Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse by Chris Riddell

goth-girl
Meet Ada Goth.
 
She lives in Ghastly-Gorm Hall with her father, Lord Goth, lots of servants and at least half a dozen ghosts, but she hasn’t got any friends to explore her enormous, creepy house with.
 
Then, one night, everything changes when Ada meets a ghostly mouse called Ishmael. Together they set out to solve the mystery of the strange happenings at Ghastly-Gorm Hall and get a lot more than they bargained for…
 
I was a wannabe goth when I was younger, sadly living in Cape Town and wilting in the African sun made it impossible to wear the black and dye my hair or wear make-up and my parents would have killed me if I had come home with midnight-black hair smoking clove cigarettes. So I internalised it – I read the books and listened to the music! I still love the Sisters of Mercy, The Mission and other bands that typify the goth scene.

This is one of the prettiest and shiniest books I have come across all year, shiny silver and purple with stylish art by Chris Riddell made me think of the Hot Topic store I visited in America with one majot difference! This book has substance as well as bucket-loads of style!

Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse has shades of Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake and a whole rash of puns and shout outs to gothic novelists and characters from literary fiction. It is a novel for young goths – not emo kids but actual goths! I will not get into the differences between the goth and emo scene but they are different – trust me on this!

Ada has to help Ishmael find out the cause of his death, solve a chilling conspiracy and reconnect with her grief-struck father who still has not come to terms with the death of his beloved wife (Ada’s mother) as well as encounter a new governess with a dark secret and befriend the children working in the rambling hall and help them uncover the secret of the scheming gamekeeper Maltravers.

Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse a hilarious book,funny amd with lashings of pathos is aimed firmly at a younger audience but with enough foot- & side-notes and puns for older readers to enjoy.

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