Last night, I finished reading Ghost Book by Remy Lai. This paranormal fantasy graphic novel is about July Chen and William Xiao, two twelve-year-old kids who are connected by the day of July's birth. When July was born, William was in the hospital after an accident. The King of the Underworld ordered Oxhead and Horseface to take two souls to the underworld, but they only took one, July's mom, so both July and William lived. During Hungry Ghost Month twelve years later, July and William meet when she rescues him from a Hungry Ghost about to eat him. At first, July doesn't believe William when he tells her he isn't really a ghost, but he convinces her that he's a wandering soul wavering between life and death after she finds him in the school library and he has her google a news article about him from that morning. July then decides to help William return to his body. On their adventure, they uncover the devastating truth that July has to die for William to live.
I was so excited to read another spooky story after The Bellwoods Game, and this one did not disappoint. The illustrations were gorgeous and I enjoyed the world-building so much. I especially loved the lighting that made the ghosts seem to glow on the page. I also really liked the main characters, July and William. Both of them seemed like great kids, and it was horrifying that one of them might have to die just because of a choice Oxhead and Horseface made twelve years ago. It was weird how they just seemed to defy a direct order from the King of the Underworld, and I eagerly awaited the explanation for what really happened to change their minds. July and William's friendship was the heart of the book and I knew it would really devastate me if either of them died. It got pretty hopeless towards the end, but I'm happy to say that the twist was perfect. As an animal lover, I thought William's fluffy friend, Floof, was adorable, and his origin was another interesting twist to the story. Ghost Book told a unique story, and I recommend it to anyone who like ghost or friendship stories
