GHOST CIRCUS

A ghost girl and a not-quite-dead boy team up to unlock otherworldly mysteries.

While preparing for the opening night of the Ghost Circus, Creepy Girl looks up to see Casey, a boy with light tan skin and brown hair, sitting alone in the bleachers. He’s not dead, which is weird. With help from the endearing Polterghost and other ghostly human and animal members of the circus, the two get past their initial tensions and team up to explore pressing questions. Why can Casey see and talk to the ghosts while still, presumably, being alive? Why does his left arm begin to turn ghostlike? A fortuneteller once said that when Creepy Girl helped “the lost child,” she would find her way home—can she and Polterghost return Casey, who might be the child from the prophecy, to the land of the living? Digging deeper, they seek to discover who runs the Ghost Circus and why, learning that their quest concerns not only their own futures, but those of every soul in the circus. They also learn what it means to be free, to belong, and to love. Grabbing readers from the first frame, this intriguing tale, with its sweet humor, occasional poems, and beautifully subtle and emotive graphics (predominantly in soft shades of blue), will keep the pages turning.

A thoughtful ghost story filled with heart, humor, and hope.