Not Quite a Ghost

De: Anne Ursu

Narrado por: Eva Kaminsky

Named one of the Best Books of 2024 by the Chicago Public Library, New York Public Library, and NPR!

From the award-winning author of The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy comes an unforgettable and deeply personal story of the ghosts that surround us—and the ones we carry inside.

The house seemed to sit apart from the others on Katydid Street, silent and alone, like it didn’t fit among them. For Violet Hart—whose family is about to move into the house on Katydid Street—very little felt like it fit anymore. Like their old home, suddenly too small since her mother remarried and the new baby arrived. Or Violet’s group of friends, which, since they started middle school, isn’t enough for Violet’s best friend, Paige. Everything seemed to be changing at once. But sometimes, Violet tells herself, change is okay.

That is, until Violet sees her new room. The attic bedroom in their new house is shadowy, creaky, and wrapped in old yellow wallpaper covered with a faded tangle of twisting vines and sickly flowers. And then, after moving in, Violet falls ill—and does not get better. As days turn into weeks without any improvement, her family growing more confused and her friends wondering if she’s really sick at all, she finds herself spending more time alone in the room with the yellow wallpaper, the shadows moving in the corners, wrapping themselves around her at night.

And soon, Violet starts to suspect that she might not be alone in the room at all.

©2024 Anne Ursu (P)2024 HarperCollins Publishers

First book I’ve listened to a about Gen Alpha. It was really interesting and engaging.

I absolutely loved this book. It reminded me of being 11 and reading books about girls in the 60’s and 70’s, even though the book is set in 2024 and the protagonist is my nephew’s age. It made me think a lot about how we talk to kids about how they feel.

Slow-burning and Scary

A terrifyingly terrific tale with a brilliant coming-of-age story at its core. No jump-scares needed, just slow, methodical horror. A brilliant piece of middle-grade horror.

Brilliant writing and narration

Anyone who has ever had an invisible and hard to diagnose illness will be able to relate to the main character's struggle to understand what's happening to her when she gets sick and then doesn't get well, and with her frustration with people who don’t believe it's real. But for Violet, her illness starts just as she's starting middle school, where her friendship with longtime BFFs seems to be unraveling. And if that weren't enough, her family has just moved into an old house where the ugly wallpaper in her attic room is even creepier than it looks.

Maybe this ghost story is fiction, but the emotions and relationships are true to life and captivating. Eva Kaminsky's narration is stellar. Unlike some narrators of YA books, her voice is never condescending; she speaks from inside the characters.

I finished the book in one day because I couldn't wait to find out what happened next.

Made me feel seen

As someone with an invisible chronic illness, it was incredible to read a story depicting the expletive so vividly. The pairing with a ghost story is genius and so delicately done. As a former middle school teacher, I found the depiction of sixth grade challenges truly and compassionately depicted. So glad I read this book.