Common Sense Media Review
By Andrea Beach
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Kinda creepy, kinda sweet ghost story for big kids, tweens.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
Pram is a very special 11-year-old girl who's been able to see ghosts for as long as she can remember. Even her best friend is a ghost who lives by the pond near Pram's house. After years of being homeschooled by her aunts, it's decided that she should attend regular school. On her first day there, she meets Clarence, and they quickly become friends. Having a real, living friend who needs her help gives Pram the courage to try to find her father, whom she's never met and who might not even know she exists. But getting the answers to her questions leads her and Clarence into the clutches of the mysterious Lady Savant, a spiritualist who says she'll help Pram find what she's looking for. But what does she want in return?
Is It Any Good?
This is a successful combination of the creepy atmospherics that ghost-story lovers crave with a sweet story about truly selfless friendship. Veteran YA author Lauren DeStefano (The Chemical Garden Trilogy, the Internment Chronicles series) tries her hand at storytelling for a younger age group in A CURIOUS TALE OF THE IN-BETWEEN, and she strikes the right balance between suspenseful chills and heartwarming lessons about the nature of friendship.
Kids and tweens will relate to Pram's struggles to fit in, and they'll admire her quest for answers as she and her friends learn the value of helping others, especially when what they need is not what you want for yourself.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why we enjoy ghost stories so much. What do we love about them?
Do you believe in ghosts? What do you think happens to us after we die?
Pram decides she's old enough to look for her father on her own. Do you think she was right? What else could she have done to find out more about him?
Book Details
- Author: Lauren DeStefano
- Genre: Fantasy
- Topics: Friendship , Monsters, Ghosts, and Vampires
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's Books
- Publication date: September 1, 2015
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 8 - 12
- Number of pages: 240
- Available on: Nook, Hardback, Kindle
- Last updated: July 12, 2017
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