Ghost Girl by Ally Malinenko

Available Now

Zee Puckett loves ghost stories. She just never expected to be living one.

It all starts with a dark and stormy night. When the skies clear, everything is different. People are missing. There’s a creepy new principal who seems to know everyone’s darkest dreams. And Zee is seeing frightening things: large, scary dogs that talk and maybe even . . . a ghost.

When she tells her classmates, only her best friend Elijah believes her. Worse, mean girl Nellie gives Zee a cruel nickname: Ghost Girl.

But whatever the storm washed up isn’t going away. Everyone’s most selfish wishes start coming true in creepy ways.

To fight for what’s right, Zee will have to embrace what makes her different and what makes her Ghost Girl. And all three of them—Zee, Elijah, and Nellie—will have to work together if they want to give their ghost story a happy ending.

I absolutely adore this book! Filled with delightfully spooky elements, fierce friendships, and a complicated family life, Ghost Girl is a dark adventure perfect for middle grade readers. Zee is an outsider. Picked on by the class bully Nellie, Zee spends most of her time with her best friend Elijah. Together, the two of them can overcome anything, even the strange events that seem to coincide with the arrival of their new principal, Principal Scratch. People around town are acting strangely and suddenly, the rumors about Zee’s mother having the ability to speak to ghosts don’t seem so far-fetched. As tensions increase around town, Zee and Elijah must work together with an unlikely ally to save their town from the dark and sinister Principal Scratch.

This book is very relatable to young readers. There are many different types of families and living situations represented in Ghost Girl. Zee and her sister are living on their own after their father leaves town to look for work. Elijah has a mother who is battling mental illness and a father who is constantly criticizing him and desperately wants his son to live the same the childhood fueled by football that he had. Nellie, a spoiled bully, has parents who seem to be uninterested in her and pay her little attention, but do shower her in the latest clothes and tech.

I really enjoyed the creepy school principal elements. The author has imbued Principal Scratch with all the characteristics of a shady motivational speaker who is secretly trying to take over the town. Watching the principal quickly worm his way into the hearts and minds of the members of the town was eerie and disconcerting. The entire town is filled with a weirdness that is hard to put your finger on and helps to enhance the overall haunted feel of the story.

Ghost Girl is an excellent spine-chilling read for middle grade readers. It has the right amount of spookiness to draw readers in and a fast-paced plot that will keep them engage.

Thank you so much to Katherine Tegen Books for sending me a beautiful copy of this book. All mistakes and opinions are completely my own. Interested in putting this amazing book into the hands of your favorite middle grade reader? You can find ordering information here:

This post contains affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases.