Zee (short for Zera) is a 6th grader in a very small town. She has only one friend, Elijah. They love to tell stories and creep into the cemetery when they hang out.

Unfortunately, Zee is constantly picked on by here classmates. They call her Zero, and a trip to a large library upstate, they begin to call her Ghost Girl because one of the girls catches her seemingly talking to herself. After the bullying goes too far, Zee takes it into her own hands and starts a fight with her biggest bully, Nellie. Shortly after, their elementary school gets a new principal and weird things start to happen--strange and spooky things.

Zee and Elijah unexpectedly team up with Nellie to get to the bottom of the start happenings of their little town. They are in for a wild ride full of spooky and thrilling adventures.

This was a story that kept me engaged the whole time. I think it is a good, fun read! I would definitely recommend it to my students who are reading at a middle-grade level!

Such a deliciously creepy ride! Ally Malinenko has crafted a spooky MG story populated with characters you’ll root for. I fell for Zee and Elijah from the very beginning and was biting my nails as they tried to solve the mystery of the weird happenings in their town. Along the way they brave cemeteries, red-eyed hounds, and a sinister principal. They also battle everyday demons in their family relationships and their belief in themselves. A perfect mix of haunt and heart. Thank you to NetGalley and Katherine Tegen Books for the eARC.

I received this book for an honest review.

I am not a child however I really enjoyed this book. The characters and the plot were extremely detailed and gripping.
#NetGalley

Ghost Girl by Ally Malinenko. Zee and her older sister, Abby are trying to survive pretty much on their own. Their father has been gone for months trying to find work. One night, a terrible storm hits their town. After the night of the storm, the school’s principal and a kindergarten teacher are missing. In addition, there other individuals who are acting stranger and, Zee begins seeing a ghost. When Zee and a couple of her friends try to help the ghost, they discover that a very strange and evil force is at work. Middle school kiddos who love a good ghost story or are fans of Mary Downing Hahn will love this book.

I was excited to read this, but it wasn't . . . great. I did find Zera and her sister Abby to be appealing characters; however, I really had trouble buying in to the story on a variety of levels. For me, the weakest aspect was the bizarre transformation of Nellie's character. Yes, I get that popular girls have problems, too, and that far too often we make judgments about people without knowing their stories. But this doesn't explain the complete shift in Nellie's personality, which really undercut the credibility of the entire story for me. While Ghost Girl might have some appeal for its intended audience, there are so many similar, but better, books to recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advance digital copy.

Not unlike the forces at work within the story itself, this book lures you in and doesn’t let you go until you finish it. It was suspenseful enough to keep you flipping page and page, but it also had important messages about society and about human nature as well.

What really shined for me in Ghost Girl was the characters and the representation. Elijah was easily my favorite character. Elijah is Zee's best friend and, at the start of the novel, her only friend. Elijah is dealing with a lot at home. His mother's mental illness has been leaving her in bed all day lately. (I loved that at the end of the novel she has a diagonses as bipolar and has been prescribed medication which is helping her.) His dad tries to connect with him, but doesn't accept that Elijah isn't into sports like he was as a kid and constantly body-shames him.

Zee lives with her sister. Her mother passed away when she gave birth to Zee, and her father is upstate looking for work. Zee's sister Abby is only 21 and working two jobs to keep them afloat. I appreciated that while noticing the way kids who like one another act together, Zee reflects on how she's still not sure about her sexuality. Some days she thinks she likes boys, and others she thinks she likes girls. I loved how aware Zee is of the double standards society has about boys/men and girls/women.

Nellie is a great character too. While she starts off as a bully to Zee, we see that maybe it was a two-sided thing, and Nellie has some struggles in her home life as well.

Ultimately, I thought the characters shone, but I wanted more detail from the plot. While Ghost Girl is the perfect length for a middle grade novel at 288 pages, I still was left with some unanswered questions. Some readers might be left satisfied, but I wanted more.

There were some excellent quotes in this one. Here are two of my favorites:

Her sadness was a thing she couldn't figure out how to carry.


She was interested in the stories her mind could invent, the tales her tongue could tell, and the power her body held.


This was a 4 star read for me and I thank NetGalley for sending me a copy in exchange for my honest review.

I love middle grade ghost stories and Ghost Girl did not disappoint. We join Zee and her friend Elijah as they deal with what the world throws at them, the best way they can, by disappearing into one of Zee's wild stories. But when the new Principal moves to town, her stories seem more fact than fiction. Ghost Girl has the standard "I'm secretly jealous of you, so I will bully you" trope and a bit too many plot convenient elements, but it is an exciting, quick read. This book felt like Stephen King's Needful Things meets Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes meets The Ghost Whisperer for kids. Overall, it was a wonderful read that will keep kids reading.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for the opportunity to read an advance reading copy.

Ghost Girl, by Ally Malinenco is the story of Zera, called Zee, whom I found hard to like at first because of her behavior. However, I began to sympathize with her as the story began to reveal the causes of her misbehavior.
The title of the book is an apt description of Zee. She bullied at school. Her white hair that caused students to call her Ghost Girl, but later the book reveals just how well the name suits her. Beyond her appearance, Zee is a storyteller of ghost stories she created. She also has an aptitude that is revealed
In the novel.
This book draws you into a horrible mystery involving the entire town. It moves quickly as Zee and her friends search for a murderer and how to rid the town of the evil that has overtaken it.
I could not put this down once I got hooked on the plot. I think Ghost Girl might encourage reluctant readers to read. While the title might seem to target girls, I think boys might also be interested in it because of the plot. Therefore, I would recommend it.

On a stormy night in the local cemetery Zee spots something that will change her life. As she figures out what is happening in her town along with her best friend she also has to navigate the situation with her school nemesis. This book was brilliant from the start, I couldn't put it down. I immediately fell in love with Zee the main character, She has a lot of moxie and wit. She was spot on with her critique of the small minded, small town women she discussed. The book moved along at a steady pace that really kept me interested. There was never a dull moment. During the story Zee learns a lot about herself and grows but still keeps all of her spunk that makes her interesting and she even picks up some new skills.

Frightening at times, but so satisfying to see the bonds formed between Zee, Elijah, and Nellie! Zee has the ability to see and communicate with ghosts. Will her unique ability bring the community together or are they held by spirits beyond their control for eternity?

So much more than a ghost story!! Wonderful middle grade novel!!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book absolutely blew my expectations out of the water! I couldn’t put it down the second I picked it up (even though, if I’m being honest, I read it in the dark and DID get a little scared and had to put it down to sleep but) and I finished most of it in only two hours.

I love ghosts and paranormal and this middle grade was everything I would’ve wanted as a kid, it was everything I could’ve wanted now even. I saw myself, both young and current me, in Zee and I really felt for everything that she went through in this story—her hopes, her dreams, her disappoints in herself and yes, even the ghosts. There were many times where I had to put this book down and look around, because I honestly thought the author had written me and not a fictional character.

This might be my favorite middle grade of all time, which is saying a lot because middle grades are fun reads that I almost always love. This book is PERFECT for spooky months, but I could read this at any time of the year and feel the same as I would in October. If you love ghosts, paranormal or even mysteries, give this book a chance, I promise it won’t disappoint you.

Things are not easy for Zee: her mother died giving birth to her, her father left six months ago to find work, and she's not very popular with the kids at school.. To make things worse, she has started seeing ghosts. Yet, when a newcomer arrives in town, positioning himself as the principal at Zee's new school, very strange things start to happen. And Zee may be the only one who can stop them.
While I was entertained by Ghost Girl, there were a few plot points that I felt were not really fleshed out. There aren't enough details about Zee's sudden ability to see ghosts or her struggle with this new power. In fact, most of the story centers on the new principal trying to take over the town. Elijah seems to be a flat character and Zee's friendship with her once-enemy Nellie seems forced. I think some middle grade readers will enjoy it, but others will be disappointed in the lack of details on certain character development and plot points.

Zee (short for Zera) is a sixth grader who likes to tell creepy stories. When she and her best friend, Elijah, are visiting the cemetery one day, Zee sees a disturbing, menacing dog. When the strange beast appears again on her sidewalk, followed by a dripping, ghostly apparition in her hallway, Zee gets scared. Why is she the only person who can see them? When a new, unusual school principal suddenly appears and promises everyone their heart’s desire, Zee’s suspicions grow. Will she and her friends be able to solve the mystery before it’s too late? Find out in this chilling tale, perfect for upper elementary and middle school readers.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and I wanted to thank them and the publisher for allowing me the chance to read this book.

I went back and forth and back and forth about my rating for this book, but I think I finally landed on a 2.5 stars rounded up to a 3. There was a lot about this book that was clever and captivating but there was also a lot that just didn’t work.

As always, let’s start with what I enjoyed.


The writing:
For anyone who knows me well, they know I am a sucker for good writing style. In fact, it can make or break a book for me. In this case, there were large portions that were excellent – I was getting chills up my spine, my heart was racing with fear for our characters, and, during those moments, I was completely invested.

The characters:
There were certain aspects about the characters I really enjoyed. I loved Zee’s relationship with her sister – having a sister myself, it was easy to identify with and get invested in Zee and Abby. I loved their whole dynamic, especially Abby’s fierce desire to protect and provide for her little sister (while also, at times, wanting to strangle her. Which, if you have a sibling, is often how those relationships work.)
I wasn’t as invested in Elijah and Nellie, especially since Nellie starts the book as a bully, but I appreciated Elijah’s concerns and sensitivity about his weight and appearance. I find this is an issue not often addressed in Middle Grade literature and it was heartening to see a character that kids might be able to identify with. And while I didn’t necessarily enjoy Nellie’s character (like, at all) it was encouraging to see a character who was portrayed in a negative light have some redemption in the end. No one is perfect and it’s important for kids to see characters who can change their ways.

The story concept:
Listen, I was here for this story concept. Ghosts, demons and creepy crawlies are my thing. There were a lot of solid ideas in this particular book and while it sometimes felt like there was too much going on for one story, many of these ideas were executed well. I do think I would have preferred for the author to narrow her focus a little and concentrate on doing a few things really well rather than doing a lot of things poorly.

Now for the things I didn’t like.


The writing:
As I said above, there was a lot of great writing in this book. I want to stress that – there were portions where the book had me. However, a book cannot necessarily be saved by patches of good writing. And the bad patches here…they were pretty bad. This caused the pace to feel choppy; I would fly through bits and have to plod through others. It really dragged down my rating because I never felt like I knew if I was going to enjoy the next page or hate it.

The characters:
Listen, I know middle schoolers aren’t usually considered to be the wisest bunch out there, but man, these characters made some pretty dumb decisions. While there were things I really liked about Zee and her gang, their poor decision-making made it hard to root for them.

The story concept:
For the most part, I really liked what was going on here, as I have said above, despite sometimes have one too many elements. But man...that ending just about ruined the whole book. It’s all well and good to hit the notes throughout but the ending is often what sticks with the reader and a bad ending can sour an entire reading experience, as it did here. I don’t want to go into any details because, hello, spoilers, but I will say I was bitterly disappointed to spend all that time reading this book to have it end the way it did. This is what ended up dragging my rating down an entire star.

So, on the whole, I had a (mostly) fun time reading this with some bumps along the way and an unfortunate pitfall at the end. I would be interested in reading more books by this author – sometimes a little practice and experience are needed to smooth the rough edges.

Ghost girl is a great read for kids looking to get chills and experience the eerie thrill of a good ghost story without being too frightened.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The book begins with Zee, a girl who loves horror and exploring creepy cemeteries with her best friend Elijah. She is picked on by popular girl, Nellie, for everything from her looks to the fact she is living with her sister and has no parents. But this beings to be the least of her worries when a storm comes into town, bring more than just a little bit of rain. Shadows and mysterious dogs begin following her everywhere. And things. take a turn when a mysterious principal comes into town. Zee, Elijah, and surprise ally will need to uncover the truth of these mysteries in order to restore peace in their small, sleepy town.

The atmosphere was really captured, especially in the first half of the book. At times I was reminded of Neil Gaiman's Coraline. Just that super creepy tension building book, but probably not as dark. There were a few scenes that creeped me out and made me feel like a kid reading scary stories under the sheets with a flashlight. The characters were very well written for a children/ middle grade horror book. I enjoyed Ally Malinenko's ability to capture the broken family aspects really well for a children audience. I think towards the end the story ended a little too quickly/abruptly especially considering how much build up there was for the ending. But I can see how the ending might appeal to younger audiences.

I really recommend this for 5-7th grade students or teachers looking for a creepy Halloween/stormy day read. I think this provides just enough goosebumps to get into the spooky mood, but not so scary it will deter non-horror fans. I can see this being a good introduction to horror for younger children.

A delightful read! Fast-paced action and well-written characters; a book Middle Graders won't want to put down until the ending.
Malinenko's Zee and Elijah are characters we root for. They are underdogs with life conflicts and it is great to see girl and boy characters who are best friends. I can see both boy and girl tweens reaching for this book.

The secondary characters are also well-written- siblings, parents and the scary Principal Scratch. Although it is primarily a horror story, it is also a story of friendships and bullying. . It even touches on the delicate subject of fat shaming for kids.

I highly recommend this book and look forward to others by this author.

“Good for fans of Small Spaces and Nightbooks” — SOLD on that description — and after reading it, I’d fully agree!

I really enjoyed this book. There was just enough spooky business to be genuinely creepy (even to a horror-loving adult) without going too dark for its audience of older elementary/middle school kids. Friendship, school drama, family issues, grief, ghosts, demonic hounds — excellent.

My only complaint is the overly simplistic solution and an ending that felt much too tidy, but whatever. This book was great. Definitely recommending for purchase and as a possible Reading Olympics book.

I loved this book! It was so dynamic, so interesting, and I was hooked the whole time! I read it in one day. I just couldn’t put it down. I needed to know what was going on with the people in the town and the ghost!