I enjoyed this story with all the characters within. The main characters were Zenith and three friends.

Zenith go to school and has three best friends. While during her science class something happens. Now her and her friends are ghost. While floating around they find out that there might be a way to return to the real lives of themselves. But it will be hard to get the thing from the person.

This was a fun story to read. It has action, adventure and suspense throughout. There were a few giggles within.

I received a complimentary copy via Netgalley. This is my honest unbiased opinions.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

Take a standard heist story and add some supernatural elements and you have this book. Our primary cast is a group of ghosts facing off against a man described as a necromancer but also accurately called an arch-capitalist. So yes, they are planning a theft but the victim is a "bad dude" so the theft is justified. The characters are reasonably complex for readers of this age group and the pacing is solid.

A great middle grade horror read. It's an interesting story with likeable characters. A good read for fans of ghost stories.

I really enjoyed this book it was a fun ghost story. My only complaint is I wasn't a fan of necromancy being used in a middle grade story.

From the author of Fenris & Mott and
Voyage of the Dogs comes a parody and quick read (about 208 pages) of a heist where the whole team is made of pre-teen ghosts.
Goal: take a book from a necromancer that allows the ghosts to return to life.
Time-sensitive: before the family of the narrator (one of the kids: Zenith who tells the story in the first person) sells the house and moves away.

This is humor, silly and nothing goes according to the plan adding some plot twists at the end and the realization (closer to the end) that their goal is another.

The kids blew themselves up during science class and became ghosts, there is a lot of talk about death and it raises questions about the meaning of life. The novel is scientifically inclined, speaking of science, dinosaurs, evolutions of life, and then death as part of the cycle of life. The author drops a few deep thoughts but also a lot of poop, buts and fart words. I usually don't like that but I think the balance works for this story. The kids are ghosts but it's not about drama or sadness, it's about them having superpowers and using them to vanquish a cynic supervillain.

I relate a lot to Vanessa who is a fun dark goth girl who acts, sings musicals, dances, and possesses paintings. Although she's not the main character (Zenith the Dutch-Indonesian poltergeist is). I'm glad to see my name used full not Nessie or Nessa and be one of the main characters along with Eddie (tech nerd) and Nicholas (musician and life talker) and Zenith the artist.

It's a whimsical and entertaining action episode in San Diego.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for this e-ARC.

Posted on Amazon as well

A fun book for middleschoolers about a group of ghosts stealing objects they hope will lead them to a way back to life. Unfortunately, they cross paths with an evil necromancer who tries to put them in jars! Can they escape? Can they become live people once more? Read and find out!

This is a up-beat and even funny novel even though the main characters died in middle-school. There is a strong sense of friendship between the group and they aren't stuck in just being ghosts stagnating. They continue to pursue education through independent study and learning about their own unique powers as ghosts. The author has done a good job in describing how each kid uses their powers (a bit of world-building here, or at least a magic system if you want to call it that).

It is good that the book isn't depressing but at the same time I think it glosses over their reaction to being dead and separated from their families a bit too much. That is the biggest draw back for me. But still, I thought it was a fun book and I don't think this age group would be in anyway traumatized by the events.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

A group of teen ghosts are a group of thieves. Being a ghost makes it really easy to steal things. When they learn of a device that could make them living again, that becomes the object of their next heist.

I liked the concept but the writing style was not really for me. It felt too simplistic for middle grades. I love a lot of middle grades books, but this one was not for me. Others might enjoy it more!

What worked:
The idea of ghost thieves is a creative twist to a popular middle-grade topic. How is this possible? Well, Zenith is a poltergeist and can move solid objects. Her three friends’ abilities range from speaking to humans, a sensitivity to manipulate electricity, to seeing the world through other faces. This group of ghosts is comparable to a team of superheroes as they learn to use their new talents together. A medium gives the characters the idea to start thieving but they’re only stealing things that might help them rejoin the living. That’s their main motivation throughout the plot as friendship binds them together.
The necromancer named Slate is the antagonist as he’s trying to find a way to control the ghosts. His goal is to amass power over the living and dead, but a more common motive is revealed later on. Not surprisingly, Slate’s reputation among ghosts is loathsome and it’s safe to say Zenith’s gang has many potential allies. Slate is devious and malevolent so he can’t be trusted, ever. He’s willing to do despicable things in order to get what he wants which includes manipulating the spirits of the deceased. Readers will be happy to discover karma wins out in the end.
The author develops some interesting slants about living, death, and ghosts. We should enjoy every day of our lives since we never know when it might come to an end. Ghosts seem to “live” in a limbo world as some of them move on to somewhere else. It’s not treated as a religious philosophy but more as being part of the life cycle. Ghosts can’t travel anywhere as they’re anchored to the location where they died. However, this story allows them more freedom than most books as the kids are able to travel to various places in and around the town. They usually hang out in the rafters of the school auditorium but they’re able to visit a medium, their homes, and the lab of the necromancer. The kids feel bad that their presence makes humans nervous even though they can’t be seen.
What didn’t work as well:
There’s not a lot of character development but that’s a predictable sacrifice for a story that’s not overly long. Readers will learn a little about Zenith but only surface-level information about her friends.
The Final Verdict:
The book emphasizes the importance of good friends as the characters are determined to return to their living, breathing selves. They synchronize their different talents as their tight bond continues even in death. Overall, this is an amusing, adventurous tale that should appeal to young readers. Give it a shot!

Charming and fun and insightful into the villainy of extreme capitalism without being pedantic, this is another stellar work (farts and all!) from Greg.

This is the story of ghost thieves. They are kids that died in middle grade, recently, and want to find a way to come back to life. They meet a medium who keeps sending them on jobs to find the thing that will work. But each thing they steal turns out to not be that one thing.

Each of the kids have a power. One can touch and move things in the living world, another can make their voice heard, another can see through the eyes of others, and the third can feel things, veins of powers and electricity.

Short quick read, and it all makes sense, though some things that happened you wonder how they are going to wrap up.

Didn’t make me cry, but it was still a good adventure, and I enjoyed the story.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. The book comes out the 26th of September 2023. Love the cover.

Four ghosts, one big heist, and an adventure of a lfietime. Zenith and her friends are all ghosts, and their one goal is to find a magical machine that would make them come back to life again but that requires them to pull a heists of epic proportions. The heist wont be an easy one especially since the machine they need belongs to a dangerous necromancer who is hunting them for their ectoplasm. Can they retrieve the machine in time or will they fall prey to the necromancer? This was such a fun adventure to read and I enjoyed all the characters in this book. The heists was fun and the fact that it was from the perspective of ghosts was really interesting. I liked how strong the friendship between the group was and how much they all had each other’s back. Overall, a great read that I think middlegrade readers will have a great time with!

*Thanks Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books, HarperCollins for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*