Language: G (0 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG13 (death by fire, plague, dragon attacks, bully violence )
BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - ESSENTIAL
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
13yo Charl had arranged to meet his bully in the ruins of the old abby on the hill. Arriving there, he witnesses a terrible accident, where 2 boys from the village are killed. Charl realizes it could have been him! Years ago Charl and his mother escaped their abusive father, the Earl of Ucht. Now, 7 years later, he his found them, and has sent bounty hunters to return them to him, including a dragon set on destroying the whole village, and beetles which start a plague. Protected by a former knight, a nun, a doctor friend (who also happens to be a dragon) and an old prioress, Mother Truce, Charl wants to save his mother, but she has taught him to turn away from violence. But Charl thinks he may be more like his father that he wishes to be.
A slow build to the ghostly content. It takes about 1/2 way through before the ghosts show up but I was not disappointed. Hartman sets up the story so well, and once she brings in the ghosts, this reader was also investing in the boy's story. The setting of Among Ghosts is Goredd, the same world as Hartman's other fantasy novels Serafina, Tess of the Road and others. Among Ghosts can be read on it's own and the novels don't overlap, rather they contain dragons which can take human form.
Lisa Librarian
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