The poor kid, Lenny, is named after a dog. That's just a big no in my book, work in fiction, but please never do this in real life.

Such a cute and funny story about a boy and some ghosts.


I loved the illustrations throughout, they really made the story come alive!
Bonus points for the rocky horror references!


Book will be featured in an upcoming youtube video.

✰ 2.5 stars ✰

“In no more than twenty years, you will only leave footprints behind when you want to. That is a particularly good method for haunting, because most humans think that ghosts are incapable of making footprints. It takes a while for newcomers to become fully separated from their bodies.”

Ouch.

There were all sorts of things I wanted at that moment, but being separated from my body definitely wasn’t one of them.”

As much as the introduction to Lenny Among Ghosts forewarned its readers not to be afraid of the many revolting or gruesome ghastly ghosts that would make their presence known in the story, it pains me to say how not so terrifying they actually were. In fact, it reminded me a lot of Scooby Doo and the Ghoul School, where much like Scooby and Shaggy who wind up accidentally as students at a school for ghouls, so, too, does our young protagonist, Lenny, find himself dropped off by his parents at a school, whose students comprise only of ghosts - long dead and gone. 👻🏰

For a middle grade read, it is a sweet read and a fast-paced one too, that carries a lighthearted if not bewildered kind of tone to it, that makes the writing very easy to follow. 👌🏻 You can't help but sympathize with Leonard Hohenklaue aka Lenny the Second (just don't ask him who the first is!) as he tries to make do with the startling situation he's suddenly found himself in as a student at Shadowsnout Castle. 'Even the name was a joke. What had possessed Heinrich the Strong to give his castle this name?' 😄 His sense of alarm and bewilderment were very believable and I liked his sense of smart rational thinking as a a purely scientifically minded person,while also trying to do his best not to outsmart the ghosts too much, in the hopes that they didn't view him as a threat.

And even though ghosts were the last thing in the world that I believed in' as he spends more time with them - kids and teachers, alike - he finds himself very much at home with them. He starts to care for their well-being and feel genuinely interested in their past lives and the many talents that they possess as supernatural beings. It is an eclectic, interesting group with their own unique abilities and creative talents that one would have difficulty believing in. 👻But then again - 'there are things that are simply difficult to explain in the middle of the night.' So, when the school's very existence is put in danger by outside forces threatening to rid them of their home, it is upto Lenny to try and save them from a fate worse than the deaths that they've already once experienced. 🥺

“I’m not scared at all,” Polly insisted. However, her voice didn’t sound as assured as it had previously.

“Except when it comes to your sanity. I might be a little concerned about that. A school for ghosts? That’s ridiculous.”

The pacing of the story is very fast-paced and swift, but still very engaging; I do see it as a worthwhile read for perhaps for younger male readers who want something quick and easy to read. The humor of the story is snarky and free-spirited, one that I am actually quite fond of. 'Don’t spoil the romance for us! We rarely have any cause to celebrate—and now we are going to do it!' 😅 As it is translated from German, it was done in a very fluent and comfortable style that I enjoyed. However, I do wish that it could have toned down the constant need for fart jokes. Let's just say I'm not a fan of them. I mean, once was fine, maybe twice, but more than five times! Now, that's where I draw the line. 😒 I did think the dark and morbid humor was a well-balanced one. I would have liked a little more zing on the alluring introduction that hinted that the ghosts would play a more pivotal role, one that also promised some chilling apparitions that would have rattled the senses. But, again, I think, judging by the cover alone, I read a little too seriously into what I thought it was, than what it initially intended to be. 🙎🏻‍♀️

Yet, what really soured my mood was the unfortunate route the ending took, a plot device that is one of my least favorite ones. 😮‍💨 I was so disappointed; no amount of spark or flair to whatever took place that made it enjoyable. You also have to apply a certain suspension of disbelief in regards to the rather macabre way in which the ending was handled, so... Had it not gone that way, I would have really appreciated it much more. 😞

I did love the illustrations, though; very sharp in detail, but with the hint of creepy and whimsy to it that perfectly captured the chaotic madness of the story. 👍🏻

Still, it wasn't all that bad; much of my low rating stems from my own personal disappointment in the execution of the story, so it still had its moments. It is safe to say that it is just another example of how my expectations were of something else, when it clearly became something else entirely. 😔

*Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a very well written book with a child-like voice. It sounds like Lenny wrote it. Some parts might be a little much for kids, but middle grades and up should be able to read and enjoy. Some of my students would enjoy this book.

This cute little children's book sits comfortably in the realm of other age-appropriate death fiction and I can see it doing really well at my branch where kids tend to lean towards horror inclined fiction.

The fake-outs, witty humor, and illustrations made this a fun read.

I was definitely reminded of Lemony Snicket with how some of these jokes were translated. A chapter being a sentence long has always been one of my favorite literary gags.

Good read for kids that are into the supernatural or just want to try something different. I found the ending a bit odd, but overall it was pretty good.

A good twisty ending is rare. This one manages it just right. The storyline seemed preposterous and yet believable in a way that only a kids book could do. Oddly fun

Great read for middle schoolers! Funny and silly with enough plot twists throughout to keep readers interested. Lenny is dropped off at a boarding school for ghosts and the adventure starts there. It’s fun to follow him on his adventures as the only human in a school full of ghosts.

A hilarious middle school novel about a boys troubles in his new school filled with - well you guessed it- ghosts.

The concept is hilarious and the execution of it actually does it as much justice as it ought to - both in terms of the conversational funny writing and the plot and the characters themselves. Lenny is a great narrator with the sassiness any middle school targeted novel ought to have. The illustrations are also very charming and add even more so to the story, while the setting of the school itself and the ghosts encountered there make for some hilarious interactions.

Lennys relationship with his parents as well was such a cute part to read. I adore the fact that through all it's funny moments this book at the end of the day is filled with love both about Lennys protectiveness over his new school at the end of the story and for his parents.

A great book perfect for getting your kid into reading.

Thank you to Frank for such a wonderful middle grade read .

i really loved the plot to this story and as many know i love anything supernatural, i would being in this world being the only human in this German castle totally had a gothic feel .living with only ghosts which quite intimidating at first becoming friends to save your school wonderful .
I've not read a middle grade for some time so it was wonderful to just enjoy the escapism .i was totally sucked into this amazing adventure .
i loved every character They all had their quirks which i loved , They were all so much fun I still feel like my mind is in this world .
There were plenty of twists to the story i did not see which to me i always enjoy .

if you love a middle grade with plenty of adventure i highly recommend this for you .

im giving this book a very ghostly 4 stars

Fun and entertaining and a good read for middle graders.

If you have a middle grader that enjoys a supernatural book? This is a nice one to get for them.

The translation was well done, the illustrations nice and the overall story okay.

I personally don’t think it’s the best book for anyone over the age of 13, since it is a bit childishly done and while a lot of middle grade books are easily enjoyed and equally good for oder and younger readers, this particular one is one I personally don’t think fits that bill. But it doesn’t have to, it’s a middle grade book so it only has to be for the specific age group that it’s for and it does that.


Overall good book.

As a native German, I was delighted to come across "Lenny Among Ghosts" by Frank Maria Reifenberg! It does not occur often that you stumble upon a book set in an abandoned German-haunted castle that houses a school for ghost children.

The plot revolves around a 12-year-old boy called Lenny II, who is accidentally enrolled at Shadowsnout Castle Academy by his Amazonian explorer-parents. Lenny, who likes scary stories, stumbles into one himself when he becomes part of the school by mistake and finds out what it truly means to be undead. At the Academy, he meets the undead children and becomes part of their nighttime-school activities. During his short stay, Lenny finds out,danger is waiting outside the Castle gate – the living and the dead must do everything they can to keep the castle standing at its rightful place.

From the witty opening to the book's surprising twist, I enjoyed the plot and Lenny's fun character. Lenny is a sarcastic kid who often gets involved in dangerous situations and actually knows how to maneuver his way out of them. I loved the backstory to his name. It adds so much character to the story! When his parents, whom I also immediately loved because of their forgetful and somewhat careless attitude - drop him off at the gates of the old German Castle at midnight, alarm bells should already be ringing. Instead, Lenny enters a world of ghosts and learns how to become undead for a short period of time.

I enjoyed the medieval atmosphere of the story. The many details describing the castle and its inhabitants create so much depth and bring a creepy and darker feeling to the yet light story. I had goosebumps when Lenny first met the old, somewhat sharp-tongued, and mischievous Butler Angus and laughed so many times, when Lenny slipped out of his treachorous grasp.

In addition to the creepy, atmospheric reading experience, I loved every single character. Each of them is special in their own unique way. 
Whether it's Caruso, who always makes a silly joke about farting, or the lovable floating girl Emily, all the ghost children have something either very funny or nostalgic about them. You just want to give them all a big, warm hug and tell them that everything will be alright.

As a big Halloween lover, I finished the story in no time and would recommend it to all my friends. Whether big or small. This eerie yet funny book is a fun mix of Percy Jackson and the Graveyard Book. If you like spooky children's stories with a surprising twist at the end, you'll love this wonderfully funny and scary ghost story!

I loved the idea of a school for ghosts and that you're the only human student in there. It had everything that I was looking for in this type of book and enjoyed getting to read this world. It had everything that I was looking for in a children's fiction novel and had a supernatural element to it. I enjoyed how Frank Maria Reifenberg wrote this and hope to read more from them.

This was such a silly, delightful, and funny story. I ended up enjoying it even more than I expected. I loved reading about Lenny the 2nd and his ghostly adventures. I also felt like there were some twist and turns I wasn’t expecting, so it’ll be especially thrilling for middle grade students. I’ll be recommending this book to all of my students!
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read and review this lovely book!

Thank you netgalley for an advanced ARC of this middle grade book

This story is about a boy who's excepted into a school while his parents go to discover something but his been excepted into a ghost school.

This book was a fast and fun read that had moments that made me laugh, I have read this twice once on my own and then the next time was for my friends little boys and they adored it to the point they asked their mother can we go to a ghost school haha 😄 so adorable.

I am planning to buy this for my mates little boys and also for myself because seeing the journey of lenny and the friends he made etc was a fun journey who all will find sweet.

When your parents wait until the last minute to find a boarding school for you before they leave for an extended research trip to the Amazon, you just might end up in a haunted castle. It doesn’t take long for Lenny to realize his classmates are a little strange, and the lessons aren’t the typical academic subjects for a middle-grade school. Lenny learns his ghostly new friends and teachers are in trouble and decides to help them with assistance from another human outside the school. What ensues is a scary and often hilarious misadventure.

Books like this fall outside my typical reading diet of mystery, science fiction, and suspense, and Lenny Among Ghosts is a nice break from convoluted plots and complex characters. As a senior with no young children in my life, I am not the target audience. But I do like quirky, and this book filled that niche quite well.

As a story translated from the original German into English, it also offers a glimpse into the life of a young person in a country and culture that may not be familiar to many children in its target audience. Some of the exchanges between Lenny and Ricky, the rhyming radio suffer from “lost in translation” but that in no way detracts from the story or the humor.

It’s a quick read that doesn’t result in nightmares…except for Lenny.

It’s been a long time since a book has made me throw my phone down after finishing it.

But.

Lenny Among Ghosts had pitch-perfect opening chapters and an amazing elevator pitch that I was already ready to sell students with. The humor was perfect. The characters were delightfully unique.

But.

The ending. It made me so mad I am not sure what to rate this book. It was setting out to be 5 stars and now… I can see kids really loving a lot of this book, but I also feel like they might be equally frustrated.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Crossing Kids for the ebook ARC. All opinions are mine alone.

Lenny Among Ghosts is a new middle grade story about a kid who goes to a new school where everyone is dead! His parents send him off to a new school where things don't seem right. That is when he realizes that he is the only alive human there.

This was a fun story! It had some humor throughout that I think kids will really enjoy. The humor reminded me a bit of stories like Goosebumps. I liked all the quirky characters and the weird school. There is also a good lesson in here as well. It was a quick fun read that kids will definitely like!

I didn't like the ending unfortunately. That is my only complaint though.

Thanks so much to netgalley and Amazon crossing for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This was such an awesome story. It was funny and quirky and a nice break from the psychological thrillers I normally read. I loved the warning in the beginning and the note at the end! It was original and like nothing else I’ve read. I really enjoyed the ghosts! I mean who doesn’t love a good ghost story? This was terrific!!!

This is such a cute concept. A child, who is alive, accidentally gets enrolled in a school for ghosts. A school that teaches ghostly technique. The idea is that his parents are both scientists, and are so befuddled as what to do with him, while they go off to study something abroad, that they don't notice what sort of school it is.

That part of the concept I can get into. I also like, that though he thinks he wants to leave the school, he also grows to love it, and wants to save it when he learns it is going to be knocked down.

And without mentioning the ending, I would say that that is where it fails. <spoiler>He wakes up just as he is about to be buried because his parents think he died, and it was all a dream. What I dont' get is how he could get that far without anyone noticing that he was alive. </spoiler>

Other than that, a fun middle school sort of story.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. This book is coming out on the 6th of August 2024

Enjoyable story, easy to follow and a quick read. Great for younger audiences with funny characters throughout and a great storyline!