Scan barcode
szuum's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Death of parent
goizi's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and Child death
Moderate: Torture and Grief
alexvb's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
This was so great! I enjoyed it from start to finish! I wish the ending had just one more chapter between the final and the epilogue or just a few more pages or something. It felt just a tad rushed.
The writing flowed so well, and the story was very easy to get into!
The characters are all so distinct and great. I like PINK even though we are challenged to question him and his morals. The bad guy was actually chilling and creepy!
The story naturally has Muslim and Malaysian culture / aspects into the story which was great for me to look up (especially all the food mentioned! So much food was mentioned!) and do extra research about if I wanted to.
I the dual pov was perfect for me.
This story also discusses parental love, mourning, and bullying, and it felt very realistic. The fantasy/supernatural is very minor compared to the modern day, everyday life, and real topics in ths book.
I found myself crying in that last chapter though! The reveal!!
Personally, I think that this book is probably better for the upper end of middle grade (13-14) rather than the lower end. Some publishers class age 8-14/15 as middle grade, but I would not recommend this book to someone under 12, because some parts of this were genuinely dark, creepy, and scary if I'm being honest. I had some disgusted, creeped-out, heart-racing moments myself reading this as an adult! Our main character around 12 to 13 years old, so if you're going to give this book to a child, I think a child of the same age or older is best.
The writing flowed so well, and the story was very easy to get into!
The characters are all so distinct and great. I like PINK even though we are challenged to question him and his morals. The bad guy was actually chilling and creepy!
The story naturally has Muslim and Malaysian culture / aspects into the story which was great for me to look up (especially all the food mentioned! So much food was mentioned!) and do extra research about if I wanted to.
I the dual pov was perfect for me.
This story also discusses parental love, mourning, and bullying, and it felt very realistic. The fantasy/supernatural is very minor compared to the modern day, everyday life, and real topics in ths book.
I found myself crying in that last chapter though! The reveal!!
Personally, I think that this book is probably better for the upper end of middle grade (13-14) rather than the lower end. Some publishers class age 8-14/15 as middle grade, but I would not recommend this book to someone under 12, because some parts of this were genuinely dark, creepy, and scary if I'm being honest. I had some disgusted, creeped-out, heart-racing moments myself reading this as an adult! Our main character around 12 to 13 years old, so if you're going to give this book to a child, I think a child of the same age or older is best.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, and Death
Minor: Violence, Grief, and Murder
aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
I absolutely loved this book. Wasn't expecting it to make me cry, but here we are. The story is based in Malaysia with Malay sprits/demons/supernatural beings sprinkled through. This story shows a girl who never quite fit in, discovers she has been bound to a spirit, and has to deal with complications with the spirit and some humans, and finds out family history that has been hidden from her. Also, Jing Wei is a lovely and entertaining side character! Great friend right there and loved that she was a nerd for sci-fi (although I'm not big on Star Wars, I loved her sick burn calling someone Jar Jar Binks).
I will def look for more books by this author. It was so nice to read a book that has a similar culture to mine and if I was a kid again, I would've loved this as well. So happy to see a middle grade representing SE Asia and specifically Melayu people.
I will def look for more books by this author. It was so nice to read a book that has a similar culture to mine and if I was a kid again, I would've loved this as well. So happy to see a middle grade representing SE Asia and specifically Melayu people.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Child death, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Sexism
bexi's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Child death, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Body shaming, Misogyny, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Medical trauma, Stalking, and Murder
cookiesandchapters's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Violence, and Grief
sarah984's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is a very sweet (but also pretty scary in places!) novel about a young girl and her ghost friend. It's set in Malaysia and covers topics such as family secrets, loss of a loved one and what happens when your best friend suddenly makes a new friend. It's written in a really charming almost fairy tale style.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Child death, Death, Blood, Grief, Stalking, and Death of parent
Minor: Cursing, Vomit, Cannibalism, and Murder
astereads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I really really really enjoyed the book. I actually didn't expect the story would turn out like this. It's very heartwarming and a little bit depressing(?) towards the end. Also, maybe because I'm "familiar" with some of the ghosts that were mentioned in this book, I could enjoy the book even moreš„°
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Child death and Grief
apierlessbridge's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Death and Grief
mxrumphius's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
Content Warnings
Minor: Body horror, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, and Murder