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redheadragereads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Beautiful middle grade read- a touch of spooky in a really heartwarming story.
Book club read!
A ghost story with some fun twists!
A storm night results in some weird things happening in Zee's town. She can't quite figure out what's happened except that everyone's most selfish wishes are being granted. Her classmates don't believe her and the class bully has started calling her 'ghost girl'. To make things right Zee must embrace her fears and trust in the help of her friends.
My thoughts:
A scary read (especially for a middle grade reader!) but so endearing and a beautiful message.
Zee was the perfect MC - she was complex and enchanting, a wonderful protagonist for such a story.
Book club read!
A ghost story with some fun twists!
A storm night results in some weird things happening in Zee's town. She can't quite figure out what's happened except that everyone's most selfish wishes are being granted. Her classmates don't believe her and the class bully has started calling her 'ghost girl'. To make things right Zee must embrace her fears and trust in the help of her friends.
My thoughts:
A scary read (especially for a middle grade reader!) but so endearing and a beautiful message.
Zee was the perfect MC - she was complex and enchanting, a wonderful protagonist for such a story.
howlinglibraries's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
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
4.0
Ghost Girl was a fun, atmospheric little story about a very lovable trio of kids. I can definitely see recommending this to any kid who likes horror or dark fantasy stories! While there are some creepy elements, I don't think this is a story that's going to scare the average kid, and I would pitch it as paranormal fantasy just as soon as horror.
My favorite thing about Ghost Girl wasn't the spooky atmosphere or the writing or the plot, but was the characters, and how well we got to watch their friendships blossom with one another. Zee, Elijah, and Nellie are all incredibly lovable kids and you can't help but root for them - even Nellie, who gets a rough start but I quickly warmed up to.
There are some sad and heavy elements at play here, too: Zee's mother passed away in childbirth, and Zee blames herself; Elijah's father fat-shames him and Elijah's mother is doing poorly with her mental health; and Nellie depicts the sort of classic "mean girl with a miserable home life" trope. I enjoyed how Malinenko didn't shy away from any of these topics, but still allowed a gleam of hope to shine through.
Ghost Girl wasn't a perfect read for me, but I enjoyed it overall and absolutely recommend it to young readers, as well as any adult who loves middle grade stories and needs a good reminder of the power of friendship and love.
✨ Representation: Zee is questioning and implied queer; Elijah is Black and fat
My favorite thing about Ghost Girl wasn't the spooky atmosphere or the writing or the plot, but was the characters, and how well we got to watch their friendships blossom with one another. Zee, Elijah, and Nellie are all incredibly lovable kids and you can't help but root for them - even Nellie, who gets a rough start but I quickly warmed up to.
There are some sad and heavy elements at play here, too: Zee's mother passed away in childbirth, and Zee blames herself; Elijah's father fat-shames him and Elijah's mother is doing poorly with her mental health; and Nellie depicts the sort of classic "mean girl with a miserable home life" trope. I enjoyed how Malinenko didn't shy away from any of these topics, but still allowed a gleam of hope to shine through.
Ghost Girl wasn't a perfect read for me, but I enjoyed it overall and absolutely recommend it to young readers, as well as any adult who loves middle grade stories and needs a good reminder of the power of friendship and love.
✨ Representation: Zee is questioning and implied queer; Elijah is Black and fat
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Fatphobia, and Mental illness
Minor: Emotional abuse and Child abuse
katilovesthewoods's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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? Yes
4.25
nomadtla's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
<strong>A wonderful middle-grade book</strong>
Like life this book has a few scares and struggles but with friendship and determination the main characters chart their path. A great book for young teens with a distinctive voice that does not coddle or talk down to the intended audience.
Like life this book has a few scares and struggles but with friendship and determination the main characters chart their path. A great book for young teens with a distinctive voice that does not coddle or talk down to the intended audience.
icedcoffeelea's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
stephanien's review against another edition
3.5
Ghost Girl is one of those books to which I was drawn simply because I loved the title. Who could refuse a title like that? There is also something really appealing about juvenile fiction cover titles as well, and this one is really effective as the more I looked at it, the more I saw. I am not one to be drawn to a book by a cover title as I usually tend to chose them by the content, but I do admire the artistry and the talent that do go into them. As someone who can't draw anything more artistic than stick figures, I have a huge respect for the effort that goes into a lot of these cover pages.
Zee is a fun character, but I can't honestly say that she stands out from any other middle-grade character that I have read in this genre. As usual, she is the one who stands out in school for telling odd stories and coming from a family that has some issues so the other students don't quite know what to make of her situation. Because she doesn't follow the societal rules, she doesn't really fit into any social group at school and is the target of the usual group of popular girls. Standard stuff, really. I didn't always root for her character as she had a tendency to be mean and spiteful at times, which in a funny way, I kind of liked as it reflected more the reality of the situation of someone who is being picked on a lot of the time. She definitely had a chip on her shoulder and I do wish the author had developed this a bit more through her relationships with her peers.
I thought the writing style was fine for a juvenile fiction novel as there is a fine balance between detail and story, and you don't necessarily want to bog down young readers with too much detail. While I thought there were a lot of gaps in the story, and some of it left holes that were not fully explained, I'm not sure a young reader would necessarily pick up on those. The story was not original by any means, but it was fun, and the author took the time to place the importance on family and friendship, running themes throughout the book. And while Zee could be spiteful, she did get called out for her behaviour, and there were definitely consequences to her actions, which I liked.
I will be honest and say that I am a terrible judge of creepiness in a book as I have always loved creepy, even as a kid. The story does revolve around a trickster who promises people whatever their hearts desire and Zee is one of the few people who is immune to his tricks. I have years behind me reading horror, fantasy, and ghost stories, so this premise is not original but for a kid who is seven or eight? This might be right up their alley if they are looking for something that is creepy, but won't send them to mom and dad's room for the next month.
Verdict
Ghost Girl was a solid tween entry, and I did enjoy the book. Yes, there were gaps in the story, and some young readers may pick up on the lack of development or the brushing over of those ideas, but I think for the most part, young readers will enjoy the characters and how they eventually worked together to save their town. I definitely think this book will appeal to those young readers who are venturing into this genre as it's not too scary and the story, and the characters, are relatable.
smorrison4's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
This was a fantastic book for young and old readers. I hope there will be a sequel because I would love to see more adventures with Zee and Elijah.
Not too scary but definitely an interesting story and I loved the paranormal aspect.
Not too scary but definitely an interesting story and I loved the paranormal aspect.
fortheloveofnerd550's review against another edition
3.0
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and I wanted to thank them and the publisher for allowing me the chance to read this book.
I went back and forth and back and forth about my rating for this book, but I think I finally landed on a 2.5 stars rounded up to a 3. There was a lot about this book that was clever and captivating but there was also a lot that just didn’t work.
As always, let’s start with what I enjoyed.
The writing:
For anyone who knows me well, they know I am a sucker for good writing style. In fact, it can make or break a book for me. In this case, there were large portions that were excellent – I was getting chills up my spine, my heart was racing with fear for our characters, and, during those moments, I was completely invested.
The characters:
There were certain aspects about the characters I really enjoyed. I loved Zee’s relationship with her sister – having a sister myself, it was easy to identify with and get invested in Zee and Abby. I loved their whole dynamic, especially Abby’s fierce desire to protect and provide for her little sister (while also, at times, wanting to strangle her. Which, if you have a sibling, is often how those relationships work.)
I wasn’t as invested in Elijah and Nellie, especially since Nellie starts the book as a bully, but I appreciated Elijah’s concerns and sensitivity about his weight and appearance. I find this is an issue not often addressed in Middle Grade literature and it was heartening to see a character that kids might be able to identify with. And while I didn’t necessarily enjoy Nellie’s character (like, at all) it was encouraging to see a character who was portrayed in a negative light have some redemption in the end. No one is perfect and it’s important for kids to see characters who can change their ways.
The story concept:
Listen, I was here for this story concept. Ghosts, demons and creepy crawlies are my thing. There were a lot of solid ideas in this particular book and while it sometimes felt like there was too much going on for one story, many of these ideas were executed well. I do think I would have preferred for the author to narrow her focus a little and concentrate on doing a few things really well rather than doing a lot of things poorly.
Now for the things I didn’t like.
The writing:
As I said above, there was a lot of great writing in this book. I want to stress that – there were portions where the book had me. However, a book cannot necessarily be saved by patches of good writing. And the bad patches here…they were pretty bad. This caused the pace to feel choppy; I would fly through bits and have to plod through others. It really dragged down my rating because I never felt like I knew if I was going to enjoy the next page or hate it.
The characters:
Listen, I know middle schoolers aren’t usually considered to be the wisest bunch out there, but man, these characters made some pretty dumb decisions. While there were things I really liked about Zee and her gang, their poor decision-making made it hard to root for them.
The story concept:
For the most part, I really liked what was going on here, as I have said above, despite sometimes have one too many elements. But man...that ending just about ruined the whole book. It’s all well and good to hit the notes throughout but the ending is often what sticks with the reader and a bad ending can sour an entire reading experience, as it did here. I don’t want to go into any details because, hello, spoilers, but I will say I was bitterly disappointed to spend all that time reading this book to have it end the way it did. This is what ended up dragging my rating down an entire star.
So, on the whole, I had a (mostly) fun time reading this with some bumps along the way and an unfortunate pitfall at the end. I would be interested in reading more books by this author – sometimes a little practice and experience are needed to smooth the rough edges.
I went back and forth and back and forth about my rating for this book, but I think I finally landed on a 2.5 stars rounded up to a 3. There was a lot about this book that was clever and captivating but there was also a lot that just didn’t work.
As always, let’s start with what I enjoyed.
The writing:
For anyone who knows me well, they know I am a sucker for good writing style. In fact, it can make or break a book for me. In this case, there were large portions that were excellent – I was getting chills up my spine, my heart was racing with fear for our characters, and, during those moments, I was completely invested.
The characters:
There were certain aspects about the characters I really enjoyed. I loved Zee’s relationship with her sister – having a sister myself, it was easy to identify with and get invested in Zee and Abby. I loved their whole dynamic, especially Abby’s fierce desire to protect and provide for her little sister (while also, at times, wanting to strangle her. Which, if you have a sibling, is often how those relationships work.)
I wasn’t as invested in Elijah and Nellie, especially since Nellie starts the book as a bully, but I appreciated Elijah’s concerns and sensitivity about his weight and appearance. I find this is an issue not often addressed in Middle Grade literature and it was heartening to see a character that kids might be able to identify with. And while I didn’t necessarily enjoy Nellie’s character (like, at all) it was encouraging to see a character who was portrayed in a negative light have some redemption in the end. No one is perfect and it’s important for kids to see characters who can change their ways.
The story concept:
Listen, I was here for this story concept. Ghosts, demons and creepy crawlies are my thing. There were a lot of solid ideas in this particular book and while it sometimes felt like there was too much going on for one story, many of these ideas were executed well. I do think I would have preferred for the author to narrow her focus a little and concentrate on doing a few things really well rather than doing a lot of things poorly.
Now for the things I didn’t like.
The writing:
As I said above, there was a lot of great writing in this book. I want to stress that – there were portions where the book had me. However, a book cannot necessarily be saved by patches of good writing. And the bad patches here…they were pretty bad. This caused the pace to feel choppy; I would fly through bits and have to plod through others. It really dragged down my rating because I never felt like I knew if I was going to enjoy the next page or hate it.
The characters:
Listen, I know middle schoolers aren’t usually considered to be the wisest bunch out there, but man, these characters made some pretty dumb decisions. While there were things I really liked about Zee and her gang, their poor decision-making made it hard to root for them.
The story concept:
For the most part, I really liked what was going on here, as I have said above, despite sometimes have one too many elements. But man...that ending just about ruined the whole book. It’s all well and good to hit the notes throughout but the ending is often what sticks with the reader and a bad ending can sour an entire reading experience, as it did here. I don’t want to go into any details because, hello, spoilers, but I will say I was bitterly disappointed to spend all that time reading this book to have it end the way it did. This is what ended up dragging my rating down an entire star.
So, on the whole, I had a (mostly) fun time reading this with some bumps along the way and an unfortunate pitfall at the end. I would be interested in reading more books by this author – sometimes a little practice and experience are needed to smooth the rough edges.
erbryant's review against another edition
4.0
Thanks to #NetGalley for the early release copy! This was a spooky Middle grade book that had me on the edge of my seat. I think it would be for higher middle grade readers (11-12 years old) and maybe not younger middle grade readers. It was a little scary at some points of the story.
I definitely enjoyed the friendship aspects of the book and thought that was a great aspect!
I definitely enjoyed the friendship aspects of the book and thought that was a great aspect!