GHOSTLIGHT

Friendship with ghosts can be chilling.

Thanks to constantly repeating Rebecca Strand’s name while leading the Island Ghost Tour at Toronto’s Gibraltar Point Lighthouse, teenager Gabe Vasilakis awakens her ghost and accidentally clasps hands with it, forging an otherworldly connection between the pair that strengthens Rebecca while chilling Gabe. Fortunately, this happened just in time, as wicked ghost Nicholas Viker has reemerged after many years of slumbering. Viker was a ghost who battled Strand and her father—and ultimately killed them—as they attempted to use a ghostlight to send trapped spirits on to their final destinations. Greek Canadian Gabe’s work to defeat Viker before his plans to rule both the spirit and moral worlds can come to fruition begins. He’s helped by Rebecca; his best friend, 16-year-old Russian STEM prodigy Yuri; and ghost-story blogger Calli Ferreira, a girl he meets during his tour whose family came from Goa. The plot sounds complicated—and it is—but readers looking for a spirited read that’s grounded in factual Toronto history will appreciate this modern-day ghost story. Subplots on the treatment of Indigenous peoples and the ability of past ghosts to acknowledge their roles add some soul to this supernatural thriller and may provoke conversation among readers. Although the story wraps up skillfully, hints of future adventures for the earthly ghost fighters will have readers consulting the spirits to see if a sequel lies ahead.

A spooktacular story that’s surprisingly insightful.