For the kids looking for more dark and twisted tales, Erika is here to bring you a middle grade scare!

Not Quite a Ghost  by Anne Ursu
All available formats here

A middle-grade retelling of The Yellow Wallpaper,  12-year-old Violet is struggling with all the changes in her life, from moving into a creaky old home, middle school woes, and a mysterious lingering illness. As her sickness forces her to rest in her creepy vine and flower wallpapered room, she starts to see something, or someone, taking shape.

This book is everything I would have wanted to read growing up. Those who have dealt with or currently in the midst of undiagnosed chronic illness will feel seen despite their illness feeling so invisible. Even while I found the spooky element to be a slowburn at the start, I could not help but continue on reading because of the friendship dynamics shifting in such a sinister yet familiar way (raise your hand if you ever been victimized in middle school by a Paige).

In a letter from the author, Ursu writes “Not Quite a Ghost is a story about the consequences of being invisible to the people who are supposed to help you, how isolating it can be, and how that isolation leaves room for something sinister to sneak through.”

The frustrations of dealing with a chronic and invisible illness are illustrated so well you may find yourself grabbing a tissue during this read. It is my wish that those who are in a health hardship find comfort in this novel and provide those who previously questioned “are they really that sick?” a newfound empathy.