The Girl, the Ghost, and the Lost Name, by Reece Carter is a delightful romp into the supernatural, a genuinely scary horror adventure that will also tickle your funny bone and perhaps even haunt your bookshelf!
What would you call a teenage ghost who can’t remember her name? I guess Corpse would do as well as anything.
Corpse lives on a hidden island, the rock-that-doesn’t-exist, near the town of Elston Fright (you just know that town is going to be trouble), where she struggles with lost memories and plotting witches.
She has made a body for herself out of wax, seaweed and sea shells, and spies on the three vile witches responsible for her ghostly state.
Her closest friend is a spider called Simon, and together they embark on a quest to uncover a lost treasure that might reveal the secrets of Ghost’s life and death and recover her name and her family.
I like the design and layout of this book (Olya Baklan writes). It’s easy to read, with plenty of space to involve your own imagination.
The illustrations have a style all of their own, and Eleonora Asparuhova, the illustrator, has found a unique way to picture ghosts. Even the trees in the town of Elston Fright are twisted!
The technical stuff:
Reading age: 9-12.
The Girl, the Ghost, and the Lost Name, by Reece Carter with illustrations by Eleonora Asparuhova is published by Usborne, price £7.99.
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