Ghoster Heights
by Lisa Larose, Corey Landsell, Kelly Mellings, Becca Carey, Rebecca TaylorAlso by this author: Verse Book 1: The Broken Half, Verse Book 2: The Second Gate, The Brothers Flick: The Impossible Doors
Published by: Wonderbound on September 27, 2022
Genres: Middle Grade, Paranormal, Graphic Novel
Pages: 208
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
A haunting and hopeful Middle Grade graphic novel about a girl, ghosts, and grief. For fans of Sheets, Small Spaces, and Ghosts.
WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBOOHOOD!
Eight-year-old Ona has lost just about everything: her home, her possessions, her mother, and almost her life. When she and her father move into her Baba’s apartment complex after these traumatic events, they had hoped for a clean start. But a mysterious specter follows her, and Ona befriends the ghost she discovers haunting the boiler room. When her new friendship starts allowing her to see other ghosts—the ghosts who haunt the other residents of her building—she decides to use her ability to help her new neighbors face their troubles and free themselves from their specters. In doing so, however, Ona must eventually come face to face with a much darker foe—her own trauma and grief. The earnestness of Judy Bloom meets the raw emotion of I Kill Giants in this beautifully hopeful story of childhood tragedy.
Content Tags:
Perfect for readers who want:
- Graphic novel perfect for reluctant or struggling readers
- Very cute art style
- Ghosts! But . . . not quite what you’re expecting.
- Heartwarming family bonding scenes
- Exploration of grief and healing
Many thanks to Wonderbound and Rockstar Book Tours for a copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
I’m a sucker for ghostie books around fall. I feel like that should go without saying, really. So a graphic novel with a super cute ghostie right on the front cover? Obviously I wasn’t going to be able to resist that!
Ghoster Heights is an utterly adorable, heartwarming MG graphic novel about the things that haunt us and is filled with community and healing.
I honestly didn’t know what to expect of this book before going in, so I was very surprised by how heartwarming and heartfelt of a story it was! There’s a little baby mystery, but it’s not really the focus of the story (and it’s pretty easy to figure out, if you’re paying attention). The real strength of this book is in the way it portrays community and in the undercurrents of grief and healing that take place.
Ona and her father have just moved into Baba’s apartment following some personal tragedy, and she’s having some problems adjusting to her new surroundings.
Ona’s situation is an entirely relatable one. After her mother left them, her and her father are struggling to hold what’s left of their family together. With Baba’s help, they might just manage it. Except Ona has no friends and doesn’t feel like she fits in with everyone in Ghoster Heights, and her father is always at work. I imagine middle grade readers will have no trouble relating to Ona, even if it’s just her awkwardness and struggle to make friends.
Ona’s family, including her Baba, is Russian, and there are little nods to the culture as her family comes together and supports each other.
I loved Baba as a character. There are ways that you can tell she’s likely an immigrant, but she’s also stands so well for any grandmother that I found myself smiling and fondly thinking of my own grandmother. She’s tired, in some ways, but she’s strong and determined to support her family. Baba is kind and patient and doing her best to give Ona all the chances she thinks she deserves.
I especially enjoyed the little nods to Baba’s culture that are snuck in, including her language, food, and even an explanation of a matryoshka doll. It’s not up front and the focus of the story; rather, it’s just part of who Baba is, which is why I love it so much! It’s just enough to introduce readers to a culture they may not be familiar with.
Something creepy is going on at Ghoster Heights, and Ona is determined to get to the bottom of it.
Namely, she’s seeing dead people. By which I mean ghosts. I mean, it is called Ghoster Heights, so it’s perhaps earned its reputation in that regard. There isn’t just one or two ghosts, though. Ona has found that almost everyone has their own ghosts haunting them. Only one of them, though, is a giant, creepy, clearly malevolent creature haunting the apartment halls.
As I said, there’s a little mystery here, which isn’t really the driving part of the story, but it is there. Especially in the way Ona is finding herself and coming to grips with her own ghosts as she’s hunting whatever lives in the halls of Ghoster Heights.
At its heart, Ghoster Heights is wonderfully heartfelt, diving into the things that haunt us, even if that’s sometimes just ourselves.
This whole part of the book was like a dagger to the heart, because as they’re reading, readers are likely to recognize some of themselves in many of these ghosts. We don’t always stop to think about the things that we’re carrying around with us, and Ghoster Heights is a really heartfelt reminder that we can sometimes be the ones hurting ourselves without even realizing it.
One of the most powerful messages around this is the way that Ona takes the time and sets her mind to helping the other residents rid themselves of their own ghosts. It’s such a powerful statement about listening to other people and working together as a community and coming together. I definitely loved this aspect of the book!
About Corey Landsell
Corey Lansdell is a multiple award-winning illustrator and animator. He is a skilled communicator, expert storyteller and passionate collaborator. Corey heads up a SCBWI illustrators group in Edmonton, Alberta.
About Kelly Mellings
Kelly Mellings is an award-winning art director, illustrator, and designer. His work has appeared in comic books, TV commercials, magazines, apps, museum exhibits, and video games. He is the co-writer of Ghoster Heights and illustrator of the Canadian best-selling graphic novel, The Outside Circle. He lives in Edmonton, Alberta.
About Lisa Larose
Lisa LaRose is a pop surrealist painter, illustrator, and comics artist in Vancouver, Canada. She is best known for her paintings: Bizarre and Colourful artworks. She creates lively and exciting colour palettes and is always making something a little weird. Lisa loves middle-grade fiction (books, comics, cartoons, you name it) and so she also moonlights as a middle-grade comics artist.
2 winners will receive a finished copy of GHOSTER HEIGHTS, US Only.
Ends October 11th, midnight EST.
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I love those illustrations and the expressions on the characters faces are so very good.
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