A Curious Tale of the In-Between (Pram, #1) by Lauren DeStefano ISBN: 161963600X
Published by Bloomsbury USA Childrens on September 1st 2015
Genres: Fantasy, Friendship, Horror & Ghost Stories, Paranormal, Young Adult
Pages: 240
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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Pram Bellamy is special—she can talk to ghosts. She doesn’t have too many friends amongst the living, but that’s all right. She has her books, she has her aunts, and she has her best friend, the ghostly Felix.
Then Pram meets Clarence, a boy from school who has also lost a parent and is looking for answers. Together they arrive at the door of the mysterious Lady Savant, who promises to help. But this spiritualist knows the true nature of Pram’s power, and what she has planned is more terrifying than any ghost.
Lauren DeStefano is beloved by critics and readers alike, and her middle grade debut is lyrical, evocative and not to be missed.
MY THOUGHTS
Pram’s mother has died at her birth and her spinster aunts have raised her away from the world in their retirement home. Her only friend is Felix, a ghost boy who meets her daily at the pond behind the house. When the school district insists that she go to a “real” school instead of being homeschooled, her aunts fear that people will not be friendly to their beloved niece. She meets and makes a friend on her very first day. Clarence has lost his mother, just like Pram, and it has been a daily struggle to survive. He feels like no one understands his grief until he meets Pram. As Pram begins to trust Clarence, she lets him in on her secret life with ghosts.
Clarence really wants to find his mother’s spirit and after much searching they find a traveling psychic who immediately latches on to Pram’s gift. Lady Savant is quite strange and wants more from Pram than she wants to give. I can’t go any further into details because that would spoil this wonderful tale for everyone. This story will be once of your favorites and it is just perfectly done as a ghost tale.
I am so glad I just noticed that this is the first in a series. I can’t wait!
About the Author
Lauren DeStefano is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Internment Chronicles and The Chemical Garden trilogy, which includes Wither, Fever, and Sever. She earned her BA in English with a concentration in creative writing from Albertus Magnus College in Connecticut.
LaurenDeStefano.com
@LaurenDeStefano
laurendestefano.tumblr.com.
Sounds like a perfect story for a child/person who was raised by someone other than their parents.