I first had heard of this book last year at a book conference with Judy Freeman. I was intrigued, but never took the time to sit down and read it. I am sad I waited so long. This was a pretty good read and would be great for both middle grade readers and the younger students in the young adult spectrum.

Cat (aka Catrina) and her family move to a new town called Bahia De La Luna. She doesn’t want to move, but her little sister Maya is sick with cystic fibrosis, a degenerative disease of the lungs and digestive system, and apparently it will help her. Once there, they discover that the town is full of ghosts. Maya is in heaven at meeting ghosts, but when an accident occurs and they begin taking her breath, Cat freaks out and rushed her home. She ends up having to have a breathing tube and oxygen tank and her mother reminds her that her sisters disease will only get worse as she gets older. Cat realizes her sister could die. On Halloween the town trick or treats and then at midnight they have a party for the day of the dead. All the ghosts show up, and Cat ends up befriending a couple, one of which is the uncle to her friend Carlos (who likes her). His uncle died when he was eight. She wants him to meet Maya, and since she is too sick to come to the party, they fly to meet her at their house. The book ends on a happy note, but you can foreshadow of what is to come of Cat’s little sister. Both happy and sad vibes, but a good read nonetheless.

Click on the image to visit the author’s Amazon page to find more books written by Telgemeier.

Telgemeier, Raina (2016). Ghosts. New York, NY: Scholastic.