Ghost Girl
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Perfect for fans of Small Spaces and Nightbooks, Ally Malinenko’s debut is an empowering and triumphant ghost story——with spooky twists sure to give readers a few good goosebumps!
Zee Puckett loves ghost stories. She just never expected to be living one.
It all starts with a dark and stormy night. When the skies clear, everything is different. People are missing. There’s a creepy new principal who seems to know everyone’s darkest dreams. And Zee is seeing frightening things: large, scary dogs that talk and maybe even . . . a ghost.
When she tells her classmates, only her best friend Elijah believes her. Worse, mean girl Nellie gives Zee a cruel nickname: Ghost Girl.
But whatever the storm washed up isn’t going away. Everyone’s most selfish wishes start coming true in creepy ways.
To fight for what’s right, Zee will have to embrace what makes her different and what makes her Ghost Girl. And all three of them—Zee, Elijah, and Nellie—will have to work together if they want to give their ghost story a happy ending.
Perfect for Halloween readingFeatures light scaresA charming cozy seasonal pick
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Living with her older sister while their father looks for work, 11-year-old Zee Puckett loves exploring her sleepy mountain town's graveyard and telling scary stories, especially to her best (and only) friend, Elijah. When Zee encounters a ghost on a school library trip, mean girl Nellie begins calling her "Ghost Girl," a name that becomes even more apropos when Zee realizes that she can see and talk to specters, just like her late mother could. A particularly cruel run-in with Nellie leads to a physical fight that attracts the attention of their school's new arrival, Principal Scratch, a sinister, pale-skinned man attired in all black who wears a single red glove. After Scratch visits the homes of Elijah, Nellie, and Zee, encouraging each to visualize "what you desire most," the trio finds themselves targeted by terrifying, otherworldly dogs, amid other strange occurrences. Briefly raising themes of body positivity and feminism, debut author Malinenko writes an atmospheric tale that is rife with chilling moments and an affecting exploration of grief, but underdeveloped characters and a swift, tidy ending lessen its impact. Zee and Nellie are white; Elijah is Black. Ages 8–12.
