Milo is back in a new adventure in Greenglass House, the coolest place in all of Nagspeake. Some of the characters from Greenglass House return (Georgie, Clem & Addie) in a similar setting. Milo is desperate for a quiet Christmas break with his family, but their lone guest just won’t leave. Milo just knows his vacation is going to be ruined as, once again, more people show up. The plot is similar to Greenglass House in that unexpected guests show up, get stranded, and are all looking for something special. What makes Ghosts different is the fascinating introduction of the concept of the Raw Nights performers, a troupe of “actors” who travel around performing and telling stories during the “raw nights” before Christmas when magic is wild. As a lover of folklore, this aspect of the story totally sucked me in. The usual hijinks ensue as Milo, Addie, Georgie, Clem, and the others search for hidden treasures in an effort to find a famous device created by a notorious smuggler that maps the Nagspeake shoreline.
Milford continues to build the fictional world of Nagspeake and it’s colorful inhabitants and ancestors, even going as far as creating a whole gorgeous website on Nagspeake tourism. The story is very similar to the first book in the series, but Milford continues to develop Milo in a really intriguing way. Milo has some issues with anger (e.g. feeling the scream building inside him) and Milford uses that aspect of his personality to let readers know it’s okay to be angry and that there are lots of ways to express that anger. In that way, this story can easily be labelled “bibliotherapy” (if you’re the kind of reader who likes to label things!). This will definitely appeal to middle grade readers. Highly entertaining and recommended.
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