TAXI GHOST by Sophie Escabase

 

Taxi Ghost by Sophie Escabase

Graphic Novel, Ghosts, Girls Coming-of-Age, Family

211 pages; 2024

Description

Publishers Weekly (June 10, 2024)

Escabasse (the Witches of Brooklyn series) suffuses this graphic novel tale of typical tween angst with a magical realism twist. Young Adèle is overwhelmed enough dealing with acne, awkwardness, and the start of her first period. But with her maturation comes an additional wrinkle: Adèle can now see ghosts. Over winter break, which she had hoped would be quiet and uneventful, Adèle meets a ghost hacker and persistent gentleman, whom she dubs Mustache Ghost. Her new acquaintance reveals that he belongs to a spectral club aiming to protect Montreal against ruthless developers- a principle that Adèle’s living grandmother also champions-and embroils Adèle in his plight. Adèle’s sarcastic yet kindhearted narration renders her struggles to balance her new abilities and the everyday challenges of growing up with perceptive relatability. Ghost characters are easily distinguishable in Escabasse’s expressive artwork, which depicts them in a soft palette of pinks and greens and adds a touch of surreality to the grounded metropolitan setting. In this empowering and fanciful ghost story, the creator tackles issues such as gentrification, the afterlife, and cultural traditions surrounding menstruation. Ages 8-12. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

My Comments

Early teen girls may like this. The plot is a bit forced for me, but the artwork is expressive and fits the storyline. Cute.

WHISPERING PINES by Heidi Lang

Whispering Pines by Heidi Lang & Katie Bartkowski

Trilogy/Book 1

Horror, Mystery, Supernatural

2020; 312 pages

Description

Booklist starred (August 2020 (Vol. 116, No. 22))

Grades 5-8. After her dad’s mysterious disappearance, Rae moves to Whispering Pines, Connecticut, with her sister and mom, who have seemingly forgotten about him. Rae, unable to forget, is certain something unusual led to his disappearance. She quickly learns that Whispering Pines is filled with strange happenings—disappearing children, random sinkholes, weird school rules. Some of the missing kids are eventually found in an even more frightful way: with their eyes missing. Rae befriends neighbor Caden, whose loneliness stems from his family’s supernatural business, and the pair investigate the occurrences in town and in the Watchful Woods nearby. As Caden and Rae uncover strange truths, they realize the bizarre events may be linked to a local energy company and the disappearance of Caden’s brother. Readers will feel chills from the prologue onward as they’re pulled into the darkness of Whispering Pines. Chapters alternate between Rae’s and Caden’s points of view, slowly unraveling each character’s mysterious past. Caden and Rae are both believable protagonists, admirable for the actions they take and the worries they carry, and readers will enjoy meeting the vast array of interesting side characters as well—and have to decide which ones to trust and which ones to suspect. A thrilling novel perfect for fans of Stranger Things and stories filled with mystery and suspense.

My Comments

Super scary. Ask your students, "How scary do you want?" That said, it's a great page turner, nail biter.

LET THE SKY FALL by Shannon Messenger

Let the Sky Fall (Skyfall Trilogy, Book 1) by Shannon Messenger

Fiction, Supernatural, Romance

404 pages

Description
Booklist (April 15, 2013 (Online))

Grades 7-12. When Vane Weston was seven years old, a category-five tornado killed his parents but inexplicably spared his life. Ten years later, he lives in California’s blistering hot Coachella Valley with his foster parents, normal teen angst, and childhood memories of a dark-haired girl. In Messenger’s refreshingly clean paranormal debut, the alternating voices of Vane and Audra, the dark-haired girl, narrate the rising action. Audra is a sylph, an air elemental, and she finally reappears in Vane’s life with astounding news: the world is in danger, Vane is the only one who can save it, and he is not human at all—he is also a sylph. With barely a week to master skills most sylphs need a lifetime to grasp (if he is to successfully fight off his unknown enemies), Vane responds to Audra’s hardened guardian ways with a mixture of rebellion against and attraction to the girl who secretly has been watching over him since the tornado. While the romance may be predictable, unusual paranormal entities and strong writing should interest genre readers in search of a fresh new series.

My Comments
I love this book! Not sure why the reviews say that it's slow. I totally disagree. This is a great choice for middle schoolers who are looking for more of a high school read that's also appropriate for middle school.