GRACE'S GHOSTS

Grace’s best friends are ghosts. So how can she say no when they ask her for help?

It’s summer vacation, and 12-year-old Grace, the book’s relatable narrator, is happy to leave the daily bullying at school behind. Labeled a weirdo and a loner, Grace does have friends: the ghosts she has interacted with all her life. So when Grace learns from them that a 300-year-old curse is keeping the ghosts in her small mountain town from moving on to their eternal rest—and that she might be able to help them—she agrees to try. Can Grace break the curse? And do witches—and mages, fairies, and mermaids—really exist? More than magic is happening here, however. Most male characters are sympathetic, including classmate Bain, who offers warmth and support. But this spooky tale is primarily female-centered and grounded in positive messages, as are the author’s previous two books for middle schoolers: Nellie Nova Takes Flight (2016) and Nellie Nova’s Summer on the Run (2018), about a time-traveling girl scientist. Grace grows as she sheds patterns of self-doubt and fear to realize her unusual gifts. Her mom and grandmother face their own, similar challenges, deepening the author’s message. One unfortunate distraction: Grace’s intermittent description of her ghostly friends as “ghouls,” a word customarily meaning the evil undead.

Facing a dangerous, otherworldly challenge, a resourceful young heroine discovers her strength.