The Girl and the Ghost

by Hanna Alkaf (Author)

The Girl and the Ghost
Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade

A Malaysian folk tale comes to life in this emotionally layered, chilling middle grade debut.

I am a dark spirit, the ghost announced grandly. I am your inheritance, your grandmother's legacy. I am yours to command. Suraya is delighted when her witch grandmother gifts her a pelesit. She names her ghostly companion Pink, and the two quickly become inseparable. But Suraya doesn't know that pelesits have a dark side--and when Pink's shadows threaten to consume them both, they must find enough light to survive . . . before they are both lost to the darkness.

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$9.99

Kirkus

Starred Review
Grippingly heart-wrenching and speaks to deeper themes of family, trauma, and friendship...a fascinating, page-turning tale.

ALA/Booklist

As a ghost story, grounded in Suraya’s and Pink’s alternating points of view, it sizzles with tension and safe-but-ghoulish imagery (Pink’s MO is unleashing a swarm of creepy crawlers) without letting go of the heartfelt thread of love between a girl and her ghost.

Review quotes



Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780062940964
Lexile Measure
840
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
HarperCollins
Publication date
February 15, 2022
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV037000 - Juvenile Fiction | Fantasy & Magic
JUV039230 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Bullying
JUV069000 - Juvenile Fiction | Ghost Stories
JUV012060 - Juvenile Fiction | Legends, Myths, Fables | Asian
Library of Congress categories
Friendship
Mothers and daughters
Single-parent families
Demonology
Muslims
Malaysia
Kirkus Prize
Finalist 2020 - 2020

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