Tag: Ghost Club

Ghost Club: A Transylvanian Tale by Deborah Abela

‘You’re not getting away that easily.’

Angeline fixed her sights on the faint red glow of the ghost that had appeared on the screen of her Tracker. She and Edgar had been following this particular spectral pest for days, and once again it was almost in her grasp.

She stepped carefully and quickly over the damp forest floor, which was twisted with roots and choked with the musty decay of leaves. Swirls of mist caught in her torchlight, creeping from between the trees and circling her ankles like snakes.

She knew she shouldn’t be her on her own. …

… But she tonight she’d had little time to act, so act she did.

‘You’re not getting away that easily.’

Angeline fixed her sights on the faint red glow of the ghost that had appeared on the screen of her Tracker. She and Edgar had been following this particular spectral pest for days, and once again it was almost in her grasp.

She stepped carefully and quickly over the damp forest floor, which was twisted with roots and choked with the musty decay of leaves. Swirls of mist caught in her torchlight, creeping from between the trees and circling her ankles like snakes.

She knew she shouldn’t be her on her own. …

… But she tonight she’d had little time to act, so act she did.

Angeline Usher and her brother Edgar are ghost catchers. They are the youngest ghost catchers in the Ghost Club and very excited to be visiting Transylvania for the annual Ghost Club Convention. Dylan is a more reluctant ghost catcher, but despite this, he has a good eye for details. As a trio, they make an effective team. The highlight for the Convention is a talk by famous (and gorgeous) Ripley Granger. The entire Usher family are besotted by him. Angeline can quote from all his books. But when in Transylvania, surrounded by so many ghosts and stories, even a Convention of Ghost Club ghost catchers can be taken by surprise.

Ghost Club: A Transylvanian Tale is the third offering in this series. The adults stay close by but are still in the background. There’s their ghost catching parents, their inventing grandmother, ghostly grandfather, a poet called Gloom and the agoraphobic and knowledgeable Endora. The three young ghost catchers are able to do their ‘catching’ because of the combination of their skills. Each brings something unique to the team. Abela suggests that ghosts are souls who have unfinished business in this world. Therefore the job of the ghost catcher is to locate the ghost, determine what troubles them and then fix it so they can rest in peace. Dylan’s behaviour gives voice to those who might experience fear and demonstrates that despite it, it’s possible to act when action is required. Recommended for mid-primary readers.

A Transylvanian Tale (Ghost Club)

Ghost Club: A Transylvanian Tale , Deborah Abela Random House Australia 2013 ISBN: 9781742758534

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

Available from good bookstores and online.

Ghost Club: The New Kid by Deborah Abela

Twins, Angeline and Edgar, are more than just the only child members of the Ghost Club, they are also very skilled ghost-catchers. When there’s a haunting report, they don their coats, hitch their backpacks and set off to solve ghostly mysteries.

‘There he is!’

Angeline sprang over the chesterfield lounge and raced down the murky corridor with Edgar close behind.

Their boots pounded on the floorboards. Their long, hooded coats flapped behind them as  they ran through multicoloured beams of moonlight pouring in through stained-glass windows. Just ahead, a loud, deep moaning burst into the night – followed by an ancient Chinese vase.

 

Twins, Angeline and Edgar, are more than just the only child members of the Ghost Club, they are also very skilled ghost-catchers. When there’s a haunting report, they don their coats, hitch their backpacks and set off to solve ghostly mysteries. It’s a job they’re born to, one they enjoy immensely and are very good at. Enter Dylan, grandson of Grandmaster Fleischmann. He’s just joined Ghost Club and Angeline and Edgar look forward to helping Dylan settle in and learn the ways of ghost-catching. But Dylan isn’t quite convinced that ghost-catching is the job for him. Then they get a call from the castle. There’s been a sighting of a ghost, and he doesn’t seem friendly.

 

The New Kid is the first title in a new series from Deborah Abela for mid-primary readers. Twins Angeline and Edgar are part of an extended, loving family. They have nosy neighbours, variable cooking skills and secrets. They live in a normal street, and are perfectly normal. Except that they are also ghost-catchers. In this first instalment of a series, the reader meets a broad range of characters both dead and alive. Dylan is swept along in the ghost-catching excitement, wondering if he’ll ever adjust to this new world. Angeline is the leader, seemingly invincible, yet like the ghosts they encounter, she has secrets. Edgar speaks a fluent ghost-catcher language which can seem quite foreign to outsiders. They may seem different to outsiders, but this family and their Ghost Club are as cohesive as any community. And there are gadgets galore! Recommended for mid-primary readers.

 

Ghost Club: The New Kid , Deborah Abela
Random House Australia 2012 ISBN: 9781742750804

 

 

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

Avaialble from good bookstores or online .