Ghost Girl tells the story of a young girl named Zee and her older sister abbey where they live by themselves. Abby struggles with taking on the role of caretaker as their Dad looks for work out of state. Unlike other kids, Zee is ostracized by the kids and gets the nickname “ghost girl” only because of her white hair and affinity for the supernatural. Zee is a kind and creative young girl who loves to create ghost stories learning about the supernatural and just sharing her uniqueness that gets her to believe. She and her best friend Elijah thrive on finding fun, spooky things, but things really take a turn when certain we’re supernatural things start happening, and her nickname actually starts to become fitting.

This novel is so much fun! I love the spooky hints of horror, but it’s nothing too scary or over the top that readers shouldn’t be frightened by. There are definitely some parts that spooked me but the ominous atmosphere added to the story. I love the element of mystery and suspense. Why does Zee see ghosts? Is it a gift or a curse? How can she help them? And why does the new school principal seems so creepy?

I think zee’s story can be relatable to young readers and empowering too. She feels weird and outcasted but learns how to use her uniqueness as a strength and build her overall confidence. It’s a story about believing in yourself and celebrating what makes you the person you are, which I really appreciated.

'"Zee thought about her teacher telling her that girls didn’t behave this way, about how people expect girls to be nice and polite and small. What garbage. She was never interested in small. She was interested in the stories her mind could invent, the tales her tongue could tell, and the power her body held."

The story moves fairly fast but kept me captivated as a whole. It was full of thrills and chills, and anyone who likes solving mysteries will enjoy Ghost Girl and its atmospheric reading experience. I love the spooky vibes of the novel and its themes of gratitude, the power of friendship, and dealing with grief.

Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for providing me the opportunity to review this title.

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.

I think this story will be fun for its intended audience. The biggest hurdle for me was the pacing of the plot. The beginning was difficult because the writing wasn't great. The dialogue and plot literally felt like someone completing a creative writing assignment.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley, HarperCollins Children's Books, and Katherine Tegen Books in exchange for an honest review.

Zera "Zee" Puckett is a 6th grader who loves to tell ghost stories. After a massive storm hits her town one night, it starts to appear that she might be living IN a ghost story. Everyone’s most selfish wishes start coming true, but in creepy ways... and at what cost?

Now Zee, her best friend Elijah, and (unfortunately) Zee's school bully Nellie, have to work together to figure out what's going on in town and how to fix it. I loved that the adult help the kids get is from a librarian (yay for library appreciation and love in literature!).

I've seen some early reviews complaining that Zee, Elijah, and Nellie do a lot of "stupid" things. But honestly, Malinenko has done such a great job of writing characters that act their age. 6th graders are still young, still learning. They won't always make good choices, or smart choices. It's always nice to read YA and MG books where the characters act their age rather than being more mature and self aware than is realistic just because it makes the plot easier to believe.

Honestly, the only thing I didn't like about GHOST GIRL was how the bad thing (staying vague to avoid spoilers) was beaten. I felt like there was a lot of lead up and while there was a "battle", it seemed to have an abrupt ending. But overall, it's delightfully creepy, it tackles some tough topics (bullying, parental death, parental illness), and it's been a really fun read. I thought Zee's fears that because her mom died giving birth to her, that she killed her mom and that her sister and dad thought so too. Same with the outcome of Elijah's sick mom and why she wasn't able to get out of bed.

Beautifully written tale! This book was one of my favorites of the year. I embrace the spooky and creepy when it comes to books. This one was enough to make me put it down and take a break for a while. When I described it to my family, they said--that's creepy. Absolutely every character is real and thought out and has a backstory. The bad guy was significantly creepy and for some reason I pictured Tom Hiddleston in the role. Please powers that be think of this when creating the inevitable film adaptation. This is the pan-ultimate fantasy text for young readers.

Kids will enjoy this book. The scary section is one of our most popular areas so anything with Ghost in the title will fly off the shelves.

Spooktacular!! Ghost Girl has has such a relatable characters; Zee dealing with family issues, school bullies and embracing a gift passed down from her mother that she didn't know about. Elijah dealing with his father trying to change him and Nellie living the seemingly perfect life and having trouble at home. They tackle these issues all while trying to save their entire town from dark forces. I always enjoy when characters learn lessons while helping ghosts. This is definitely a story of personal strength, friendship and growth. A great ghost story for middle school students!
Thanks NetGalley!

I love Middle Grade horror, and Ghost Girl is some of the best I've read! This story is exactly the spooky, fun adventure I've been looking for.

Cute story about how getting what you want might not be the best.

When strange things start happening in Zee’s hometown, her love of scary stories helps her and her friends figure out how to make things right.

Great for middle school readers. Was a fun read and reminded me of Bradbury's "Something Wicked". I enjoyed it.

In Ghost Girl, we get to know Zee Puckett, a sixth-grader who has a lot on her plate. She would rather be wild and adventure, or read and tell stories than do the things she should be doing. Cleaning is stupid because things will just to get dirty again, and homework? Studying for tests? Being lady-like? Ugh. More than anything Zee just wants people to let her be who she is instead of trying to change her all the time.
Zee is an incredible character and the depth of her feelings is a huge strong point for this book. Zee’s life is far from perfect and the author shows us Zee trying to deal with big feelings and confusion in a way that feels accurate and honest to what a 6th grader could really do.
But the scene that really made me connect with Zee takes place at recess with her bully Nellie. Nellie lays into Zee. Calling her names, and somehow giving voice to Zee’s inner fears in the way that only a bully really can. At that moment I stopped being a reader and I was Zee. I remember being in situations like this. Except Zee has the reaction I wish I had.

Tell Me about the Ghosts:
I picked up Ghost Girl because I like being scared and Malinenko delivers on this promise! The shadow creatures and ghosts are perfect. They are creepy and dark and honestly, I’d be terrified if I encountered them. But it is the suspense, the howling, and noises coming to get you that really build the creepy factor. I finished the book late at night and was sure I heard whispers in the dark.

What Could Have Been Better:
There isn’t much I’d change. In the research at the library scene, Zee and friends come across an entry with a name they recognize. This confirms our suspicions that this character isn’t what they seem. I really wanted a little bit more mythology or lore. It feels like a missed opportunity to up the stakes a little bit higher. I never really felt that characters were in life or death danger, and adding a bit of history about the bad guy could have raised the stakes without changing anything else that happens because we’d be aware of what *could* happen.


; TLDR ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ghost Girl by Ally Malinenko is an excellent book that balances big feelings and realistic character with spine-tingling ghosts, evil shadow creatures, and the power of friendship. I wish this book had been around when my daughter was younger. I think she could have found a friend in Zee who understands the loneliness of school and feeling like you only have one friend.

GHOST GIRL is a fun horror-slash-mystery read, perfect for the MG crowd. The writing is superb and grabs the reader from the get-go, yet still manages to sound MG enough for a tween to read and enjoy. Zee is a wonderful, fully-developed (for her age) character, and I loved how she navigated her weird little town, and her not-so-perfect life.

I loved GHOST GIRL so much, and read it twice to appreciate its layers. Besides the horror/mystery plot, the friendship between Zee and Elijah, and the developing friendship with Nellie, felt true and special. None of these characters was perfect on their own, but together they made for a wonderful trio.

I also loved the familial aspects, and think it's important for the MG readers to see diverse families-- kids being raised by older sisters, parents who have unrealistic or aggressive expectations, parents who are mentally ill. I love that GHOST GIRL has children questioning authority figures, like principals. It's important that kids realize that if something feels not right, then they should pay heed to their instincts and confide in others.

Even with these important themes, GHOST GIRL remains entertaining and thoughtful, and in the end, the kids are just kids, looking for acceptance, love, and be in a place, internally and externally, where they can feel safe and loved.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. It's a quick read and if you like scary stories, this is one for you! Zee Pucket is into ghost stories and she gets to live out her own. She tells her best friend, who believes her, which shows the power of friendship. She learns to embrace her differences. It was a fun read.

This was such a delightful little middle grade horror. I love ghost stories, I love Frankenstein, I love creepy middle grade and this book delivered on all fronts. It was also a lot more genuinely creepy than I was expecting! Some of the scenes seemed to come straight out of a horror flick while still managing to remain child-friendly enough that it never felt like "too much", which I think is a really delicate balance and incredibly difficult to pull off for middle grade. The villain was incredible. I love this specific type of villain so much, and I love some of the things he helped our main trio realize about (platonic) love and how sometimes we need to come to terms with reality even when it hurts us.

The prose and voice of Zee was so fun and engaging, the pacing never felt to fast or too slow, and every side character was so fleshed out. There's a nice little reversal of the mean girl trope here which is my favorite trope reversal EVER and I love to see it in middle grade. I think this is absolutely perfect for kids who want to get a little spooky but still want a story with heart.

Ghost Girl by Ally Malinenko is a ghost story, troubled kids fighting together to defeat a demon and one different and lonely girl trying to find her way I would definitely recommend this for middle grade readers wanting some horror in their reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and Katherine Tegan Books for providing me with this early, digital copy.

Zee Puckett lives in Knobb’s Ferry, a small town with not very much going for it. Zee is bored by her town, she loves stories and often lives in her head, and she is hungry for some excitement. After a trip to a local library, Zee learns she can see ghosts and get a new nickname, Ghost Girl. This begins the adventures of Zee and her best friend Elijah, and enemy Nellie as their town is overrun with ghosts and demons. This is a story about friendship, about a love of stories (scary and otherwise), and family. This is a very sweet and well written story that I would love to give to middle graders in my life.

What a unique and mysterious ghost story.! This is rare since I usually figure out what will happen within the first 50 pages.
I am happy to report that nothing was to scary or nightmare inducing. I’m still scared of books found under beds (Harry Potter reference there).
Enjoy!

Ghost Girl, by Ally Malinenko, is a good scary (but not really horror story) book for a young middle school reader. If you are offended by ghosts, magic, etc. pass this one by. The story includes bullying, friendship, family relationships, etc...all subjects middle schoolers have to deal with, so kids will be able to relate while enjoying this creapy story. Thank you, NetGalley and Katherine Tegen Books for providing me with an ARC ebook version of this book in exchange for my honest review. Even though it is written for a younger audience, I found it to be an enjoyable evening read.

Thanks to NetGalley & HarperCollins Children's Books for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Ghost Girl follows Zee who is a creative storyteller, which does make her unpopular in school since her stories are considered "lies" rather than unique stories. She lives with her older sister who works her butt off to support the two of them while their father is out of town. Everything's pretty ordinary...until weird things start to happen. And no one believes Zee.

A very fun thriller/mystery/supernatural story that was hard to put down. Zee was a really fun protagonist and Elijah a great side character with depth of his own. Nellie bogged the story down to me because she was just so...outright nasty to Zee. I know redemption arcs are popular lately but it wasn't handled too well here, Nellie was just consistently rude to everyone to make her redemption believable. That's just me though.

The romance between Elijah and Nellie was ridiculous to me, it really broke the rhythm of the book in some parts. Why would Elijah be willing to date a girl that'd been bullying Zee for years? I would've seen this happen in the second book when some time passes and Nellie had completely redeemed herself but she was in the middle of her redemption arc and the romance just came out of nowhere, frankly. I like a good romance but it was just annoying in here.

Still, I found it hard to put this ghost mystery down and I do recommend it for middle graders who are looking for a solid mystery/supernatural story that's not too outright traumatizing, ha.

Great horror story for those middle grade readers who keep asking me for scary and scarier! “Ghost Girl” will give them the spine tingles and creepy scenes that they want without the gore and overdone violence that they ask for, but absolutely do not need. Author Ally Malinenko uses well-chosen words to create images of blood-thirsty hound dogs, a demon in human form who feeds himself by sucking the hopes and dreams from the citizens in Knobb’s Ferry and also gives readers three tween heroes who have the strength to fight him as long as they stick together. Mixed in with the chills are clear themes of friendship, the importance of family, learning to value yourself, and most especially that focusing on self will surely bring trouble. The pacing is this book is fast and furious and seldom pauses which may keep those who don’t usually finish a 300 page book focused all the way to the end! Highly recommended for grades 5-8 and would not hesitate to also hand it to a 4th grade student who has enjoyed books by Mary Downing Hahn, Peg Kehret, or more contemporary Lindsay Currie.

Atmospheric, fast-paced, and engaging, Ghost Girl will certainly please fans of middle grade spooky stories. Perfectly creepy in the best way for young readers, this novel tackles universal themes of friendship and standing up for yourself while still providing plenty of good scares.