Title: Grandpere's Ghost Swamp
Author: Rachel M Marsh
Genre: magical realism
Age range: middle grade
Similar book: Spirit's Key by Edith Cohn
Summary (provided by publisher): Basil Theriot has spent her entire life in New Orleans—in her family’s famed Cajun restaurant in the French Quarter, really—but she’s never been out to the bayou where her grandfather grew up. She’s also never seen a ghost, even though dozens of ghost tours pass by the restaurant every day and her best friend Tommy is determined to be a ghost hunter.
But then Grandpere’s ghost appears. And he has a mission for her.
Basil wouldn’t mind being haunted if Grandpere could be helpful and share his secret recipe that might save the restaurant. But instead, he’s intent on connecting Basil with her Cajun heritage. He sends her out to the bayou to meet his friends: an airboat captain, a shrimper, and a scientist rebuilding Louisiana’s fast-disappearing coastline.
What I liked: There are a lot of standard approaches to ghost narratives and this book successfully avoids all of them. This isn't about family secrets or uncovering conspiracies. In fact, the central messages of this book are pretty standard middle grade fare. But with strong, realistic characters, a unique voice, and a well integrated setting it rises above the standard book.
What I didn't like: There are some fairly standard relationship issues and easy solutions but nothing beyond what is typical of middle grade fiction.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
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