Reviews

The Girl and the Ghost by Hanna Alkaf

laurastephanie99's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.75

juller's review against another edition

3.0

I really liked how the story was unique, but what stopped me from rating it higher was the transition. To clarify, Pink was jealous of Suraya's friend Jing. At one point Pink torments Suraya with nightmares, smells, etc. The reconciliation between the two is not well developed.

a_ab's review against another edition

4.0

This book was an unexpected and fascinating page-turner. I also found it deeper and more nuanced than most books written got young audiences. I also loved the writing and the masterful capturing of most pertinent details to convey the essence of each scene — it made the characters and their surroundings so vivid I could easily envision them as I read, so the whole book felt almost like a movie. Sustaining such visual and storytelling integrity so evenly throughout the whole book is quite an achievement. 

I am not sure how I felt about mental health issues being explained away by supernatural phenomena, and about therapy being discredited and dismissed, but I did appreciate the allegorical representation of familial trauma and cycles of abuse and neglect passed down through generations.

axelstudies's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

4.0

woods_walker's review against another edition

dark emotional funny sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

floofycats's review against another edition

emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated

4.0

sophiasshelf's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

d34nn3_29's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious relaxing 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? Yes

5.0

kellymacbrown's review against another edition

dark hopeful sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

I enjoyed this book. I loved the atmosphere and the relationship between the girl and the ghost. The first half and the second half of the book feel disjointed. This is probably a darker story than you would think. It ended abruptly. 

It reminded me at some points of the graveyard book. 

Themes of friendship, grief, loneliness. 

ilaxaria's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying

Moderate: Child death, Death, and Grief

Minor: Blood, Vomit, and Death of parent