Hello! Here we are just in time for Halloween with our review of Ghost Squad by Claribel Ortega. We chose this book for our #spooktober read and also it was part of our Hispanic Heritage month selection.
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Originally published: April 7, 2020
Summary:
Twelve year old Lucely Luna’s home can sometimes feel a bit crowded. Her family is well, large, but they have one thing in particular, most of her extended family members are ghosts and they live as fireflies (cocuyos) in a tree in her backyard and only she can see them. When strange things start happening to her ghost relatives she gets help from her wannabe witch BFF Syd. They look for ideas in Syd’s grandmothers bookcase and find a secret room with a Book of spells. But their spell casting spells trouble for the duo, as they find themselves being chased by scary spirits. Now they have to race to find a counter spell before Halloween night when the whole town will be overrun by evil spirits.
Her review:
Ghost Squad is one of my most favorite books. It teaches you about the love of family and friends and to face your fears. My favorite characters are Lucely, Syd, and Babette. I like Lucely and Syd because they are brave and determined. I like Babette because, who wouldn’t like Babette? I love Ghost Squad!
My review:
Three things drew me to this book before reading it, first was Lucely’s Dominican heritage, as a Dominican myself I look for characters that reflect my kids heritage for them to read. Second was that it takes place in St. Augustine, Florida one of my favorite places to visit. And third were the ghosts, perfectly spooky fun.
If I can describe this book it would be a mashup between Hocus Pocus and The Goonies, although I’ve seen it also being compared to Coco too which is also a fair assessment. I loved the pop culture references specially with the cats names after the Goonies, I’m a huge Goonies fan so I really loved that.
Lucely our main character is a smart and kind girl trying to help her dad keep his Ghost tour business open and also trying to find a way to help her ghost relatives stay visible when strange things start happening to them. Her love for her family is in full display throughout the book. Her BFF Syd is the only one who knows her family secret and is ready to step up and even get into trouble and danger to help Lucely. A true friend in every sense. Of course the girls make a huge mistake by casting an evil spell, so together they work on trying to fix their mess.
I really enjoyed the character Babette, Syd’s grandmother who they think may be a witch. When she finds out the trouble the girls are in, she quickly takes charge and helps the girls become ghost hunters. The book features many scenes which are spooky enough without being too scary, each of the problems the girls face have a quick resolution which at times made it seemed rushed or “too easy” for me, but then again with this being a MG I like the fact that it did not overly complicate the problems and the plot line moved smoothly.
Overall I enjoyed reading this book, it has a few Dominican folklore and cuisine references that are great to have, features minority main characters which is fantastic, a great old colonial town that invites you to learn more about and explore, and just enough spookiness for this time of year.
One last thought. If when you read the first chapter you wondered if the Dominican food Lucely’s dad is making for breakfast is as good as it sounds, I have to say its better. This whole scene made my mouth water and crave for my home country’s food so so much.
If you’ve read this book already let us know what you thought about it. If not, what are you waiting for?
For our next book we will be reviewing a graphic Novel for the first time. Graphic novels are quickly becoming very popular and are a great resource for reluctant readers. We chose New Kid by Jerry Craft, I hope you can read along and share your thoughts with us next month.
For the love of Libros 
2 thoughts on “#MDR Ghost Squad”