The girl and the ghost by Jacqueline Harvey

Josephine (nicknamed JET/Jet) has just relocated to France from her home in Australia. Her father and stepmother are in the process of renovating an amazing French chateau and Josephine will be going to school in the same school that her late mother attended. In one of the rooms to be transformed by lots of hard work Jet discovers a hidden old locket, which contains the ghost of the famous Dauphin Louis XVII. She is in control of his appearance and reappearance, and apart from her dog Daisy, she seems to be the only person who can see him. It isn’t long before a firm friendship  develops across the ages and the ether. The adventure becomes more intense when she connects with a local boy Gabriel (a very dreamy French teen) and hunts out a team of art thieves in the chateau next door. Will Jet’s life be in jeopardy or can a ghost save her from danger? 

This is another of Jacqueline Harvey’s delightful adventure stories. Ironically she even has her characters reference her Kensy and Max and Alice-Miranda books. What I love about this book is that it respects young readers and their issues and concerns. Jet is a ‘just-teen’ with the beginnings of interest in the opposite sex and the standard insecurities about how she is changing.  Family life for Jet is safe and secure, and her stepmother relationship is warm and loving. Some of the story detail is told to Jet’s former school friend, now living in Singapore, in their email correspondence. Although the mysterious ghost has a real and sad history, there is nothing frightening about his role in the story. If anything there is a smattering of humour as he tries to understand the contemporary world. I loved this story and readers aged 9-14 will be excited by the Chateau renovation story and will be eager for more adventures in Jet’s life, with the ghost alongside.

Themes: France, French History, Restoration, Ghosts, Art theft.

Carolyn Hull