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A review by twilliamson
Ghost Girl by Ally Malinenko
5.0
Ghost Girl might be labeled for a middle grade audience, but Ally Malinenko proves that a good story is never out of season, no matter what stage of life you might be in. When it comes to reading as an adult, it's important to understand that reading has no real age limits, and while the messages coded into a book may hit differently at one stage of life over another, that does not diminish its power or its importance. Ghost Girl is proof that just because a book may be written for a younger audience does not mean that it has no lessons to impart.
Firstly, Ghost Girl is full of powerful emotion, delving into complex issues through the framework of coming-of-age. Zee and her friends face a lot of heavy issues throughout the book, facing the way words can help or hurt, the potency of grief and the difficulty of confronting it healthily, the inherent problem of searching for personal authority at the cost of community wellbeing, and the fear and anxiety of having to grow up to confront life's many problems and complexities. It's a book rich with meaning, delivered with concision and authenticity.
Secondly, the scope of what the book has to explore reaches far beyond just the scope of childhood. Malinenko frames the story not just in terms of how these themes impact the child characters of the book, but also in how the adult characters of the novel are also impacted by their own difficulties and struggles. The focus may be on children, but Malinenko deftly weaves in an exploration of how these emotions are difficult in any stage of life, not just childhood--and we need to deal with them in childhood if we want to better equip ourselves to understand their impact in adulthood.
Thirdly, because the book is so rich with meaning, it provides a natural conversation gateway for adults wanting to have difficult conversations with their growing children. Ghost Girl is a natural launching point to have deep, meaningful conversations about difficult topics. In a world so concerned with the "appropriateness" of literature for children, I can't think of a better way to help broach difficult conversations than to do it with age-appropriate literature like this novel. Complexity of emotional framework does not make a book age-inappropriate, and books like Ghost Girl are powerful tools in any parent's arsenal for connecting with their kid.
Ghost Girl is a wonderful book, through and through. It's the kind of book I would have loved as a kid, and the kind of book I can only wish I had growing up.
Firstly, Ghost Girl is full of powerful emotion, delving into complex issues through the framework of coming-of-age. Zee and her friends face a lot of heavy issues throughout the book, facing the way words can help or hurt, the potency of grief and the difficulty of confronting it healthily, the inherent problem of searching for personal authority at the cost of community wellbeing, and the fear and anxiety of having to grow up to confront life's many problems and complexities. It's a book rich with meaning, delivered with concision and authenticity.
Secondly, the scope of what the book has to explore reaches far beyond just the scope of childhood. Malinenko frames the story not just in terms of how these themes impact the child characters of the book, but also in how the adult characters of the novel are also impacted by their own difficulties and struggles. The focus may be on children, but Malinenko deftly weaves in an exploration of how these emotions are difficult in any stage of life, not just childhood--and we need to deal with them in childhood if we want to better equip ourselves to understand their impact in adulthood.
Thirdly, because the book is so rich with meaning, it provides a natural conversation gateway for adults wanting to have difficult conversations with their growing children. Ghost Girl is a natural launching point to have deep, meaningful conversations about difficult topics. In a world so concerned with the "appropriateness" of literature for children, I can't think of a better way to help broach difficult conversations than to do it with age-appropriate literature like this novel. Complexity of emotional framework does not make a book age-inappropriate, and books like Ghost Girl are powerful tools in any parent's arsenal for connecting with their kid.
Ghost Girl is a wonderful book, through and through. It's the kind of book I would have loved as a kid, and the kind of book I can only wish I had growing up.