The co-op bookstore for avid readers
Book Cover for: The Girl and the Ghost, Hanna Alkaf

The Girl and the Ghost

Hanna Alkaf

Finalist:Kirkus Prize -Young Readers (2020)

* Chosen as a 2020 Kirkus Prize
Finalist for Young Readers' Literature! *

A Malaysian folk tale
comes to life in this emotionally layered, chilling middle grade debut, perfect
for fans of The Book of Boy and The Jumbies.

I am a dark spirit, the
ghost announced grandly. I am your
inheritance, your grandmother's legacy. I am yours to command.

Suraya is delighted when her witch
grandmother gifts her a pelesit. She names her ghostly companion Pink, and the
two quickly become inseparable.

But Suraya doesn't know that
pelesits have a dark side--and when Pink's shadows threaten to consume them
both, they must find enough light to survive . . . before they are both lost to
the darkness.

Fans of Holly Black's Doll
Bones
and Tahereh Mafi's Furthermore series will love this ghostly middle
grade debut that explores jealousy, love, and the extraordinary power of
friendship.

Book Details

  • Publisher: HarperCollins
  • Publish Date: Feb 15th, 2022
  • Pages: 288
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 7.50in - 5.10in - 0.70in - 0.40lb
  • EAN: 9780062940964
  • Recommended age: 08-12
  • Categories: Legends, Myths, Fables - AsianGhost StoriesSocial Themes - Bullying

About the Author

Alkaf, Hanna: -

Hanna Alkaf is the author of several books for kids and teens, including The Girl and the Ghost, Hamra and the Jungle of Memories, and Tales from Cabin 23: Night of the Living Head. Hanna lives in Kuala Lumpur with her family and can be visited at hannaalkaf.com.

Praise for this book

"Grippingly heart-wrenching and speaks to deeper themes of family, trauma, and friendship...a fascinating, page-turning tale." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Alkaf's middle-grade debut is unapologetically--and beautifully--Malaysian... it sizzles with tension and safe-but-ghoulish imagery, without letting go of the heartfelt thread of love between a girl and her ghost." -- Booklist

"I can't stop thinking about THE GIRL AND THE GHOST, a desperately beautiful novel about the many ways people can be haunted and the transformative power of friendship and love. A spellbinding story, told with an enormous heart." -- Anne Ursu, author of the National Book Award Longlist title, The Real Boy

"Delightfully gruesome, humorous, haunted and heart wrenching, The Girl and the Ghost is an intense tale of grief, family, friendship and forgiveness." -- Robin Yardi, author of The Midnight War of Mateo Martinez

"An entertaining convergence of the supernatural with the everyday... touches of contemporary Malaysian life enrich the background: ethnic and religious diversity, layers of rapid social change, and loving descriptions of food abound." -- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books