I haven't forgotten how to write! Ghost stories 2020

 Wow, so I guess it's been a busy fall.  There was this little project  that kept me busy for awhile. Oh and school ... in the middle of a pandemic... and being available for a relentless amount of tech support to teachers trying to teach a hybrid model of both in person and online classes to 3, 4, and 5 year olds.  BUT this week, I actually had time to read some books!  YAY!!!  Here were two terrific ghost stories with great cultural connections.  

The first one is called The Ghost in Apartment 2R by Denis Markell.  Danny is the storyteller.  He lives with his parents and his older brother in an apartment in Brooklyn.  It's a small apartment and his bedroom has always been in a closet.  That was all supposed to change when Danny's older brother, Jake, went to college.  Except that now, his parents decided, in an effort to make some extra money to help pay for Jake's college expenses, they are going to rent out the bedroom on one of those rental websites.  Danny is understandably angry but the real problem appears almost right away, when they start renovating a room.  Danny starts to see a ghost.  Of course no one really believes him except his grandmother, Bubbe Ruth, who everyone thinks is a little crazy anyway.  Danny gets some big help from his friends, Nat and Gus, who also have interesting cultural ties to the Brooklyn community.  I really loved  the community of Brooklyn-the restaurants and food venues that have been in the area for generations.  The mystery story had a pretty thrilling conclusion, so make sure you look for this one!  It was great! 

The second one is called The Girl and the Ghost by Hanna Alkaf.  It's about a witch who has a ghost that is bound to her by blood.  She and the ghost do a number of terrible things to people, and when the witch dies, the ghost goes in search of a new witch, one with similar blood.  It turns out the witch has a granddaughter and that's where the ghost ends up.  Except that Suraya, the little girl is relentlessly positive and cheerful.  Her mother is brusque and callous, but Suraya is a ray of sunshine.  When she figures out the ghost is talking to her, she names him Pink (she's really good at naming things, she tells him).  The ghost really wants to do mean things and as Suraya grows, she gets bullied and Pink tries to help her by being mean to the bullies.  Suraya forbids him from doing that and Pink ends up very frustrated.  One day a new girl appears at Suraya's school and for the first time, Suraya has a friend that everyone can see.  Pink is very jealous and tries to chase Jing away.  Eventually Suraya confesses to her mother that she has a ghost, Suraya's mother contacts a magical healer and things get very complicated.   I really loved this story.  At first it felt like a fairy tale, set in a magical world, but as the story progressed, it became clearer that the setting was somewhere in Asia (and not being very familiar with Asian cultural, I didn't recognize as Malyasia until one of the characters said it) and that Suraya's family is Muslim.  I loved the cultural references around the food and I had to go and look up some of the folklore references.  This was a wonderful story.  The characters were relatable and likable (except maybe the mom).  Suraya's best friend Jing was a terrific addition with lots of funny modern cultural connections.  The writing was compelling and beautiful.  I liked this one a lot and I think the kids are going to like it too.