Danny Boyle and the Ghosts of Ireland

By: William Graham

Narrated by: Patte Shaughnessy

Length: 1 hr and 56 mins

Publisher's Summary

Danny Boyle and his sister Melinda are caught in the middle of a battle between the good and evil ghosts that haunt Ireland.

©2002 William Graham (P)2015 William Graham

This was a very fun book overall

Action, adventure, mythology, ghosts, a foreign land – this book has it all! A great read for middle grade kids, Danny Boyle and the Ghosts of Ireland (the second book with this adventure-seeking character) captures the reader’s attention from the beginning, when author William Graham sets up his unusual and enjoyable interpretation of ghosts and what they spend their time doing. There are good ghosts and harmful ghosts, ghosts who choose to stay in ballrooms where they had the time of their lives before they passed away. The explanation of these different types of ghosts, their purposes, and their interactions was my favorite part of the book since it was quite different from other descriptions.

As usual in Graham’s Danny Boyle series, learning is scattered throughout, from learning about parts of Ireland to learning new words. Included also are ethical practices that Danny and his sister, Melinda, use when taking the things they need to complete their quest from various creatures of myth. I thought this was a nice spin on the typical bloody confrontations heroes engage in to steal these necessary items, which is done in similar situations by many authors. Fantasy and paranormal elements mix together to create a fun and exciting story parents can enjoy right along with their kids.

I looked very hard to find pieces of the story Graham forgot to resolve, since there were a lot of loose ends to tie up, but he covered everything. My only real complaint is that some situations in which Danny and Melinda needed to take or steal something from mythical beings in order to complete their quest were accomplished too quickly and easily, especially for the mermaid part (no spoilers!). However, I have to repeat that the way they went about taking these things was, in most cases, a good lesson for children.

Patte Shaughnessy pulls off a great Irish accent and gets into the spirit of the piece very well. She’s easy to understand and convincingly captures the wonder of a young person experiencing a new adventure. I certainly enjoyed listening to her reading, and I think kids would feel the same.

This was a very fun book overall and it's a great gift to get kids into listening to audiobooks. I'm looking forward to the next adventure Danny Boyle will experience!

Audiobook provided for review by the author.

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Danny and his sister meet some friendly and some not so friendly ghosts

Danny and his sister take a trip to ireland. They meet some friendly ghosts and some. It so friendly ghosts. The unfriendly ones are trying to posses people and rule the world. The friendly ones need Danny and his sisters help to stop them. Will it be enough? Get ready for a great adventure. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Cute short story

I really enjoyed this story. It was a fun little adventure. Highly recommend. Nothing too scary for older kids.

Pretty decent story

Well written and well performed. It was a little short but all around worthwhile.

Decent short story for children...

Danny Boyle and the Ghosts of Ireland by William Graham was a decent listen for kids. Danny and his younger sister Melinda are on vacation with their parents in Ireland. Danny immediately realizes that there are ghosts where they are staying and soon informs his sister of this. Together and with the help of a friendly ghost, they send doppelgangers home with their parents as they go on a search for some relics to fight evil ghosts that are threatening to take over. This was a cute story, but I felt rushed throughout. I think that the story could have been fleshed out a bit more and the ending seemed to happen abruptly. Other than that, it was a cute listen that I'm sure the kids will enjoy.

Patty Shaughnessy did a great job narrating this story. Her Irish accent sounded great and she did well with all of the various characters and their voices. I'd listen to her narrations again without hesitation. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher for an honest review. Note that this is a standalone book, even though there are other Danny Boyle books in the series.

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please buy this for your child

I was gifted this audio ARC for a honest and unbiased review from the author/narrator.

First let me say i requested this book as i have always loved ghost stories especially when Ireland is involved.William Graham wrote a fantastic ghost story for children and adults alike. There were great times with Casper like ghosts that made me lol.
Patte Shaughnessy was the perfect fit for this book.
If I could rate higher than 5 I would

Pretty Good

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

This was a good children's book: while on holiday, two young American children are recruited into a war between good and evil ghosts. While this is the second book in the Danny Boyle series, I didn't feel like I needed to have read the first book in order to understand this book. Both Danny and Melinda were characterised well and it was enjoyable to listen to their adventures. However, there were a few errors, especially the 'Irish Prime Minister' who is actually the Taoiseach.
The narrator, Patte Shaugnessy, was also brilliant and fit with this novel excellently.

A really cool story

Loved this little story. So much packed into such a short little story but done really well. Main characters a young boy and girl make the book interesting enough for either a girl or a boy wanting to read a ghostly adventure. Not a scary, gory story either but more like a Casper the friendly ghost type book. Would definitely recommend. Received this book at no charge in exchange for an honest review.

A Strong Sequel and Promising Series!

Where does Danny Boyle and the Ghosts of Ireland rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

We all have our favorites categories. As this was a children's book, it may not be in my All Time, but I would definitely listen to this book with a younger audience, as was my intention when I picked this up. I have two infant granddaughters and I want to build a (sound cloud?) library to share the literary world with them. This is a new era - when I was a mother, I read books to my sons. Not many parents of this generation read to their children, so I imagined listening to books with my preciousnesses and growing their creative imaginations. This book would be enjoyable, fun, funny, with a dash of culture - and spooks!
To clarify, I LOVED this book and can't wait to share it's adventure and journey with my little loved ones!

Who was your favorite character and why?

I can't say I had a 'favorite' - Moms *never* confess to having a favorite child, right? *wink,wink*

Have you listened to any of Patte Shaughnessy’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This was my introduction to this author and narrator. I have two more of his books in my library, that I intend to listen to and review by the weekend! This narrator was ideal for this book.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This was a creatively written children's book. When Danny was telling Melinda about the ghosts, and she didn't believe him, I held my breath. I laughed out loud at the ghost's greeting to Melinda. It was priceless. Or refreshing. I also chuckled at the very end, when the children returned home. Their doppelgängers left and ... obviously, they acted differently!