They have bought a 300-year-old chateau that needs extensive renovation.
Their intention is to convert the country building into a luxury boutique hotel.
Matt’s personal assumption is that his ability to renovate is equal to his award-winning film-making skills. He backs this up with countless cameras for recording his progress, and drafted charts and timelines to keep him on schedule.
The rest of the family fear for his safety.
Ellie has prepared the two children for this time, by teaching them French and lots about the country where their mother lived.
Unfortunately, she died very young, and the children have very little information about her life. The need to discover something of her background life is the main reason for the move.
Josephine loves her new home. Its disrepair holds mysteries and secrets, and her writer soul thrills in anticipation to uncover hidden gems of time and place.
The first thing she finds is a locket hidden in a secret panel in the wardrobe of her bedroom. When she finally manages to open the clasp, the ghost of a boy appears.
He claims to be Louis, the Dauphin of France, 1785. He thinks she is someone he knew, and she becomes the channel through which he learns about his past.
This opens great adventures for Josephine. Meeting Louis, the mystery connected to him, and meeting the very attractive Gabriel, are all her dreams come true.
Then there is Harriet, her best friend from Kindergarten, day one, with whom she shares all her secrets and thoughts via email.
The device of using diary entries to fill in the background information is a perfect choice.
The Girl and the Ghost is a marvelous beginning to a promising series by the talented Jaqueline Harvey.
We experience beautifully descriptive areas seeped in history and architecture; almost taste the luscious French food they indulge in and smell the country air through Harvey’s perfect prose.
Make time for this book with its fantastic characters and its mixture of so many themes and stories, that readers won’t be able to put it down. It is open-ended and I can’t wait for the next in the series.
Title: The Girl and the Ghost
Author: Jacqueline Harvey
Illustrator: Anne Yi
Publisher: Penguin, $16.99
Publication Date: 29 April 2025
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781761349409
For ages: 10 +
Type: Middle Grade Fiction
