Scan barcode
carolibrary's review against another edition
3.0
This spooky middle grade book is perfect for the upcoming Halloween season!
I loved the strong characters. Zee is a headstrong, brave storyteller with a strong sense of justice who learns she can communicate with ghosts. I loved her relationship with her 21-year-old sister Abby who is raising her while their father is away for work. Zee’s best friend Elijah is smart and compassionate, but he has a tense relationship with his father because of his weight and interests. Nellie begins the book as a bully, but there is more to her than meets the eye.
I enjoyed Malinenko’s writing style, and I liked the way she included commentary on gender biases, body image issues, and identify for a middle grade audience.
While the spooky vibes started off strong, the paranormal aspects of the story overall fell flat to me. The writing could be a bit repetitive at times. The backstory and lore were underdeveloped, so there were a lot of pieces without clear connections to each other. While all the big things were resolved at the end, I was left with a lot of questions about things that happened throughout the book.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC.
Blog | Instagram
I loved the strong characters. Zee is a headstrong, brave storyteller with a strong sense of justice who learns she can communicate with ghosts. I loved her relationship with her 21-year-old sister Abby who is raising her while their father is away for work. Zee’s best friend Elijah is smart and compassionate, but he has a tense relationship with his father because of his weight and interests. Nellie begins the book as a bully, but there is more to her than meets the eye.
I enjoyed Malinenko’s writing style, and I liked the way she included commentary on gender biases, body image issues, and identify for a middle grade audience.
While the spooky vibes started off strong, the paranormal aspects of the story overall fell flat to me. The writing could be a bit repetitive at times. The backstory and lore were underdeveloped, so there were a lot of pieces without clear connections to each other. While all the big things were resolved at the end, I was left with a lot of questions about things that happened throughout the book.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC.
Blog | Instagram
ashleykorine's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
cynsworkshop's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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? No
4.5
nightwing's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
3.25
Thanks to NetGalley & HarperCollins Children's Books for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Ghost Girl follows Zee who is a creative storyteller, which does make her unpopular in school since her stories are considered "lies" rather than unique stories. She lives with her older sister who works her butt off to support the two of them while their father is out of town. Everything's pretty ordinary...until weird things start to happen. And no one believes Zee.
A very fun thriller/mystery/supernatural story that was hard to put down. Zee was a really fun protagonist and Elijah a great side character with depth of his own. Nellie bogged the story down to me because she was just so...outright nasty to Zee. I know redemption arcs are popular lately but it wasn't handled too well here, Nellie was just consistently rude to everyone to make her redemption believable. That's just me though.
The romance between Elijah and Nellie was ridiculous to me, it really broke the rhythm of the book in some parts. Why would Elijah be willing to date a girl that'd been bullying Zee for years? I would've seen this happen in the second book when some time passes and Nellie had completely redeemed herself but she was in the middle of her redemption arc and the romance just came out of nowhere, frankly. I like a good romance but it was just annoying in here.
Still, I found it hard to put this ghost mystery down and I do recommend it for middle graders who are looking for a solid mystery/supernatural story that's not too outright traumatizing, ha.
Ghost Girl follows Zee who is a creative storyteller, which does make her unpopular in school since her stories are considered "lies" rather than unique stories. She lives with her older sister who works her butt off to support the two of them while their father is out of town. Everything's pretty ordinary...until weird things start to happen. And no one believes Zee.
A very fun thriller/mystery/supernatural story that was hard to put down. Zee was a really fun protagonist and Elijah a great side character with depth of his own. Nellie bogged the story down to me because she was just so...outright nasty to Zee. I know redemption arcs are popular lately but it wasn't handled too well here, Nellie was just consistently rude to everyone to make her redemption believable. That's just me though.
The romance between Elijah and Nellie was ridiculous to me, it really broke the rhythm of the book in some parts. Why would Elijah be willing to date a girl that'd been bullying Zee for years? I would've seen this happen in the second book when some time passes and Nellie had completely redeemed herself but she was in the middle of her redemption arc and the romance just came out of nowhere, frankly. I like a good romance but it was just annoying in here.
Still, I found it hard to put this ghost mystery down and I do recommend it for middle graders who are looking for a solid mystery/supernatural story that's not too outright traumatizing, ha.
jasbill's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
inspiring
mysterious
tense
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? N/A
5.0
While there are many things to love about this book, the reality written in the worlds of the characters is what I appreciate the most. Zee’s mom has died and her father has had to travel out of town to find work to support them leaving the sister to raise Zee and provide what she can. Elijah has a dad who is having a hard time accepting him for who he is and a mom who can’t seem to pull herself out of a debilitating depression. At school, Zee struggles with being bullied by someone that turns out to have a family story of her own.
These things aren’t the focus of this book but for many readers, it is a peak into a world that is very real for them at home but not often seen in middle grade stories. I can’t imagine what it would have felt like to see my family situation in a book as a kid, to safely feel seen in my otherwise hidden world.
CAWPILE Rating: 10
These things aren’t the focus of this book but for many readers, it is a peak into a world that is very real for them at home but not often seen in middle grade stories. I can’t imagine what it would have felt like to see my family situation in a book as a kid, to safely feel seen in my otherwise hidden world.
CAWPILE Rating: 10
More...