Jasmine Is Haunted

Was this book kind of cheesy? Yes. Was it still very cute and beautifully written? Also yes. I love middle grade fantasies so much.

I enjoyed this book. There were a few disjointed sections in the beginning, particularly the transition from the first to the second chapter, which left me scratching my head, but after that I liked it a lot. I appreciated the Latinx main characters and the subtle and age-appropriate LGBTQ+ themes. I teach elementary through 4th grade and felt this was a little too scary for this age group, but if I taught middle school I would recommend it, and will share the title with my MS colleagues.

Jasmine Is Haunted
Mark Oshiro
A ghost has been following Jasmine Garza ever since her Papi (father) died. Mami refuses to acknowledge there is a spirit/ghost or something supernatural. Jasmine and her Mami (mother) decide to move to an apartment in East Hollywood. Jasmine wants a normal life. Her friends Bea Veracruz and Jorge Barrera are interested in the supernatural. Bea wants to be a paranormal investigator and Jorge is afraid of the hereafter. Jasmine shares with them about her ghost. They believe her and they are thrilled. They are determined to prove that the ghost is real. Jasmine becomes increasingly upset as the ghost bothers her more and more. Jasmine needs to find the answers to several questions including: why the ghost is focused on her, why her mother doesn’t want to discuss the past and why doesn’t her father reach out to her
This is an interesting look a grief and dealing with death. I enjoyed the characters.
Thank you Netgalley for providing a copy of this book for review.

This is a wonderful, sensitive, and fun story following a group of ghost and monster hunting middle schoolers. The characters will be very relatable for many students and it does a great job of talking about social issues without taking away from the story itself.

Queer characters, normalizing all types of sexuality, ghosts, family, friends .... there is much to love about this book.

In this middle grade novel, Jasmine Garza has a ghost problem. Her mom uses escapism to avoid the issue, but they never get too far. A family mystery is revealed and the power of loss and grieving is honored.

If you love stories with a mysterious element, ghostly encounters, and love of family, this book is for you!

thank you netgalley for this ARC! I'm SOBBING this was so cute and so sweet and explored the long term effects of grief really well and just !!! I loved it! I loved the queer rep! I loved the grief/mental health rep! I loved the spooky vibes and supportive families and friends and adults in general. This will be great for young YA and upper MG and anyone who wants to read a lantinx spooky ghost story about family and grief and friendship.

Jasmine has a big problem, actually two. One she is haunted and he other is no one believes her. Until she moves and finds new friends, and these friends believe in ghosts and are trying to find one to catch. The adventure begins there, your going to love what comes next.
This is a really good book about finding what you need when you need it more than anything. Jasmine had given up on making friends, so she hadn’t planned on making any in her new school but than she found the two best friends she could have possibly chosen, that showed up at the right time. I loved this book and any one interested in ghosts and finding them and equipment used to find them will love this book too. I really hope there will be more in this series

I really enjoyed this story of grief and moving on and finding community who understands. This was intense and while I didn’t necessarily consider it scary, there is a lot of emotional stuff happening. Learning all the different stories of loss those around Jasmine have experienced and her coming into her own was so emotionally good. I really loved her friendship with Bea and Jorge and the community she was able to find and build after moving this fourth time. A really great story of grief, I’m so glad this book exists.

Thank you, NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group | Starscape books for this advanced reader's copy. This was a fantastic book about grief. Jasmine has been haunted ever since her Papi died. Like a literal ghost has been following her for years now. But no one will believe her. Now Jasmine and her mami just moved and she is determined to fit and make friends. Jasmine meets Bea and Jorge at the middle school's Gay Straight Alliance group. Bea and Jorge are already obsessed with the supernatural so when they hear about Jasmine's ability to see ghosts, they are excited and thrilled to help her. This was a great book with representation and how to deal with grief.

Thank you #NetGalley for the digital ARC of this book Jasmine is Haunted. This book is a poignant journey for a young girl, her family, and her friends. While I was slightly confused over the timeline at the beginning the rest of the book was very easy to follow. This book tackles the hard topic of grief and how people handle it at different stages in their life. Overall, this was a great middle grade read!