Title: A Curious Tale of the In-Between
Author: Lauren DeStefano
Pram Bellamy is special--she can talk to ghosts. She doesn't have oo many friends amongst the living, but that's all right. She has her books, she has her aunts, and she has her best friend, the ghostly Felix.
Then Pram meets Clarence, a boy from school who has also lost a parent and is looking for answers. Together they arrive at the door of the mysterious Lady Savant, who promises to help. But this spiritualist knows the true nature of Pram's power, and what she has planned is more terrifying than any ghost.
So at first I wasn't so sure about this book. It starts out with a pretty graphic image of a dead body. I thought wow where can this go from here?! In the end tho, I did like it. It was a little different at parts, but at its heart it was about Pram just wanting to know where she belongs and who loves her. About Pram - I loved her, I really did. She was sweet and strong and kind and determined. I liked that I knew she was a character that would never intentional hurt someone. I was able to trust her and cheer for her. And there were so many times she needed cheering! At some points I didn't know if things would work out! But the way the story ended was great.
And can I tell you that I loved Felix. He was sweet and so kind. I cheered for him too!
Lastly Pram's gift was very well done. I liked that it wasn't over-played too much. Yes it played a huge role in the story, but it wasn't a scary thing. It wasn't creepy. It was more factual. It was a gift and accepted and moved on - well at least by Pram. The aunts had different thoughts about it, but that was understandable.
About the audio: Liked it. The narrator was good. Sometimes I struggle with narrators for middle grade books, but this one was good!
Final thought: Enjoyed it after the shocking beginning.
Best stick-with-you image: Beyond the first one? Clarence and the box.
Best for: Middle school students
I really like the cover and title. It sounds like a very interesting book. I am surprised about the dead body being graphically described in the beginning, but I am glad the rest of the book is good. The two main characters sound great. Thanks for sharing. :)
ReplyDelete~Jess