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A review by backpackingbookworm
Ghostcloud by Michael Mann
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
3.5
Ghostcloud is a magical and adventurous middle-grade story about a group of pre-teens who have been kidnapped and forced to shovel coal in a gruelling underground power station. Luke, Ravi, and Jess form a fast friendship despite their differences - where Ravi is determined to keep his head down for the much-anticipated amber ticket, Jess and Luke want to find another way to escape. An encounter with Alma, a ghost who travels on clouds, reveals that Luke is a half-ghost who can use his powers to not only escape, but bring down the entire power station operation. But it's a dangerous mission with boss Tabatha hot on Luke's heels.. and she will do anything to stop him.
One thing I really enjoyed about this book was the word-building and scene-setting - I could practically feel the heat from the coal, picture the squashed, hard bunks in the dorm and taste the bland gruel. It was an adventure from start to finish that I felt fully immersed in. The characters were diverse and interesting - I particularly liked Luke as the MC who was kind, thoughtful, and selfless, risking his freedom to help his friends and others trapped in the power station. There were also some darker themes that gave the story a gritty edge - there was plenty of tension and combat (though perhaps a little too much for the intended audience).
My main dislikes were probably around the length and pace - it felt a bit too dragged out in parts and lost my attention. I also felt like the story-building was a little amateur with a lot of 'and then this happened' 'and then out of nowhere' type sentences that felt a bit too blatant.
Other than that, I enjoyed the story and thought there was plenty of imagination and excitement to keep the reader engaged and wondering what would happen next.
Thank you to NetGalley, Hachette Children's Group & Hodder Children's Books for sending me a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.
Rating breakdown
One thing I really enjoyed about this book was the word-building and scene-setting - I could practically feel the heat from the coal, picture the squashed, hard bunks in the dorm and taste the bland gruel. It was an adventure from start to finish that I felt fully immersed in. The characters were diverse and interesting - I particularly liked Luke as the MC who was kind, thoughtful, and selfless, risking his freedom to help his friends and others trapped in the power station. There were also some darker themes that gave the story a gritty edge - there was plenty of tension and combat (though perhaps a little too much for the intended audience).
My main dislikes were probably around the length and pace - it felt a bit too dragged out in parts and lost my attention. I also felt like the story-building was a little amateur with a lot of 'and then this happened' 'and then out of nowhere' type sentences that felt a bit too blatant.
Other than that, I enjoyed the story and thought there was plenty of imagination and excitement to keep the reader engaged and wondering what would happen next.
Thank you to NetGalley, Hachette Children's Group & Hodder Children's Books for sending me a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.
Rating breakdown
- Plot/narrative - 3.5
- Writing style/readability - 3.6
- Characters - 3.6
- Diverse themes - 3.5
- Ending - 3.5
Overall - 3.5