The Ghost Road Blog Tour: Review

The Ghost Road
Author: Charis Cotter
Genre: MG Fantasy/Paranormal
Release Date: September 4, 2018
Publisher: Tundra Books

Description:

Ghosts, a family curse, buried secrets -- and two girls who have to figure it all out. A new book from an acclaimed author, for fans of Coraline, Doll Bones and The Night Gardener.

For the first time, Ruth is heading to Newfoundland to stay with family she's never met instead of spending the summer traveling with her dad. When she arrives, she finds Newfoundland is very different from her life in Toronto--people there are much more friendly, but also superstitious, believing in ghosts and The Sight and family curses. Ruth's cousin Ruby is also staying for the summer, and the two discover they have a lot in common: they both lost their moms when they were two years old, they're the same age and they even like the same food. But while Ruby believes in spirits and fairies, Ruth believes in science and cold, hard facts.

When they find ominous information on some tombstones in the local cemetery, Ruth and Ruby start investigating their family's past and discover that twin girls are born in every generation, and every set of twins dies young, leaving their children without mothers. What's more, one of the twins always has The Sight and can see the Ghost Road that leads to the mysterious lost settlement of Slippers Cove. What happened there? What does it have to do with their family? And who is the ghostly presence that keeps visiting Ruth late at night?

The answers lie somewhere along the Ghost Road...if they can only find it.  

 

The Ghost Road is a fantastic new addition to the middle grade paranormal genre - and one that fans of the genre are going to want to pick up. I really enjoyed this book, more than I anticipated actually, and every aspect of it was done wonderfully. I loved Ruth and Ruby as main characters and getting to know both of them was fun. The story is told from Ruth's point of view (the first person) which is my favorite writing style, so that was a huge plus for me personally. I think the reader gets to connect more deeply with the narrator when the story is written in the first person - and I think that's exactly what happens here with Ruth. 

The plot was tons of fun and addictive. I actually ended up reading the whole book in one sitting. There's so much happening that you don't want to stop reading - secrets, ghosts, curses, and more serious topics like family and overcoming your differences. It's a great book for readers of all ages, not just middle grade. I definitely recommend it for fans of middle grade fiction, fantasy, paranormal and contemporary.