The Little Ghost Girl

Ruth was a ghost of a girl when she arrived into foster mother Maggie Hartley's care. Pale, frail and withdrawn, it was clear to Maggie that Ruth had seen and experienced things that no 11-year-old should have to, that she's been conditioned to 'see no evil, speak no evil'. Ruth is in desperate need of help, but can Maggie get through to her and unlock the harrowing secret she carries? Through love, reassurance and patience, Maggie starts to unravel Ruth's painful past - a past defined by cruelty and abuse by the very people who should have protected her. Raised by a cruel stepmother and her father after her own mum abandoned her, Ruth was abused, underfed and ignored, while her half-siblings lived a life of luxury. It's up to Maggie to help Ruth find her voice; to be a ghost no more, and bring those who've harmed her to justice. A true story of hope from Sunday Times bestselling author Maggie Hartley, a foster carer for over 20 years. 'Captivated from beginning to end' 5* Amazon reader review

Perfect for fans of Small Spaces and Nightbooks, Ally Malinenko’s debut is an empowering and triumphant ghost story——with spooky twists sure to give readers a few good goosebumps! 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.

* Chosen as a 2020 Kirkus Prize Finalist for Young Readers' Literature! * A Malaysian folk tale comes to life in this emotionally layered, chilling middle grade debut, perfect for fans of The Book of Boy and The Jumbies. I am a dark spirit, the ghost announced grandly. I am your inheritance, your grandmother’s legacy. I am yours to command. Suraya is delighted when her witch grandmother gifts her a pelesit. She names her ghostly companion Pink, and the two quickly become inseparable. But Suraya doesn’t know that pelesits have a dark side—and when Pink’s shadows threaten to consume them both, they must find enough light to survive . . . before they are both lost to the darkness. Fans of Holly Black’s Doll Bones and Tahereh Mafi’s Furthermore series will love this ghostly middle grade debut that explores jealousy, love, and the extraordinary power of friendship.

Eleven-year-old April Sloane has never set foot in a school before, and now that President Hoover and his wife are building a one-room schoolhouse in the hollow of the Blue Ridge Mountains where April lives, she is eager to attend it. But these are the Depression years, and Mama, who has been grieving ever since the accidental death of her seven-year-old son, wants April to stay home and do the chores around their dilapidated farm. With her grandmother's intercession, April is grudgingly allowed to go. The kind teacher encourages her apt pupil, who finds a new world opening up to her. But at home, April cannot repair the relationship with her mother, and worse, her mother overhears the dark secret April confesses to her teacher regarding the true cause of her brother's death, for which April feels responsible. The author has used her own experience growing up in a rural area of northern Virginia to create the vivid characters and authentic dialogue and background detail that characterize this finely honed debut novel. She has based the one-room schoolhouse on papers in the Hoover Presidential Library in West Branch, Iowa, which include letters between the White House and the young teacher who taught at the school.

Recounts the author's childhood as an organist's daughter for tent revivalist David Terrell, describing her witness to his mass "miracles" and his morally corrupt activities behind the scenes.

Jadie never spoke. She never laughed, or cried, or uttered any sound. Despite efforts to reach her, Jadie remained locked in her own troubled world . . . until one remarkable teacher persuaded her to break her self-imposed silence. Nothing in all of Torey Hayden’s experience could have prepared her for the shock of what Jadie told her—a story too horrendous for Torey’s professional colleagues to acknowledge. Yet a little girl was living in a nightmare, and Torey responded in the only way she knew how—with courage, compassion, and dedication—demonstrating once again the tremendous power of love and the resilience of the human spirit.

Haley has a way with the ghosts, and even though everyone in town assumed they were hostile and would attack you immediately, Haley discovers otherwise. She heads to the forest and finds a group of fire spitting ghosts that are eager to involve her into their little community. Other dramatic events occur, and a war between huge spiders and the same group of ghosts is in the air… a battle that could end well… or not… Read quickly to find out.

When you're a quilt instead of a sheet, being a ghost is hard! An adorable picture book for fans of Stumpkin and How to Make Friends with a Ghost. Ghosts are supposed to be sheets, light as air and able to whirl and twirl and float and soar. But the little ghost who is a quilt can't whirl or twirl at all, and when he flies, he gets very hot. He doesn't know why he's a quilt. His parents are both sheets, and so are all of his friends. (His great-grandmother was a lace curtain, but that doesn't really help cheer him up.) He feels sad and left out when his friends are zooming around and he can't keep up. But one Halloween, everything changes. The little ghost who was a quilt has an experience that no other ghost could have, an experience that only happens because he's a quilt . . . and he realizes that it's OK to be different.

Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. And if I should die before I awake, I pray the popular attend my wake. Charlotte Usher feels practically invisible at school, and then one day she really is invisible. Even worse: she's dead. And all because she choked on a gummy bear. But being dead doesn't stop Charlotte from wanting to be popular; it just makes her more creative about achieving her goal. If you thought high school was a matter of life or death, wait till you see just how true that is. In this satirical, yet heartfelt novel, Hurley explores the invisibility we all feel at some times and the lengths we'll go to be seen. Praise for ghostgirl: * Polished dark-and-deadpan humor, it's a natural fit with Gen Y, too." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) * "[Tonya] beats out witty teen-speak like a punk-band drummer, keeping the narrative fast-paced and fun yet thought-provokingly heartwarming. Goofy, ghastly, intelligent, electrifying." --Kirkus (starred review) *"Tim Burton and Edgar Allan Poe devotees will die for this fantastic, phantasmal read." --School Library Journal (starred review) * "Readers with a taste for black humor and satire will feast on Hurley's crisp, wise dialogue. Anticipate a well deserved cult following." --VOYA (starred review) "Written with deadpan wit...this is a 'Wonderful Life'-like tale." -New York Post "A sincere (and humorous) exploration of how we all feel invisible at one time or another...perfect read." -CosmoGirl

In this novella sequel to the New York Times–bestselling Shadowshaper, a couple is reunited by a missing black girl, a ghost haunting a newspaper office. Trying to shake off the strange malaise that separates her from even her girlfriend Izzy, Tee decides to take over the Bed-Stuy Searchlight for the summer. But then she finds an alluring violet dress in the newspaper office, and a cute ghost girl no one else can see. Izzy can tell Tee’s drifting away from her—she misses Izzy’s shows and skips shadowshaper practice—and she won’t stand for it. Yet when a girl goes missing in Bed-Stuy, Izzy needs Tee to get the word out and help investigate. Can they break through their distance and reconnect before someone else dies? Reviews for the New York Times–bestsellingShadowshaper: “Magnificent.” —New York Times Book Review “A must.” —Kirkus Reviews “Exceptional.” —Publishers Weekly “Smart writing with a powerful message that never overwhelms the terrific storytelling.” —Booklist “Joyful and assertive and proud, and makes me want to read everything else of Older’s, for more of these voices, connections and lives.” —National Public Radio