I’ve never been one for ghost stories. (I don’t like to be scared.) But, I must say I enjoyed Ghosters* by Diana Corbitt. While Ghosters is geared for ages 9-12, I found myself frequently chuckling and wanting to know what happened in the end. (Honestly, I read about one-fourth of the book and then had to skip to the end to see what happened before I could go back finish reading it.)
There were two things I particularly liked about the book:
First, Joey, the main character’s brother, has Asperger’s. In Ghosters, Joey is treated like a real person. Whereas often times in movies or books, the person with disabilities is left on the sideline until the end when everybody realizes his worth and value, Joey plays a major role in the ghost hunt. His sister truly loves him and does not regard her brother’s presence on their ghost hunting adventures as an annoyance. It was nice to see value and dignity given to a character with disabilities from the start of the story instead of having to wait until the end for the person to receive the dignity and value they deserved from the other characters.
Second, Theresa (the main character) and Joey’s mother recently died; their father, in addition to the kids, is grieving. The loss of Theresa’s and Joey’s mother has created a rift between Theresa and her father. (Mini spoiler alert): It is ultimately, Theresa’s quest to find a ghost that helps her family heal. It is this fact in particular that I thought was clever. Who’d have thought that a little bit of ghost hunting could help a grieving family heal?
*I was provided with Ghosters free of charge in exchange for my review of it. I received no monetary compensation, only the privilege and enjoyment that comes with reading a well-written story, and this story is indeed well-written.
P.S. I will be adding this to my “Favorites” list for those children who enjoy ghost stories.
Reading4Fun 