April 1, 2025 by Scholastic Press
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
In the wake of a bad friend break up with Laura, Evey is determined to earn the school Student of the Year award, but when the widespread ghost problems in Savannah, Georgia worsen, this means that she'll have to join the Ghost Scouts, an organization headed by Laura. Along with Matilda, Fin, and Pip, she is trained and put on a squad that has to take care of threats and occasionally "ghost sit" at houses to make sure the inhabitants are safe. The ghosts, which attack humans and can freeze them with a good-like substance, seem to be getting worse, and when Evey overhears Laura talk about "Ghost X", she becomes obsessed with finding out the secret, even though it puts her and her new friends in danger. Every also struggles with ADHD, anxiety, and anger management, and since her parents are in therapy after almost divorcing, she has frequent sessions with Daisy, her own therapist, which are recounted at length. After training on ghost gloves and flashlights and learning the difference between banshees, wraiths, poltergeists, and mares, Evey and her squad are given tie dye overall uniforms and sent out on missions. After getting a weird response from her school librarian about Ghost X, Evey becomes even more suspicious, and finds that Ghost X has killed several times, and is being kept in an unlikely place. Solving the mystery puts Evey in even more danger. Will she be able to use her Ghost Scout skills to save the day?
Strengths: In addition to having a number of legitimately scary ghost scenes, this also speaks to many of the social concerns of 2025. Evey is dealing with her parents' marriage problems by being in therapy, where her other problems were diagnosed and are being helped. Her friend group is diverse (Fin is nonbinary, and Pip uses a cane because of Spinal bifida. Matilda is Black.) and accepting of gender identities and pronouns. A main concern is that Evey isn't asking for help, but is trying to do everything on her own. I did enjoy the fact that Laura ended the friendship with Evey as a way to protect her, and that the two were able to discuss this late in the book. There is definitely a well developed ghost situation in Savannah, somewhat reminiscent of Stroud's Lockwood and Co. or Jinks' How to Catch a Bogle, and we do get some history of the infestation.
Weaknesses: I could have used more details about why the ghosts are portrayed as having rotten skin and dangling eyeballs (this is not usually the case), and about how there aren't more fatalities from ghost freezing, since this has been a problem since 1866, and fewer details about Evey's mental state, but younger readers might feel differently.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed Averling's The Curse of Eelgrass Bog, Parris' Stage Fright, Savage's Karma Moon: Ghost Hunter, Schusterman's Dead Air, or Strong's Secret Dead Club,
No comments:
Post a Comment