Remy Lai, the author of Pie in the Sky and Fly on the Wall, found inspiration for her wonderfully atmospheric graphic novel Ghost Book in the Chinese festival that pays homage to the deceased.
Although July Chen can see ghosts, she is basically a nobody. It makes sense, then, that a ghost becomes her first true friend. It's the seventh month of the lunar calendar, Hungry Ghost month, and the Gates of the Underworld are open, allowing the dead to walk among the living. July, who steadfastly ignores the ghosts around her, sees a Hungry Ghost trying to consume ghost boy William Xiao. The girl saves him, and the 12-year-olds form a bond. But William isn't exactly dead--his body is in a coma from an accident, and his soul is wandering. July wants to save William but must first outsmart Oxhead and Horseface, the undead servants of the King of the Underworld, who are "determined to kill" the boy. She learns, too, that her very existence is intertwined with William's--by saving William, she might endanger herself.
Lai imbues her otherworldly adventure with humor, compassion, wisdom, and ingenuity, and her blend of myth and contemporary fantasy adds intrigue to the captivating plot. In Lai's classic, comic-style art, her depiction of ghosts as glowing, inhuman figures creates an obvious distinction between the living and the dead that adds a layer of creepiness to the story, but also a reassuring playfulness. Ghost Book expertly balances eerie ghoulishness with lighthearted fun for a memorable middle-grade adventure. --Jen Forbus, freelancer