‘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
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