Who doesn’t love a good ghost story? Spectral visitors take center stage in two books with themes of feelings, family, bravery and healing. Discover buried secrets in The Girl in the Walls and Neshama. Learn more about both below.
THE GIRL IN THE WALLS, by Meg Eden Kuyatt, Scholastic Press, May 20, 2025, Hardcover, $18.99 (ages 8-12)
There’s a ghost in the walls, and V must decide if it is an ally or an enemy. The wrong decision could destroy her and her family.
After a hard school year, V has been sent to her Grandma Jojo’s house for the summer in order to get away from it all. But unlike neurodivergent, artistic, sock-collecting V, Jojo is uptight, critical, and obsessed with her spotless house. She doesn’t get V at all. V is sure she’s doomed to have the worst summer ever.
Then V starts hearing noises from inside the walls of the house… Knocks, the sounds of a girl crying, and voices echoing in the night.
When V finds a ghostly girl hiding in the walls, they seem to have an immediate connection. This might be V’s chance to get back at her perfect grandmother by messing with her just a little bit.
But the buried secrets go much deeper — and are much more dangerous — than V even suspects. And they threaten to swallow her and her family whole if she can’t find a way to uncover the truth of the girl before it’s too late. —Synopsis provided by Scholastic Press
NESHAMA, by Marcella Pixley, Candlewick, May 13, 2025, Hardcover, $18.99 (ages 8-12)
A bullied girl who communicates with ghosts finds her inner strength.
Anna sees ghosts. The spirits of her ancestors call to her from the shadows, and no matter where she is, Anna always answers. Kids in her middle school tease her. Teachers and parents are worried by her strange behavior. The only one who seems to understand is Anna’s beloved grandmother, Bubbe, who has always treasured Anna’s shayna neshama, her beautiful soul. Spending Shabbos with Bubbe is the only thing that gives Anna the sense of love and belonging that she needs.
But when a ghost named Ruthie appears at Bubbe’s house by the sea, Anna begins to uncover long-hidden secrets that reveal the mystery of her family’s troubled past. As Anna and Ruthie get closer, Anna must decide for herself whether being connected to a restless ghost is worth the risk. When it becomes clear that Bubbe’s life is in danger, Anna must face the horrible truth: She alone has the ability to save her family and heal the wounds that follow them from one generation to the next. —Synopsis provided by Candlewick
*This post is part of a larger summer reading list, which consists of recommendations but not individual book reviews.
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