“Ernie looked like a total teacher’s pet, standing at the blackboard in a clean shirt with his hair combed flat.”

From Doug Cooney’s The Beloved Dearly.

12-year-old Ernie likes to make money and so when he sees a need, he comes up with a way to fill that need… and make some money out of it.  So over his young life, Ernie has come up with countless schemes that are relatively profitable, but often land him in trouble.  After his latest money making plans his recently-widowed father has told him that one more money-making scheme will land him in serious trouble, but when a brilliant idea strikes, Ernie can’t help but take advantage of a priceless opportunity: pet funerals for kids.  A nearby abandoned lot is perfect to become a pet cemetery, so Ernie just needs a few employees to create a solid business; Ernie hires Dusty to create and decorate the caskets, Tony to dig the holes before the funerals, and a girl called Swimming Pool to cry on cue.  Ernie now finds himself the funeral director for a rapidly expanding business, but as the business grows, so do the problems.  As Ernie tries to keep his business secret from his father, troubles with his employees threaten to destroy his business as the mourning human clients want more and more for the recently departed pets.  However, when things hit a little too close to home for Ernie and everything seems to fall apart, Ernie will have to find a way to put it all back together again.

Cooney weaves a story that is both heartfelt and hilarious as the main characters tackle life, death, and growing up in a way that is captivating to readers of all ages.  The close but not quite developments of the book help endear the story while that story’s uniqueness also makes it quite the page-turner.  The Beloved Dearly is a quick read that have readers laughing long after the story finishes.