Reviews

The Girl and the Ghost by Hanna Alkaf

lostcupofstars's review against another edition

2.5

I thought this was a good story, the pacing was good. 
The thing that made uncomfortable was Pink’s abusive and unchecked behaviour. He did some genuinely awful things and ignored Suraya’s clear lack of consent on more than one occasion which made the whole story feel odd. 

Does Jing ever find out it was Pink who nearly got her beaten to death? Bc she’s out here risking it all to save him not knowing he is her no 1 hater and that ain’t right.

Really struggled to rate this bc it was good as a story overall but Suraya’s relationship with Pink was incredibly unhealthy and wasn’t addressed, which in a book aimed at children is a concern for me.  

trix21's review

emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

did not see the twist coming at the end! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying

daanin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

mermaird's review

5.0

Took me ages to finish this one—but not because of the story at all. I was just distracted too many times. The moment I started reading it, I knew I'd give it a solid 5 stars. And I did! Perhaps I love this book even more than that

ezrasreadingcorner's review

3.0

3,5 stars. This was just a really cute middle grade story with an interesting premise and a nice setting. I really liked how this book talked about friendship, justice and family without shying away from hard aspects of those themes (and how the book in general, despite being a children’s book, wasn't holding back in terms of spookiness and darker topics). It was nice to see how the book was whimsical and funny, yet very dark and sad at the same time, and how the author trusted the readership with a number of complicated feelings and relationships despite the target audience being mainly children. Also, I really liked the Malaysian elements in this book! However, I feel like the pacing was a bit of and especially the ending could have used a little more space to properly unfold, but otherwise this was a really well done book.

ellenpederson's review

5.0

This book somehow manages to be thoroughly creepy and completely wholesome at the same time. An impressive balance! The pacing also really works... No unnecessarily long and drawn-out scheming/battles, but enough depth to get the reader to care about the characters. It's also the first MG/YA book set in Malaysia that I can ever remember reading, so that was exciting.

This one feels a little under the radar, which is underserved. Read it!

jericka's review

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious sad fast-paced

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

3.75

django018's review

emotional hopeful inspiring sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

henry10's review against another edition

3.0

3 stars: yes, but no.

it was good, and i loved it up to the halfway point. there were too many plots abandoned. the ending was also unnecessarily cut short, with half a page of resolution after 50 pages of straight bomb drops, one after the other.

joannaautumn's review

3.0

” If there is anything I have learned from observing humans, Pink said, it is that families are complicated things.”

This is a middle-grade novel that has a theme of family and friendship at its core.
It’s a story of a girl named Suraya, but it is also the story of her mother, and her grandmother. A story about how our actions and beliefs affect others, how important compassion is along with everyday kindness, how complex family relations can be, and the multiple ways people deal with grief and loneliness.

Life changes for Suraya when her grandmother dies and leaves her a parting gift in form of a pelesit, who quickly becomes Suraya’s only friend. Through their relationship, we get to see the high points and low points of having a friend nobody can see or know about. In school Suraya isn’t treated well, she is bullied because she comes from a poor family, making it hard to make friends in such surroundings. But even as all the cruel things are done to her she never wishes ill will towards her abusers, there is a key message of power and the consequences of power abuse.

”Power is an addiction. A small taste is often enough for people to crave another, and then another, and then another, and those who have it will do anything to get more of it.”

The main villain is no different than the bullies, his goal is to acquire power and rule over the rest at his liking, uncaring towards anyone other than himself. I don’t think it is a coincidence that he is presenting himself as a religious figure either.

Hanna Alkaf managed to write a fast-paced character-driven book that carries across an important message while punishing hypocrisy and selfishness. It’s only a plus how she handled both the family issues and the slow development of her characters, definitely one of the better MG-novels I have read 3,75/5.
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This was so sweet, review to come.