in this world.

That being said, I didn’t dislike this book by any means. I think after being so impressed by Beastkeeper (despite a somewhat semi-confusing curse which I’m totally willing to overlook because I just adore that book), I might have self-hyped this book a bit. But it’s a fun read and I still love the premise. I don’t recall ever reading about a character whose profession is a grave robber, and especially not in a middle grade book.

Then you throw in some faeries, who aren’t your traditional, winged, sparkly, flitting things – in fact, in my mind, some were quite creepy based on the descriptions Trevayne gave me – and Victorian London and I’m happy. I liked the atmosphere and I could believe the situation in which the faeries were forced to live in London. The villain (Mordecai…a suitably, though predictable, evil name for a villain in a children’s book) was also a little shallow, which was disappointing because I think his character could have been fascinating.

I also really enjoyed how Trevayne handled why the faeries needed Thomas’ help in the first place – I don’t want to spoil anything, but I think she posed an interesting moral question and while I’m not one to explore the themes of a book, I tend to find it easier (and even enjoyable) to do with middle grade works.

I’m not going to rave about this, but if you’re looking for something a little different from your usual middle grade fantasy, I’d check this out. And it’s actually not as grim as you’d think, considering the hero is a grave robber, if you’re concerned about younger readers. ...more

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Nov 26, 2017 Adam James rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2017

The first 10 pages of Emma Trevayne's The Afterlife of Thomas Marsden are absolutely fantastic.

And then the rest of the book happens.

How could anyone resist the premise and beginning of this novel? A boy is out robbing graves with his father only to discover at the bottom of a freshly buried gravesite....himself?? How could it be??

And then Trevayne explains it.

I just don't know how an author can absolutely whiff on such an irresistible premise. Give this premise to Neil Gaiman, and he'd have a ...more

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Aug 06, 2015 Jonathan Lin rated it liked it

3.5 stars

A good read to pass the time, though with some disappointing faults.

Thomas Marsden is just your average eleven-year-old, in happy anticipation of his twelfth birthday. He's also seen more rotting bodies and skeletons than the majority of most humans in his time as a grave robber, but then again, we all have hobbies.

Young Marsden's hardened mind isn't prepared at all, however, when he digs up what seems to be a freshly buried version of himself. Along with the body, he finds a series of ...more

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Sep 15, 2018 Wahyu Novian rated it liked it

Even middle grade fantasy book where we can meet faeries and has some magics can be so gloomy. It was so fit with foggy and gray London (at least what I gather from TV and such, never been in London. 😅)

“He was sure, in the scouring light of day and with some time to think, that he didn’t believe the fortune-teller or anything Lucy had said. But it was a pleasantly fanciful notion, and regardless of why, someone was leading Thomas on an adventure the likes of which he’d never had in his short, du ...more

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Jul 20, 2014 Colten Hibbs rated it it was amazing

From the first moment I heard about the boy who dug up his own grave I had to get my hands on his story.
As with all great fairytales THE ACCIDENTAL AFTERLIFE OF THOMAS MARSDEN is finely woven, resonant, and intricate.
It's a wonderfully dark and exciting story, beautifully told with a voice that is wholly unique yet reminiscent of Neil Gaiman and Holly Black.
This definitely sits in my top 5 books of 2015 :-) ...more

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Jul 26, 2015 Kim McGee rated it really liked it

Interesting tale of old London where a young boy whose work as a grave robber stops the night he digs up someone too familiar - himself. Others have been watching and guide him on his quest to find out who and what he is. With the help of his adopted parents, friend and some over worked fairies, Thomas will draw up courage he didn't know he had and discover his true family. Just a little bit creepy but not enough to keep young ones awake. ...more

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Aug 05, 2015 Furrawn rated it it was amazing

Perfect fantasy book. Faeries. A changeling. An evil human named Mordecai. Spiritualists. Grave robbers. Family. Despair. Hope. Friendship. Magic. Growth. Death. Life. Love.

This is a book to love and read again....for anyone aged seven to ninety-seven...

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May 19, 2015 Leah rated it liked it

3.5 maybe? Fun with a touch of a creepiness ♥

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Aug 10, 2015 Nikalyn rated it liked it

This book had such a cute cover. I wanted it to be much better than it actually was. It was kinda boring and the story was kinda confusing at the end.

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Sep 16, 2015 Hoover Public Library Kids and Teens rated it really liked it

Shelves: childrens-books, fantasy

Grave-robbing uncovers more than Thomas bargains for -- a boy that looks exactly like him. This discovery is just the beginning of a series of revelations about who he really is.

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Feb 07, 2018 Josephine (biblioseph) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, middle-grade, historical, own-kindle

Grave robbing is a messy business. A bad business.

And for Thomas Marsden, on what was an unremarkable spring night in London, it becomes a very spooky business. For lying in an unmarked grave and half covered with dirt is a boy the spitting image of Thomas himself.

This is only the first clue that something very strange is happening. Others follow, but it is a fortune teller’s frightened screams that lead Thomas into a strange world of spiritualists, death and faery folk.

Faery folk with whom Thom

...more

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May 27, 2018 Samantha rated it it was ok

Shelves: urban-fantasy, middle-grade, fantasy

When I first picked up this book I can't say I expected it to change my life and in reality it DIDN'T but I'm not upset about the book either. It was a short read but it ended up touching on some themes that actually went a little deeper than I expected for a middle grade novel.

The story centers around a boy named Thomas who is a graverobber with his father and one night they dig up a grave and inside is a boy who looks identical to Thomas. Thus starts the story of Thomas's introduction to the w ...more

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