2026, Juvenile Fiction
WISE Score
Carter John is tired of getting blamed for everything, but when his anger starts literal fires and a ghost starts singing about burning, things get a lot more complicated than a trip to the principal's office.
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India Hill Brown is the master of the 'social justice ghost story,' and she is at it again. This isn't just a book about things going bump in the night; it is about the ghosts of Jim Crow and how they still haunt the institutions we use every day.
It is smart, spooky, and handles the 'troubled kid' trope with a lot of empathy for boys like Carter John who get judged before they even speak. If your kid liked The Forgotten Girl, this is an easy win.
Ideal for the 8–12 crowd, especially those who have already graduated from Goosebumps and want a story with a bit more historical weight and character development.
The core friendship between Gianna and Carter John is a strong model of loyalty. While the book deals with anger and historical injustice, it centers on two kids working together to set things right.
The supernatural elements—sparks flying from anger, singing ghosts, and books flying off shelves—create a compelling, atmospheric mystery that feels fresh despite the library setting.
It is a middle-grade ghost story, so expect some 'bonechilling' moments and tension, but it stays within the guardrails of Scholastic-published juvenile fiction.
The focus on the history of segregated libraries provides a specific, high-value educational hook that many kids (and parents) likely haven't encountered in fiction before.
India Hill Brown has carved out a specific niche in middle-grade fiction that we really love: the ghost story that is actually about something. In Girl from the Ashes, she takes the classic 'haunted library' setup and uses it to dig into the history of segregated public spaces. It is a brilliant way to make history feel urgent and visceral for kids who might find a standard textbook dry.
The book does a great job of highlighting the 'adultification' of Black children. Carter John is tall and has a loud voice, so he gets in trouble for things smaller kids get away with. That frustration is what triggers the supernatural events. It is a smart way to externalize a feeling many kids have—that their emotions are so big they could literally set the room on fire.
If your kid is a fan of Small Spaces, they will be right at home here. The horror is effective but never feels gratuitous. The 'scary' parts are always tied back to the mystery of what happened in the town's past, making the investigation feel like a rescue mission as much as a survival story. It is the kind of book that turns 'reluctant readers' into 'just five more minutes' readers.
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