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4.18 AVERAGE
4.18 AVERAGE
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I loved this book! The illustrations are beautiful and the story is wonderful! The only "flaw" is that there are no page numbers. I enjoyed it none the less.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Slavery
Finished this book within a day! loved the book from start to finish. The illustrations were effing beautiful and so mesmerizing to look at. I was hooked by the story since the beginning
Chelsea, a girl of colour whose dad does ghost hunting as a job. As a punishment, she had to work at her dad’s company and help him remove paranormal activity from people’s homes.
In Harrington Mansion, she could see spirits and could communicate with them. As time went by, she understood that ghosts do not want to be hurt but rather be understood and be respected as they had gone through lots of trauma in the past.
3.8⭐️/5
Chelsea, a girl of colour whose dad does ghost hunting as a job. As a punishment, she had to work at her dad’s company and help him remove paranormal activity from people’s homes.
In Harrington Mansion, she could see spirits and could communicate with them. As time went by, she understood that ghosts do not want to be hurt but rather be understood and be respected as they had gone through lots of trauma in the past.
3.8⭐️/5
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Super cute! I absolutely loved the artistry! The story was cute but left me wanting more story- it felt like it was over too soon! It would be great as a start of a series though!
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
➽ Ghost Roast sounded like a fun ghosthunting story, but it didn't quite live up to my expectations. The story follows Chelsea who used to be known as the 'Ghost Girl' because her father is a 'paranormal removal expert'. Tired of being mocked by her peers, she's been hiding her dad's job at her new school and is finally part of the cool girls. However, when she's forced to take on a summer job at her father's business, Chelsea is once again confronted with the paranormal. I loved the idea behind Ghost Roast, as Chelsea doesn't believe in ghosts like her father, but ends up being the only person with the gift to see them. Even though she resents working for her dad and getting outed as the 'Ghost Girl' once again, Chelsea gets invested in their latest case.
➽ The ending was pretty slow, but the second half was much stronger. Chelsea discovers her powers and communicates with a young ghost boy who died on a former plantation. I liked that she was trying to help him and try to reason with the spirits. Her father intends to exterminate them since they've hurt his family in the past, so both of them have very different approaches to ghost hunting. I loved the discussions about racism and how it still affects places like the estate where a lot of black people have been wronged.
➽ Unfortunately, I feel like the story didn't utilize its potential. The beginning was all over the place and I was sure we'd be focusing on Chelsea's difficult relationship with being the 'Ghost Girl' and how it affects her new friendships. In the end, it is quickly pushed aside and everyone keeps ignoring how mortified Chelsea is. I felt bad for her, as her secret was outed by one of her 'friends' and no one cares that she used to be bullied for it and is still sensitive about it. In the end, the story had too many things going on and didn't properly wrap all of them up. The ending was SO abrupt and rushed.After all the angst of Chelsea falling for a ghost, he simply tells her to move on with her life and that's that???
➽ Chelsea's friends were also horrible to her and never got their comeuppance. One of them leaked a video about her dad that revealed she was the daughter of a ghosthunter ... because she was bored. Chelsea immediately forgives her even though this is literally her worst nightmare. Her friends were always so judgmental and dismissive, I was waiting for Chelsea to ditch them or stand up to them. However, that never happened and they remained awful until the very last scene. It was disappointing to see their toxic behavior and the class differences being ignored.
➽ The ending was pretty slow, but the second half was much stronger. Chelsea discovers her powers and communicates with a young ghost boy who died on a former plantation. I liked that she was trying to help him and try to reason with the spirits. Her father intends to exterminate them since they've hurt his family in the past, so both of them have very different approaches to ghost hunting. I loved the discussions about racism and how it still affects places like the estate where a lot of black people have been wronged.
➽ Unfortunately, I feel like the story didn't utilize its potential. The beginning was all over the place and I was sure we'd be focusing on Chelsea's difficult relationship with being the 'Ghost Girl' and how it affects her new friendships. In the end, it is quickly pushed aside and everyone keeps ignoring how mortified Chelsea is. I felt bad for her, as her secret was outed by one of her 'friends' and no one cares that she used to be bullied for it and is still sensitive about it. In the end, the story had too many things going on and didn't properly wrap all of them up. The ending was SO abrupt and rushed.
➽ Chelsea's friends were also horrible to her and never got their comeuppance. One of them leaked a video about her dad that revealed she was the daughter of a ghosthunter ... because she was bored. Chelsea immediately forgives her even though this is literally her worst nightmare. Her friends were always so judgmental and dismissive, I was waiting for Chelsea to ditch them or stand up to them. However, that never happened and they remained awful until the very last scene. It was disappointing to see their toxic behavior and the class differences being ignored.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Murder
Minor: Toxic friendship
If I can figure out a way to articulate my thoughts about this book well I’ll write a real review, but for now, just know that this book did not sit right with my Black ass spirit.
In this graphic novel we have the ghost of an enslaved woman willingly spending her afterlife as a servant to a white woman. (And we never check up on her at the end to see if she was freed from the house or still choosing to serve this old white lady.)
I just have a lot of problems with this. The artwork is pretty though. I wouldn’t suggest Black young adults read this. This does not give the right message of how racists should be dealt with…
Ghost Roast is a super fun YA graphic novel following a young girl and her summer of ghost-hunting with her eccentric father. Though Chelsea is hesitant at first--scared of what her new friends might say--she soon finds herself face-to-face with actual ghosts and they aren't so bad. While helping her father with a huge opportunity, she stumbles upon the mystery of the young deceased master of the house, Oliver, and what actually happened to him. To save Oliver's ghost, Chelsea will have to exorcize the true malevolent spirit haunting this New Orleans Mansion while running interference so her father doesn't roast the wrong ghost.
Loved this graphic novel! Would be a great addition to any collection as it is so much fun and historically inspired! I love when YA, especially graphic novels, touch on hard topics like death, murder, and racism in a way that really conveys why the discussion on these topics are so important.
Loved this graphic novel! Would be a great addition to any collection as it is so much fun and historically inspired! I love when YA, especially graphic novels, touch on hard topics like death, murder, and racism in a way that really conveys why the discussion on these topics are so important.
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Racism, Classism