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From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)

A ghost story set in the 1920s features Ophelia, a young African American girl who moves with her mother to Pittsburgh to live with relatives after her father dies. Ophie accompanies her mom to her new job as a housekeeper for a Mrs. Caruthers, a wealthy white woman, and her adult son. Soon Ophie realizes the house is also occupied by ghosts—or haints, as her Aunt Rose calls them. Ophie learns from her aunt that she has inherited the ability to see and communicate with these otherworldly beings, each of who is stuck in a different time period but co-exists on Ophie’s plane. Ophie helps take care of cruel Mrs. Caruthers, who is casual with her racist remarks, and although Ophie is becoming increasingly comfortable with the haints, she doesn’t immediately realize that a young woman who comes to her aid during an early confrontation with Mrs. Caruthers is a ghost as well. Clara used to work in the household but “disappeared,” and people are unwilling to talk about her. Ophie learns from her aunt that there are ways she can help ghosts move beyond the limbo of their trapped existence in the world of the living and onto the next plane, but she also ignores some of Aunt Rose’s advice about how to be careful with ghosts; ultimately she finds herself in a dangerous situation. This original story blends Black history, mystery, ghosts, and Southern Black traditions to make a compelling read. (Ages 8-12)

CCBC Choices 2022 © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2022. Used with permission.

From School Library Journal

June 4, 2021

Gr 5-7-In 1923, 12-year-old Black girl Ophelia (Ophie) Harrison sees dead people, a talent that runs in her family but was jump-started early in her after the lynching of her father in Georgia. Three months later, she and her mother are in Pittsburgh working at Daffodil Manor, a mansion with four living inhabitants and a slew of ghosts. As Ophie takes care of grouchy, racist Mrs. Caruthers, she also begins to learn how to deal with her newfound abilities and befriends a helpful, unusually cheerful ghost named Clara. Ophelia is a likable character, strong and smart but definitely not perfect. Supporting characters are well drawn, and locations in the story-Pennsy (the Pennsylvania Railroad), the trolley, the city of Pittsburgh, Daffodil Manor-all read like characters themselves. Violence takes place mostly off-stage, but the real horror is racism, privation, and lack of decency faced by the Black characters every day. The mystery of Clara's death is ultimately solved, and the end is satisfying. VERDICT Chilling on a number of levels, this is a historically rooted ghost story well worth reading.-Mara Alpert, Los Angeles P.L.

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

From Horn Book

May 1, 2021
"When she was twelve, Ophelia Harrison saw her first ghost" -- that of her father. Having been lynched for voting as a Black man in 1920s Georgia, he appears to Ophie and warns her and her mother away before the murderers arrive to burn down their house. They flee to Pittsburgh, where Mrs. Harrison finds a job as a domestic worker for the affluent white Caruthers family, occupants of Daffodil Manor. Ophie reluctantly leaves school when a housemaid position opens up (they need the extra money to move out of Aunt Rose's house, which is already crowded with mean-tempered cousins). Ophie soon realizes that Daffodil Manor is haunted by many ghosts, including a young woman named Clara, who can't remember how she died. When Ophie attempts to solve the mystery of Clara's demise, she unwittingly uncovers a horrifying Caruthers family secret stemming from a legacy of slavery and oppression. Ireland's (Dread Nation, rev. 5/18) first middle-grade novel thoughtfully explores issues of race, privilege, and historical injustice, while also being a well-paced and shivery supernatural page-turner. Fans of The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste, Spirit Hunters by Ellen Oh, and Doll Bones (rev. 7/13) by Holly Black will enjoy this suspenseful and multilayered read. Jennifer Hubert Swan

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

From Booklist

April 15, 2021
Grades 4-8 *Starred Review* The first time Ophie Harrison saw a ghost was the night her father was murdered by a lynch mob in 1922. Ophie and her mother escape from their Georgia home the same night to start a new life in Pittsburgh. Even after the change in location, ghosts (both literal and metaphorical) linger about the edges of their lives. After arriving in the city, they find work as servants for the Caruthers family at Daffodil Manor. Despite the cheerful name, the stately home is anything but. Ophie is assigned to care for the misanthropic Mrs. Caruthers but soon befriends Clara, a young ghost who cannot remember how she died. When Aunt Rose, an elderly relative who can also see ghosts, recognizes Ophie's gift, she warns the young girl to be careful as ghosts are dangerous creatures. The desire to help Clara discover what happened to her is too strong to ignore, thus entangling Ophie in an incredibly sinister mystery. Ireland's first middle-grade novel deftly examines the haunting aftermath of racial trauma and how people can learn to thrive despite it. Equal parts supernatural suspense and historical fiction, this is a compelling spin on the classic whodunit narrative. Younger fans of Ireland's Dread Nation series or Ronald L. Smith's Hoodoo (2015) will particularly enjoy this novel.

COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

From Publisher's Weekly

March 22, 2021
In 1920s Georgia, 12-year-old Ophelia Harrison, who is Black, learns that she can see ghosts when her father, killed hours earlier by a white lynch mob, wakes Ophie in the middle of the night to save her and her mother from the same fate. After relocating to Pittsburgh to live with her father's family, Ophie must leave school and work alongside her mother at the opulent Daffodil Manor, owned by the Caruthers family, white, pro-slavery Southerners from Virginia. There, Ophie sees more ghosts than ever, soon learning of her family's legacy of helping sometimes-dangerous haints with unfinished business move on. Her fascination with Clara, the old home's most beautiful ghost, draws Ophie into a mystery that reveals the human cost of systemic racism across America and the price routinely paid by those attempting to defy it. In her middle grade debut, Ireland (Dread Nation) deftly balances historical detail and atmosphere, capturing the essence of the centuries-enduring racism that oppresses through actions large and small. Ophie makes a brave, dynamic main character: scared, grieving, and compassionate, while also deeply aware that she deserves more than a racist society permits her. Ages 8—12.

From Kirkus

March 15, 2021
A 12-year-old Black girl in 1920s Georgia learns she has the ability to commune with ghosts--and goes on to help solve a mysterious death. Ophelia "Ophie" Harrison was startled awake by her father's urgently telling her to grab their emergency money, wake her mother, and escape to the woods--just before White men came and burned their house to the ground. The next morning, she found out those same men had already murdered her father; what she had seen was his ghost. Her mother, dealing with her own grief and their new reality, is not ready to hear of Ophie's talent, so after they move north to live with Aunt Rose and her family in Pittsburgh, Ophie is forced to keep quiet about it. She longs to attend school but starts working with her mother at Daffodil Manor, home to one of the city's wealthiest families, so that they can save up for their own place. She soon discovers that ghosts fill the manor; one in particular, Clara, helps her satisfy the demands of the curmudgeonly old White lady who is their employer. In return, Ophie is determined to find out how Clara died. Once again, Ireland weaves together the fantastical with historical realities that Black Americans have faced. Ophie's optimistic personality and the intrigue-filled story will keep pages turning all the way to the satisfying conclusion. An enthralling journey interwoven with historical realities. (Paranormal mystery. 8-12)

COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.