By Anne Ursu
5 Stars
Not Quite a Ghost follows Violet and her struggles with middle school and the strange new house she's recently moved into with her mother, stepfather, and two siblings. Not only does Violet deal with possibly losing her friends, Paige and Ally, whom she has known for ages, but she struggles with an unknown illness that leaves her trapped in her attic room, which haunts her at night. The attic room is old and creepy to Violet; mustard-coloured wallpaper with vines and flowers haunts her at night while her sickness gets worse and worse as her friends start to leave, thinking she's lying about her illness. As time goes on, Violet starts to believe that maybe she's not as alone as she first thought.
This book does a great job of mashing two wildly different concepts together in a suspenseful way, bringing together middle school drama with ghostly horror as Violet succumbs to her sickness. The author does an amazing job at showing the dynamics between the girls, with Paige wanting new friends and ditching Violet because Violet made a new friend by herself, who helps her understand what might be happening in her house. In the end, Violet learns to distance herself from her old friends and makes some new friends, along with learning why exactly she felt so ill in the first place. Overall, I think this book is amazing in its writing and suspense, and it makes you feel for the characters. This was a fun read, and I think anyone who loves some mystery would love it too.
Reviewed by Martin
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