Review of The Girl and the Ghost

Even malevolent spirits conjured by witches for the purpose of creating mischief can be changed by the power of friendship. This is the plot of Hanna Alkaf’s delightful middle-grade debut, The Girl and the Ghost, which came out last year. Inspired by spooky elements of Malaysian folklore, the novel uses the relationship between a girl and her ghostly companion to explore some rather dark themes ranging from bullying to death, grief, and complicated family ties in a way that is accessible and engaging for kids and adult readers alike.  Continue reading Review of The Girl and the Ghost

Gothic Elements in Harry Potter

Today is July 31—both Harry Potter’s and J. K. Rowling’s birthday! The Harry Potter series truly sparked my love of reading as a child, and has continued to be important to me as I grow older. In fact, I’ve recently been getting more involved in the fandom and just started a reread of the series. Reading the books again as an adult, I find that I get something new out of them every time. This time, I started looking at them through the Gothic lens. While I would by no means suggest that “gothic” is the primary genre of the Harry Potter series, I did find a surprising amount of overlap and borrowed elements:

Harry, Hermione, and Ron as goths. Can’t find the original creator of this image, but I love it!

Continue reading Gothic Elements in Harry Potter

Doll Bones Review–A Middle Grade Ghost Story

Doll Bones coverHolly Black has been one of my favorite authors for many years, mainly for her dark and gritty fairy stories like Tithe and Valiant. But while those stories aren’t particularly child-appropriate, I have found that some of her strongest writing is geared toward a younger audience. Recently I checked out the audiobook of Doll Bones, a middle grade ghost story perfect for readers age 10 and up! Continue reading Doll Bones Review–A Middle Grade Ghost Story

Gothic Children’s Books

It’s never too early to start exploring the beauty that can be found in darkness. Some may find death and other macabre topics inappropriate for children, but I feel that being able to talk openly about these subjects is important. Things like death, darkness, and monsters don’t need to be scary, and in fact can be part of fun, interesting, and thoughtful stories for kids. Now I’m not saying to take your four year old to a slasher film, but you don’t need to shield them from everything but rainbows and unicorns either. I’ve compiled a list of children’s books on the darker side that are appropriate for a variety of ages. Check out my list below and let me know if you have any to add! Continue reading Gothic Children’s Books

The Graveyard Book Review–A Ghost Story for All Ages

The Graveyard Book CoverNeil Gaiman is known and respected in the gothic community for many reasons. His comic book series The Sandman, which revolutionized the world of comics, stars a character called Death who became a fashion icon for goths for decades to come. His book Coraline brought creepy children’s tales to the public eye when it was made into a movie in 2009. My favorite work of his that I’ve read so far, however, is another kid’s book—The Graveyard Book.

This book is a tale for practically any age (the back recommends 10 and up, it does contain some mentions of violence). While certainly accessible to children, I found it perfectly enjoyable to read for the first time as an adult. There are many subtleties that might be missed by young readers (as they are often missed by the character Bod) that enrich the story for adults.  Continue reading The Graveyard Book Review–A Ghost Story for All Ages