A review by mujahidjohar
The Girl and the Ghost by Hanna Alkaf
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-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
3.75
The book follows Suraya, a Malay Muslim girl who inherits a pelesit (a spirit who serves their master) from her witch grandmother. She names them Pink, and grows up together to become friends until Suraya finds a new (human) best friend.
This is my third Hanna Alkaf book, and again I enjoyed her writing immensely. The dynamic between Suraya and Pink is delightful to read, and the development of their relationship is beautifully realised , even through its darker, more toxic periods. This was partly because of the alternating POV between Suraya and Pink. A huge part of the book’s strength is Pink’s realisation of their own feelings towards Suraya, despite believing that pelesits aren’t supposed to have feelings. The book also touches on grief, bullying, family, and death.
Before reading the works of Hanna Alkaf, Zen Cho, and Kathrina Daud, I’ve never considered myself a fan of the supernatural in fiction, but in recent years it’s only because aristocratic vampires and werewolves were not stories I was told to as a child. I was told about pontianaks, toyols, pelesits, and nenek kebayan. So a story about a pelesit and their teenage master brought about a sense of nostalgia and familiarity absent in western fiction.
This is my third Hanna Alkaf book, and again I enjoyed her writing immensely. The dynamic between Suraya and Pink is delightful to read, and the development of their relationship is beautifully realised , even through its darker, more toxic periods. This was partly because of the alternating POV between Suraya and Pink. A huge part of the book’s strength is Pink’s realisation of their own feelings towards Suraya, despite believing that pelesits aren’t supposed to have feelings. The book also touches on grief, bullying, family, and death.
Before reading the works of Hanna Alkaf, Zen Cho, and Kathrina Daud, I’ve never considered myself a fan of the supernatural in fiction, but in recent years it’s only because aristocratic vampires and werewolves were not stories I was told to as a child. I was told about pontianaks, toyols, pelesits, and nenek kebayan. So a story about a pelesit and their teenage master brought about a sense of nostalgia and familiarity absent in western fiction.