  | Full Text Reviews: Booklist - 08/01/2019 Frankly, Oscar Grimstone enjoys being an undertaker’s son. He’s more comfortable around corpses than kids, so it’s doubly disturbing when the body Oscar is preparing becomes reanimated—and violent. Could this be connected to the boy’s recent problem of having small, living things die when they get near him, like grass, flowers, and the class goldfish? Somehow, being attacked by a dead man and a tank of embalming fluid seems an entirely different matter. His hunch is confirmed when two ghosts, Sally and Sir Cedric, arrive at his home to investigate a breech in magical law (i.e., his attack). While they measure phantasma levels, Oscar realizes he can now become a ghost whenever he wants. Dying to know more, Oscar persuades Sally to take him with her into the ghosts’ world, where they team up to solve a macabre mystery marked by humor and ghost bureaucracy, villains, and new friendships. Prentice’s first middle-grade novel is a rollicking adventure with imaginative world building, where tension is offset by comedy. Oscar’s efforts to straddle two worlds will evoke laughter and tug heartstrings. - Copyright 2019 Booklist. School Library Journal - 08/01/2019 Gr 4–8—Oscar has always been different; he walks with a crutch and prefers the dead over the living while working in his family's funeral home. But once Ghost Law Enforcement officers Sally and Sir Cedric crash into his life via ghost carriage, he realizes just how different he is. Oscar has the ability to turn into a ghost at will and can see the City of Ghosts that living beings cannot. That's only the beginning as he joins Sally in a fantastical buddy ghost cop story, chasing down a bad guy who wishes to end death forever. Readers may find themselves as confused as Oscar about this weird world in the beginning, but just as eager to catch up, flying through chapters to see what ghastly ghoul is haunting the next corner. In what other world would the slogan "Die Better!" be considered inspirational? The plot moves at a fast pace and is a fun introduction to some light horror, but it's the world-building and characters that are the stars of the show. Sally is a Victorian ghost in a preteen body, Mr. Mortis (one hopes his first name is Rigor) heads up the Ministry of Ghosts, and if you want to stick around for some unfinished business, you'd better get a Haunting Visa from the Ghost Visas department on the first floor. VERDICT This fun romp through the City of Ghosts will awe, delight, and creep readers out just a little. A solid purchase.—Kerri Williams, Sachem Public Library, Holbrook, NY - Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Loading...
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