2.5

This was a bit too juvenile for me. None of the characters have any depth to them. Aiko likes movies. Blair likes baking and is a scaredy cat. Lillian is really smart. Raveena is selfish. Nearly every thing Blair says is about how she likes to bake or how spooky she finds something and it felt unnatural. Side characters also had minimal characterization; Paola is always muttering about her mother-in-law (but I don't think she ever even mentions her spouse) and the principal is always eating corn chips for some reason.

The writing had way more metaphors than what I enjoy reading. It also felt a lot like either a debut or like a middle school kid wrote it, which is appropriate for the intended audience.

A lot is kinda glossed over. Most of the spirit sessions happen off-page and are only mentioned once. The plot is pretty light. All conflict is easily solved.

I'm confused about what reverse birthdays are supposed to be. The only one that was shown was at a skating rink and people had to skate backwards, otherwise it was a normal birthday party.

The epilogue makes the second book sound like it'll be fun, but I will not be reading it.

I think the intended age group will be into this, but I don't think it will have the impact that The Babysitter's Club did.

CW: death of a grandparent, fire (in the past, causing multiple deaths), possession

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital review copy.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster Children's and NetGalley for providing the e-arc for my honest review.

When Raveena and her friends answer a strange ringing phone at a local antique shop, the girls find a way to save their school’s art program while helping unquiet spirits to move on. But when Raveena starts uncovering their colorful town’s secret past, not all the ghosts of Hollows’ Peak are interested in being helped.

Billed as Ghostbusters meets the Babysitter’s Club,Spirit Service is a sweet read with a few light scares, perfect for the younger range of middle grade readers (apart from a few bigger words and seemingly out-of-place jokes – nothing inappropriate, just lines about taxes or mothers-in-law). Authors Sarena and Sasha Nanua do a superb job of illustrating the bonds of friendship and modelling healthy grieving. The book’s emotional component really shines, especially in the relationships between the Fierce Four. Plenty of questions are left unanswered, hinting at future directions for an interesting series. I would definitely recommend Spirit Service to any young reader who isn’t seeking anything too scary.

4.25⭐️What a great entry into the paranormal genre for young middle grade readers! This was such a fun and endearing story, even to an adult!

It definitely has that baby sitter club type vibe to it which I think young girls will absolutely eat up. It’s that type of book that afterwards you could see the young readers having a sleep over and then trying to commune with the other side or go on their own ghost hunting missions.

Mt only criticism is that while it reads on the younger side, at times there is language that I think is a bit more advanced/mature for the average target audience age. Not inappropriate or anything of the sort, just older sounding at times.

This would be a great book to read for a school book club or just to have in a middle school library. It comes out April 22, 2025!
I am thankful to have gotten a complimentary eARC from Simon and Schuster Childrens through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My rating system for Middle Grade and children’s books

⭐️ Significant problems and would never recommend to the audience.
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea but may have some appeal.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ an ok book which I wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend but it has some value for young readers
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! I would recommend for the age or reading level appropriate for the book
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Would recommend highly, especially to school programs as a wide spread reading opportunity.

This was a really cute, fun middle grade book. I can definitely see why it was compared to Ghostbusters and the Baby-Sitters Club. It was mildly creepy in an age-appropriate way. I think the characters and plot will appeal to the book's target audience. I thought it was all very cute now as an adult, but I know I would've really enjoyed it when I was younger.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

Something about Spirit Service made me feel like it’d be better as a graphic novel. I can see this being a hit with the target audience, though, and I wouldn’t be opposed to reading a sequel.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers and Netgalley for this ARC!

This was a really fun story. I would class it as lower middle grade, but I would have loved this book at that age. I really enjoyed it at my current age. I really liked the characters, the four girls were so much fun and I liked seeing them learn about the phone and helping both the spirits and the living move on. I liked the ghosts. This was on the low end of creepy, but it still was good. I also liked the thread of grief that wound its way through the book and the way they all learned how to handle that feeling. This was a whole lot of fun and I definitely hope for another book.

60/100 or 3.0 stars

I was so beyong excited when I saw this, as I grew up on the BSC and was so excited to see a new modern twist on the idea. This just did not work for me at all. I can see how the target audience would like this, but I did not connect with anything that was happening. I had to stop at 47% I read middle-grade all the time, and so it really has nothing to do with the intended auidence or that I can't read middle-grade. I just didn't get hooked with this story, so I will not be following this series. I am so sad, as I thought this would be a fun new middle grade for me. I would be interested in finding a reasonably priced copy of this to start the series in my library, as I am sure there are kids who will love this!