Book Review: The Ghost Rules by Adam Rosenbaum

Publisher’s description

Twelve-year-old Elwood McGee never asked to have “ghost-sight,” and it involves a lot more drool-dodging than he expected. Ghosts are the WORST—and they’re all over the place in this sharp-witted middle grade debut novel.

Did you know that ghosts love coffee? They’re not trying to be scary. They’re just deprived of an appropriate amount of caffeine! They also bump into things by accident, are occasionally nosy, and get a little nervous when they’re seen by the living.

Elwood McGee knows these ghost facts because he’s one of those rare people with the gift of ghost-sight. And it turns out ghosts are everywhere! Especially in the small Tennessee town where Elwood and his family had to move following the death of his big brother Noah, which Elwood thinks was his fault.

Once Elwood figures out he can see ghosts, he becomes single-mindedly determined to use his powers to see Noah and talk to him once last time. With the help of two girls who live on his street, Elwood embarks on a journey through the surprisingly funny world of ghosts and faces the realities of letting go.

At once hilarious and heart wrenching, Adam Rosenbaum makes his middle grade debut with a supernaturalish novel about grief that’s perfect for fans of Gordon Korman and Dan Gutman.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

Amanda’s thoughts

This book is a great combination of fun (our MC, Elwood, can see and interact with ghosts) and serious (this is an especially cool trick for Elwood as his older brother recently died and he’d love to be able to talk to him again). I kind of like that the cover makes it look a little wackier than it actually is, because it may draw in readers who aren’t necessarily looking for the serious elements the story has but will stick around for them because the overall story will rope them in.

When seventh grade Elwood and his parents move into his recently deceased grandpa’s home, Elwood is pretty surprised to encounter said deceased grandpa. And grandpa isn’t the only ghost he bumps into—they’re kind of everywhere. Is Elwood freaked? Yeah, a little. But he also just kind of rolls with it. He shares his new ability with his two new friends in town, Tabitha and Sydney, who are (unsurprisingly) totally skeptical of what he’s saying, though he’s pretty quickly able to actually prove he can see ghosts. The ghost encounters are, for the most part, light-hearted and entertaining—and, in the case of the ghosts who hang around the old theater Sydney is hoping her family will be able to buy and restore, useful! But none of that really matters much to Elwood, who just wants to get back to Nashville, where his family moved from, and see if his brother’s ghost is still hanging around. Because when you’re grieving, and when you feel guilty, the idea of being able to see your lost loved one, to talk to them, maybe to apologize… that’s pretty huge. Maybe if Noah were still around, somehow, in some form, Elwood wouldn’t feel so lonely. Maybe he wouldn’t have to feel so confused and guilty and like maybe he’s the one who is kind of a ghost.

Full of drooling ghosts, new friends, and lots of heart, this middle grade debut has wide appeal and will be easy to recommend to readers.

Review copy (ARC) courtesy of the publisher

ISBN-13: 9780823456581
Publisher: Holiday House
Publication date: 08/13/2024
Age Range: 8 – 12 Years

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