Middle School

Cordelia Liu knew Shadow School was going to be different. Black gates and ivied walls. Long hallways lined with old paintings. A tower with a window that looks like an eye. Different she expected; different she could handle. Still, Cordelia can’t shake the feeling that something’s not right—and that she’s being carefully watched.

The answer isn’t just in front of her eyes—it’s in her gym, next to the bulletin board, even in the cafeteria. The school grounds are filled with ghosts. Cordelia soon realizes she’s not the only one who can see them; her new friend Benji can too. Together with super smart Agnes, the trio are determined to find out why the ghosts are there, and whether there’s a way to set them free. But the school was created with more sinister intentions, and someone is willing to go to extreme lengths to ensure that the ghosts remain trapped forever.

You might have noticed by now that I review a lot of books about people who can see ghosts. ‘Seeing dead people’ is not exactly an original topic but the nice thing about the subject is that there is always a different way to portray ghosts. This book’s portrayal of how ghosts and, more specially, haunted houses work is, in my opinion, very original.

The main reason this story stands out is shown in the title; the word archimancy. This word only exists in this story and is a combination of the two words architecture and necromancy. Archimancy is the act of purposefully building a haunted house to trap ghosts in. This may seem like a huge spoiler, but it really isn’t given just how complex this story is.

After reading this story, I spotted a few loose ends that I hope will be explained in the second book.

This weeks’ Weird but True Fact about Spirits

Prehistoric people believed that spirits live in trees.

Well, this is the last of my spooky October book reviews. I hope you enjoyed them.