A beautiful, touching story about friendship, healing, and a little bit of magic!
I picked up Gracie’s Ghost on a whim, and by the end I was quietly cheering for that mischievous little spirit right alongside Gracie. The artwork—simple, almost sketch-like—somehow packs an emotional punch: a single shadow or a small smile can speak volumes. Gracie herself feels like someone you might have sat next to in class: earnest, a bit awkward, and brave in her own quiet way.

What struck me most was how Brown weaves themes of loss and hope without ever veering into melodrama. Gracie’s grief over her grandfather’s passing stings, but it never overwhelms; instead, it gives her reasons to lean on new (and unexpected) friendships. The ghost isn’t your typical scare-you-half-to-death specter, but a comforting companion who nudges Gracie — and us — toward forgiveness and courage.

If I have one nitpick, it’s that I wanted just a touch more backstory for the ghost himself—who was he before he became…well, a ghost? But honestly, I found myself smiling at every turn and even tearing up on the last page.

A quietly powerful graphic novel that feels like a warm hug for anyone learning to let go. Highly recommend it for middle-grade readers and anyone who remembers what it’s like to miss someone.

“Gracie’s Ghost” is a graphic novel about a girl named Gracie who is constantly bullied by other kids and mistreated by her mother. The story is made up of short episodes from her miserable life.

The art is okay but nothing special.

Oh, and Gracie is also followed by a ghost, but that weirdly doesn’t actually add much to the story.

Overall, this was a pretty sad read. I wouldn’t recommend it.

“Gracie’s Ghost” is a graphic novel about a girl named Gracie who is constantly bullied by other kids and mistreated by her mother. The story is made up of short episodes from her miserable life.

The art is okay but nothing special.

Oh, and Gracie is also followed by a ghost, but that weirdly doesn’t actually add much to the story.

Overall, this was a pretty sad read. I wouldn’t recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun graphic novel. This was so cute. Kids will love this book.

I'd give this a 3.5/5 and a 5.5/10

I did throroughly enjoy going through this. It did, however, take me a little while to actually do so because I felt that the pacing was a little bit off but I did enjoy the final part of it quite a bit especially once it got into the flow of the story and characters,

Now, there were some parts through the story that were kind of hard to understand and read, more for impact and less for lack of clarity. I think a series talking about Gracie's Ghost and exploring it a lot more with more subtext and moments that while in reality and on paper may have been more on the nose, I feel like the comic would benefit a bit more with something more subtle. It was almost hard to root for the characters because besides Gracie, and even then, only to a certain extent, so much context, so much story felt unfinished, almost untold.

Still, the core of the story, the telling of a genuine experience growing up, makes for one with a lot of heart and a lot of potential and while I didn't enjoy it as much as I personally wish I did, I still enjoyed it enough to read it all the way through. The art style is - in a way - candid, simple and clear and adds to the storytelling so I definitely enjoyed that part. It's good, I hope to see more from Dawn Brown in the future as well!

This was disappointing in a lot of ways but worse than, it was actually uninteresting. A lot of points were made but there was no follow through

My Year 6 love graphic novels and so I'm always keen to find new ones for them to enjoy. Gracie's Ghost looked like it would be perfect.

I enjoyed it but I'm not sure who the intended audience is. I think there are elements that are too mature for my children. There were some uncomfortable elements, such as horrible parenting, but some dark humour parts that made me laugh.

An enjoyable but odd read, just one that my class aren't mature enough for yet.

Graphic novel for middle grade kids. School bullies, a spoiled brother and a mother who doesn't even try to understand her. Plus creepy clowns.

The premise of this book drew me in immediately. I love the idea of ghosts becoming mentors or protectors of little kids trying to figure out their way around the world. I thought that the art style was cute and just off-putting enough to compliment the less savory scenes in the book.

Unfortunately, my praises for the story itself aren't as strong. This poor child is abused at school to the point that surely an adult should've intervened at some point. She goes home and is emotionally abused by her mother who is honestly a terrible parent. The favoritism shown to the younger brother actually really triggered my elder-sibling-trauma lol.

That would all be okay if the story built up to something that gave the reader hope that Gracie would end up okay in the end. The ghost being a passive character by design felt like a waste of a supernatural element. I know the intention of her dying because she didn't take action in her own life to then becoming the catalyst for Gracie taking action is a good narrative throughline, but the change was so subtle that I don't feel the pat on the back at the end was necessary. Yes, I'm proud of Gracie and proud of the ghost for finally standing up for themselves, but Gracie was severely bullied and ridiculed and abused by almost everyone in her life and one small heartwarming moment wasn't enough to make enduring all of that worth it.

Basically, I think that while the bones of this story are good and I appreciate the honesty and realism with which it was told, I think the narrative could've been improved to make it less depressing--especially if the target audience is intended to be youth who could be going through similar things.

I appreciate the chance to read and give my honest review of this book and will keep my eye out for anything the author writes in the future.

I can say I really enjoyed the art style in this graphic novel. I did find myself confused as to whom this work was directed toward at some points I thought it was a YA or younger audience, but then the references to pop culture from the 80's and 90's would be lost on on a younger crowd so it lost me there.

I wanted to love this book but at the end of the day it was just okay for me.

This graphic novel follows Gracie, who has a LOT going on in her life. This was much darker than I anticipated, which I didn’t mind, but I’m not entirely sure what audience this would be for. The art style is interesting and fitting with the story and I loved the concept of a ghost following her around, almost as a conscience. I appreciate the themes of bullying and being constantly overlooked, however I didn’t find the ending to be as satisfying as other novels I have read.

It has simple, relatable characters especially in terms of bullies and victims of bullying. I appreciated the themes used within the story and the karma moment at the end. The illustrations were simple yet perfectly executed.

Unrelentingly negative. TW for emotional abuse of a child, violent bullying, and harassment. How is this being marketed to children?!

3/3✨ First of all, thanks to Netgalley for the advanced readers copy of this book. This book wasn’t what I was expecting. I thought it would be a heartwarming story about a little girl and her ghost friend but it was actually very sad and dark. The little girl is mistreated by everyone except the ghost and I don’t know what the target audience is, I think it’s maybe too sad for children 🤔 it was okay.

I requested this title thinking that it would be a heartwarming story like it is advertised as. I knew there would be sad and emotional parts but man, this one hurt my heart. Gracie has a hard time at school, as was expected, but her mother is also so mean to her. I'm glad Gracie had her ghost because the poor girl could not catch a break. The ending was the most heartwarming part for me because even after they had parted her ghost still had her back.

It was a quick and easy read but I just wished Gracie had it a little easier. There was also a comment saying how Gracie wished she was a ghost too that got glossed over which I didn't love.

4/5 ⭐️

Read by my 10 year old and in their words…

This book was really hard to put down because I kept wanting to know what was going to happen next. Gracie’s relationship with the ghost was one of the only positive relationships she had (besides her father) which made for a unique story, unlike others I’ve read before! I loved how the book was told from the ghost’s point of view and as a flashback. It was a really neat concept and it left me feeling happy in the end. There were a few funny parts too.

This was a very bizarre book and not at all what I expected from the title. Readers will not be engaged with the writing and will find the experience quite underwhelming.

I received an early copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My oldest son has recently gotten into graphic novels, so I thought this would be a great book for us to read together. Visually, the art is charming and has a nostalgic feel reminiscent of Calvin and Hobbes. The story follows Gracie and her "guardian" ghost as she navigates her everyday life.

However, Gracie's life is undeniably tough. She faces bullying at school, her mother clearly favors her brother, and while her father tries to be there for her, he still falls short. The book seems to aim for a message of hope—that things will eventually get better—but this only really happens in the final chapter, and it feels abrupt. As an adult, I could piece together the underlying message, but for my 9-year-old, the connection wasn’t as clear. A more gradual buildup or small moments of positivity throughout the story might have made the resolution more impactful.

That said, we both enjoyed the artwork and the overall story. I just feel that if this book is meant to inspire kids who are struggling, there should be more than just one chapter where things improve. A stronger, more consistent sense of hope throughout the book would have made a big difference.

I liked this one! It definitely reminds me of Calvin and Hobbes in terms of tone and also a bit in the art style. The structure is a series of related vignettes - I do wish there was a little more of a throughline, but I really did like the overall theme that things are going to get better, even if they're hard right now. That's something that all tweens need to hear for sure.

I am always on the hunt for new ghost graphic novels for my lower readers who love to be scared. In Gracie's Ghost, it's the humans who are the real villains. We are in the middle of a "bad moms" renaissance in children's literature, and Gracie's mom fits right in. Watching Gracie beat down again and again as her mom removes everything she loves and invalidates all of her feelings is incredibly frustrating and sad. These actions do not have consequences. I think we are supposed to feel glad that at least Gracie has her ghost to keep her company, but the one act of revenge the ghost is able to enact doesn't counter the abuses Gracie suffers in any kind of satisfying way.

This book isn't scary enough to appeal to my scary books kids, funny enough to appeal to my funny books kids, and it is too scary and funny to appeal to my sad books kids.