eBook Dial a Ghost ePub

Flocton

I've been making my way though a fairly long list of recommended books by my librarian friend, and a few years ago, one of said books was a funny little fantasy fairy tale called "Which Witch". After greatly enjoying it, I decided to look up the author's other works, and found a whole slew of similar spooky tales for younger readers. The premise of this one sounded especially unique and original, and in the end, my shot in the dark paid off.

The world of this book is much like our own, save for the fact that not only are ghosts real, but it's commonplace for people to see them haunting places. Enter two kindly witches who start up the booming business of "Dial A Ghost"---an agency that seeks to aid wandering spirits and help them find permanent homes to safely haunt. Meanwhile, after spending most of his life in an orphanage, a young boy named Oliver discovers he's to inherit an old, spooky mansion. But his scheming older cousins, who seek to claim the family fortune for themselves, plot to get Oliver out of the picture while trying to make it look like an accident. So they call upon the "Dial A Ghost" services to hire a gang of scary spirits to scare Oliver out of the mansion. But due to a mix up at the office, Oliver is greeted instead by the nicest family of ghosts one could ever meet. And when the evil cousins discover the mistake and their plots take a deadly turn, it's up to Oliver and his unlikely band of undead friends to defend their new home and become the loving family they all not only wanted, but needed.

This story is definitely for someone with more macabre tastes (and at times, the writing gave me an "Addams Family" vibe). But all the characters are either likeable or memorable--even the ones with small parts brim with personality. Oliver is extremely fun to get to know, and despite being an orphan, he's very open minded and outgoing, and likes living at the orphanage with all his friends. So at first, he's very sad and scared to have to move away to live in a huge, creepy mansion. But once his new family of ghosts comes into the picture, he quickly turns lemons into lemonade, and by story's end, he's gone from a semi-shy and quiet kid, to a bold leader who will do anything to protect what he loves. And as for the titular ghosts, we get two very different families of them. There's the kind and loving Wilkinsons, and the deplorable, horrifying Shriekers. Each clan has a host of wildly varying personalities in them, and though they're polar opposites, both sets of spooks have to learn to put aside their differences, especially when a startling connection is found between them. As for Oliver's mean cousins, they're pretty much pure evil for the sake of being evil, and the fates they meet in the end are more than satisfying.

And the world that's set up here is most definitely a cartoonish fantasy. In a vein similar to Lemony Snicket, no explanation is given for why this world is the way it is--you just accept it as fact. Realism is mixed in with characters (mostly the villains) that are cartoonishly over the top in personality. However, considering this book was written many years ago, there's more than a few words that either aren't used now a days, or they have completely different meanings, so parents should either screen this ahead of time before giving this to their kids, or alter a few of the words as they read it. (Although, considering some of the creepy imagery, especially towards the last third of the book, I'd recommend this for older kids to begin with.) Not to mention that American readers might be put off at some of the pure British jargon.

Although on the macabre side, this is both a funny and enlightening tale about fighting for what you love and having your friends (no matter where they come from) become your family. And though I thought "Which Witch" was a bit better, this similar dip into the bizarre was just as enjoyable. A great book to read around Halloween.

Fountain_tenderness

I am always looking for books for my nephews to read, and this one is one of the best I've found. It will appeal to all of the kids going through Harry Potter withdrawal. Oliver Smith is an orphan living happily in a Home. He suddenly finds out that he has inherited a great estate. Unfortunately, he has two evil cousins who also want the estate. They hire two vile ghosts who like to kill children to haunt the house. Unfortunately, there is a mixup at the agency, and the ghostly Wilkinson family take their place, for the time being anyway.
This is a really fun read. There are some illustrations, but the author's descriptions are so vivid they are practically unecessary. My nephew loved this book.

Shan

Our elementary students are enjoying the book.

Elastic Skunk

It is a fun book. Very morbid, and I don't like hearing about children and animals suffering, but it had a good ending.

Gavidor

The book is a really enjoyable read. Its one of those books which you wish went longer. The only thing I didn't like was that you don't really think about it once its done. In other words, I am thought there wasn't anything that you can take back from the book. But all books don't need to be like that, so its not such a big deal

Kitaxe

I'm just finishing reading this to my six-year-old (the nine yearold is listening, despite having read it twice already)and we all love it so much that they can even been torn away from The Simpsons! If you haven't dsicovered Ibbotson yet, start with this one, or The Secret of Platform 13 (which is astoundingly like Harry Potter, but long before Harry Potter was written).
Oliver, an orphan, unwillingly inherits Helton Hall from his dreary relations, never guessing that the evil Fulton and Freida Snodde Brittle (family motto: I set my foot upon my enemies)want it so badly they pay an agency to send them the most horrible ghosts on their books. Luckily, the Shriekers (not only violent, but snobs) get sent to some kind nuns by mistake, and Oliver is sent the lovely, gentle Wilkinson family. The Wilkinsons, who have been camping in a London knicker shop ever since a bomb fell on their own home, have adopted a little girl ghost called Adopta, and she becomes Oliver's special friend. But the evil Snodde-Brittles are furious when, instead of dying of asthma and terror, Oliver loves his new guests...and The Shriekers, equally furious, are coming to Helton too.
Funny, thrilling and moving. We all adored it.

Freaky Hook

Imagine what your life would be like if your guardians were ghosts. Oliver is an honest orphan who finds out he has inherited a fortune. Oliver's sneaky cousin,Fulton, wants the fortune for himself. He hires ghosts to murder Oliver. Due to a mix-up Fulton receives friendly ghosts instead of the murdering ghosts. The Dial-A-Ghost agency realizes their mistake. This leads to a tragic mistake. In order to clear things up they send the murdering ghosts to Oliver's home.
Eva Ibbotson develops characters wonderfully allowing the reader to view them as friends and enemies with the characters. Fulton, for example, who became my worst enemy for trying to murder shy Oliver. I did not want to put this book down to Ibbotson's ability to end chapters suspensfully. I recommend Dial-A-Ghost to people who appreciate friendship, loyalty, and an exciting plot.
(...)