Reviews

The Girl and the Ghost by Hanna Alkaf

ryn_richmond's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Bullying, and Child death

lilymouse's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad 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

5.0

violet_primroses's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

friss_zucker's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

situationnormal's review

4.0

I didn't expect this book to sucker punch me at the end, but it did. The tiniest bit creepy, a larger bit funny, and the largest bit bittersweet.

bluehairedreads's review against another edition

 4.5 stars.

This was so beautiful oh my god. That last chapter broke my heart. 

readsknitsrepeats's review

5.0

This was much darker than I expected and I loved it!

colleensb's review

5.0

The Girl and the Ghost was a special read! This is a book I wished existed when I was growing up. It’s haunting and creepy, yet it has endearing characters and strong voice. The POV alternates between a lonely girl and a ghost called Pink. The ghost, a poselit (little demon/spirit in Malaysian mythology) befriends the girl and protects her from harm. However because he is naturally an evil spirit, he goes too far. Ultimately, she must choose to make juman friends over her ghost. The friendship she makes is sooo sweet -‘d one of my favorite parts. I wish there was more in episodes of haunting and such in the plot. The ending also added unexpected depth to this middle-grade read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

dawn_chen's review

5.0

5⭐. I really like middle grade novels. They have a sense of whimy yet still manage to make you care for the characters. The girl and the ghost are both very well-characterized and their dynamo is so endearing but also interesting to explore. Also the dialogues are witty and adorable. The rich Malaysian lore made this a fantastical fairytale-esque story.

irmakkilinc's review

4.0

"But all I've learned of my grandmother so far is that she was a horrible, mean person. And I have her blood. What does that say about me?"

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

This was super interesting, full of culture, and extremely beautiful.

The story was simple and easy to follow, but it was dark at times. (Keep in mind that this is a middle-grade.) I ADORED Suraya and, her relationship with Pink made my heart melt.