SOPHIE LI

Cassidy Blake’s parents are The Inspecters, a (somewhat inept) ghost-hunting team. But Cass herself can REALLY see ghosts. In fact, her best friend, Jacob, just happens to be one.

When The Inspecters head to ultra-haunted Edinburgh, Scotland, for their new TV show, Cass—and Jacob—come along. In Scotland, Cass is surrounded by ghosts, not all of them friendly. Then she meets Lara, a girl who can also see the dead. But Lara tells Cassidy that as an In-betweener, their job is to send ghosts permanently beyond the Veil. Cass isn’t sure about her new mission, but she does know the sinister Red Raven haunting the city doesn’t belong in her world. Cassidy’s powers will draw her into an epic fight that stretches through the worlds of the living and the dead, in order to save herself.

• I really liked the premise of the story: a girl whose best friend was a ghost. That was the reason why I read this book, and I wasn’t disappointed.
• Cass and Jacob had the sweetest friendship. I loved that they were always ready to defend each other, and how they were always on each other’s side. But things became complicated when Lara taught Cass how to send ghosts off permanently… which Jacob was not happy about.
• Cass’s parents were the coolest. They didn’t dismiss their daughter’s ghost friend and actually went along with it, asking Cass how Jacob was doing and what he was up to. (Of course they couldn’t see Jacob.) It was refreshing to see supportive parents who didn’t try to force their kids to be “normal.”
• City of Ghosts is a Middle Grade book, and that was very apparent in the writing. But I loved that the book took a heavy topic like death and dying and wrapped it all up in a story that was entertaining and non-intimidating.
• Despite the fact that it’s Middle Grade… I still got a bit spooked at times.
• All the Harry Potter references!!!!
• It was a pretty fast-paced book that I sped through in no time.

• One aspect of the book I didn’t quite get was the worldbuilding. Granted, it is a Middle Grade book so I think there is a bit more tolerance for not explaining all the mechanics… But still, I didn’t really get a sense of how the veil worked and why things worked a certain way while in the veil.

3/5 fishies!

City of Ghosts was a fun and quick read featuring the one of the sweetest friendships I’ve seen in fiction. If you are looking for a cute and suspenseful story, give this one a try!

Have you read any Middle Grade books recently? Do you have a favourite Middle Grade book?

Photo by Artem Kovalev on Unsplash