Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Girl and the Ghost

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Girl and the Ghost by Hanna Alkaf

9 reviews

moiru's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious sad 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

4.5

A heart-wrenching, yet heartwarming story about family and grief, based on Malaysian folklore and superstition.

I LOVE reading this book! I LOVE the writing! It took me 5 days to finish this book.

She shivered slightly under his gaze—she had no blanket—so he curled himself around her for warmth and smiled when she sighed happily in her sleep.

The story is about a pelesik, a ghost that takes the form of a grasshopper as a disguise, who was previously under the command of a witch. When he's no longer under her control, he traveled to find a girl who shares the same blood as the witch. The ghost doesn't understand what emotion was in his non-existent heart, but a joy of human pain, because that's how he was taught by the witch. However, when he meets Suraya, the girl he has been searching for, he begins to learn that her greatness of humanity is contagious to him.

He wasn’t sure he liked feeling it; ghosts weren’t meant to be sympathetic, of all things.

The Girl and the Ghost was an amusing read, but a little dark for a middle grade book. It's kind of depressing in the early chapters. I had to stop myself from reading because there are 20 pages of bullying scenes. I understand her, and I can see myself in her. Anyway, they cherish their friendship as a human and a ghost. They are so cute, funny, and wholesome together. As for the ghost's name, that kid was full of surprise, huh? LOL. Again, as I mentioned before, the ghost doesn't understand his feelings, and the story slowly became darker and darker.

There's a quote that bothers me a lot.

“Because then, that makes me no better than them. That makes me a bully too.”

Well, no! Protecting yourself from getting bullied doesn't mean you and the bully are the same. If you can't defend yourself against bullies, you'll never find your freedom. Better teach the kids to defend themselves.

Through the story, they met new companions, like the hero's journey. The thing that gets me is that

she promised to visit Hussein again but didn't in the end.

I thought it would be talked about in the epilogue, but the author didn't. Or maybe in book 2, if possible. Here I am, begging.

It says that the most beautiful blooms come from the darkest soil.

I had so many predictions about how the story would end, and it is so satisfying to see it come true. One is back in their place, one is able to find their missing puzzle, and one is able to smile again.

Overall, I really enjoy reading this book. It's rare occasion to read an English book that represents Malaysian culture, and Hanna Alkaf is definitely the author I will be following. I can't wait to read her next book!

⭐ 4.3/5

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melancholymegs's review

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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? It's complicated

3.0

Content Warnings

lizgom's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This will probably be my favorite middle grade book. I listened to this as an audiobook, and honestly it was great. I feel like it gave the characters more depth than I would've given them if I had read it. I have a habit of liking middle grade books better as audiobooks. This is a great take on mental health and reaching out.

Content Warnings

alexvb's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.0

This was so great! I enjoyed it from start to finish! I wish the ending had just one more chapter between the final and the epilogue or just a few more pages or something. It felt just a tad rushed.

The writing flowed so well, and the story was very easy to get into!

The characters are all so distinct and great. I like PINK even though we are challenged to question him and his morals. The bad guy was actually chilling and creepy!

The story naturally has Muslim and Malaysian culture / aspects into the story which was great for me to look up (especially all the food mentioned! So much food was mentioned!) and do extra research about if I wanted to.

I the dual pov was perfect for me.
This story also discusses parental love, mourning, and bullying, and it felt very realistic. The fantasy/supernatural is very minor compared to the modern day, everyday life, and real topics in ths book.

I found myself crying in that last chapter though! The reveal!!

Personally, I think that this book is probably better for the upper end of middle grade (13-14) rather than the lower end. Some publishers class age 8-14/15 as middle grade, but I would not recommend this book to someone under 12, because some parts of this were genuinely dark, creepy, and scary if I'm being honest. I had some disgusted, creeped-out, heart-racing moments myself reading this as an adult! Our main character around 12 to 13 years old, so if you're going to give this book to a child, I think a child of the same age or older is best.

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cozylifewithabby's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

The story of a young girl with no friends and a ghost who calls her his master. They will both need to learn some tough lessons together and apart. Cute, but dark.

Content Warnings