Review Detail

Wendelin Van Draanen, the master storyteller, has beautifully woven together a multi-layered, intricate masterpiece with her latest novel, GHOSTED. You don’t have to believe in ghosts to be swept away and spellbound by the intriguing storyline and complicated relationships that unfold throughout the pages of the book.

Told in alternating points of view, Jimmy, a Brit Boy, whose spirit is trapped in a graveyard for over a century, tells the story of his miserable, short-lived life on earth, the ghostly world he can’t escape in the St. Agnes cemetery, and the hope he discovers when he first meets eight-year-old Gemma.

Gemma sees and hears the spirits of Jimmy and the four other Ethereals when she climbs the wall of the graveyard and becomes entangled in the world of five spirits living there and longing to be set free. For seven years she visits the cemetery, interacts with the ghosts, and reads the Princess Bride to them. She finds peace, solace, friendship, and love in this place. She must also live in the real world where she feels alone, mistreated by her evil nemesis, and misunderstood by most humans.

“For the first time in my life, I’d said the Three Little Words to a boy. I’d MEANT them, too, but where had it gotten me? Ghosted.”

Don’t miss this moving, heartrending story of the healing power of love, friendship, music, and family...and the gift of second chances when it is released in October, 2026. It is already a Junior Library Guild Golden Ticket selection.