The Wish List
Meg Finn has led a miserable life. First, her mum died, saddling her with a useless, nasty stepfather. Then, angry and alone, Meg found herself committing acts of petty crime with dim-witted hood Belch Brennan. Finally, just as she was about to go straight to honor her sainted mum's memory, Belch went and got them both killed as they attempted to rob crabby old Lowrie McCall.
And if that wasn't bad enough, now St. Peter and Beelzebub can't decide which way Meg is supposed to go. She is one in a million: a soul perfectly balanced between good and evil. Now Meg's got to go back and somehow tip the scales up - the further, the better!
To earn her wings, Meg's been assigned to help the last person she tried to hurt (Lowrie McCall) who has a wish list of wrong choices that he wants to make right. But Beelzebub can't stand the thought of a bad soul going good. So he sends back the soul of powerfully stupid Belch, (who went straight down without stopping) to muck things up for Meg and Lowrie. But Meg's got smarts on her side and more than just a few tricks up her insubstantial sleeve.
Eoin Colfer
Eoin Colfer (pronounced Owen) was born in Wexford on the South-East coast of Ireland in 1965, where he and his four brothers were brought up by his father (an elementary school teacher, historian and artist of note) and mother (a drama teacher). He first developed an interest in writing in primary (elementary) school with gripping Viking stories inspired by history he was learning in school at the time!
After leaving school he got his degree from Dublin university and qualified as a primary school teacher, returning to work in Wexford. He married in 1991 and he and his wife spent about 4 years between 1992 and 1996 working in Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Italy. His first book, Benny and Omar, was published in 1998, based on his experiences in Tunisia; it has since been translated into many languages. A sequel followed in 1999, followed by some other books (see below).