Riley's Ghost by John David Anderson
Hello Fellow Book Lovers!
I am so excited to be back to my blog, writing and reviewing books. First disclosure - it's been a while since I have posted - almost three years. To make a long story short, I retired after 36 years of teaching at the district, state and university level. I was incredibly lucky to have missed pandemic teaching! Please know that my heart goes out to each and every one of you because only a fellow educator can truly understand what you had to, and still have to do . . .
Books are more necessary than ever now . . . all kinds and types. I am lucky to be reviewing John David Anderson, and his new release, Riley's Ghost. Second disclosure - I have always been a big fan of his, from Posted to Finding Orion and from Granted to Ms. Bixby's Last Day, I have loved them all. Riley's Ghost is a delightful mashup of realistic fiction and fantasy, specifically ghosts! Anderson captures the essence of that middle grade age group so well and it brought me back to my own struggles in junior high, which are still universal themes today - friends and "not" friends.
Riley Flynn is a middle schooler who used to have a best friend. Sound familiar to you because I know it did to me. I thought the world had ended when I was friendless in 8th grade. But Riley gets it worse, because her former best friend, and the popular group she joins, lock Riley in a closet on a Friday afternoon . . . and leave! Being claustrophobic, I almost wished Anderson wasn't such a master of description, because as he described the narrow science closet and the items on the shelves, including dissected frogs, I began to hyperventilate just a little. 😒
When Riley manages to escape, she finds she isn't being allowed to leave, no matter what she does, and on top of that there is the conversation she is having with a "ghost" frog!
Wait! What? Yup. And that is only the beginning. This book was a page turner for me as we learn more about our girl Riley, but about others before her. Like I said - it comes full circle.
Riley's Ghost is going to be a hit with readers and teachers alike. I can see it working really well as a read aloud because it will help generate multiple conversations about different themes including, How do you lose a friend? How can you help? What kinds of things make a difference? As a matter of fact Walden Pond Press and Anderson have a discussion guide that I will post here.
I'd love to give someone a free copy of Riley's Ghost courtesy of Walden Pond Press. Just follow me and leave your name and I'll randomly pick a winner on Monday, January 24th. Good Luck - this one is a keeper!
