Top 5 Tuesday #44: Ghosts, Spirits, Spectres

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme created and hosted by Shanah, the Bionic Book Worm, and now managed by Meeghan at Meeghan Reads.

This week’s topic:

Top 5 ghosts

What are your favourite books that either have ghosts or talk about ghosts?

I don’t consider all these as favorites, but the following are books I’ve read that have ghosts in them.

Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol (illus.)

A YA paranormal comic book about a girl named Anya who’s struggling with her cultural identity and body image. She encounters a ghost one day when she fell down a well and is haunted by it, which was fun at first until she realizes that the ghost is not as nice as it initially seemed.

I wasn’t swept away by the story, but it’s a decent read that’s perfect for this time of year.

Shadow Weaver by MarcyKate Connolly

A middle-grade fantasy, horror novel about a girl who’s best friends with her shadow. The story is set in a world where people are blessed (or cursed) with special abilities every 25 years when the Cerelia Comet passes over their land. Emmeline received the ability to manipulate shadows and, apparently, she can communicate with her own shadow, but no one believes her.

Another one that’s perfect for this time of year. It’s a little dark and atmospheric, and I found it a bit thrilling too.

Watersnakes by Tony Sandoval (illus.), transl. by Lucas Marangon

I recently read this, so I’ll post a review of it soon. It’s a YA fantasy, horror graphic novel about a girl named Mila who makes friends with a girl named Agnes one summer and becomes fascinated by Agnes’s teeth. Mila later learns that Agnes is actually a ghost and her teeth are guardian warriors protecting an outcasted king whose essence she holds within her.

Unfortunately, this story did not work for me and I didn’t like the art either, although I love the cover. However, many readers do love it and it has been nominated several times for the Eisner award. It is also a good one for this time of year.

Diviners by Libba Bray

Set in the mid-1920s, Diviners is a YA paranormal, historical fiction novel about a girl named Evie O’Neill who’s sent away to New York City to live with her uncle, who’s interested in studying the occult. Evie has a neat ability that sometimes gets her in trouble; however, she begins to use it to help her uncle solve a series of grisly murders that lean toward the occult.

I really enjoyed reading this story. It’s the first in a series and so far I’ve read it and the second book and liked both. They are both atmospheric, have a creepy undertone without being too scary, and have a diverse cast of characters. I highly recommend these books for the fall/Halloween season.

First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen

The books above are all dark, haunting, or spooky in some way, so I chose something lighter for this last one. First Frost is a contemporary romance (I guess) novel that hints at light fantasy. It’s the second novel in the Waverley Family duology, but you don’t need to read the first one to understand and enjoy this one. It’s set in a quirky Southern town and is about the women of the Waverley family growing increasingly anxious as the blossoming of their unique apple tree approaches.

The Waverleys are known for their garden in which grows plants that seem to have an interesting effect on people, such as their apple tree whose fruit foretells the greatest moment in a person’s life once eaten. Both books are among my favorite reads. They are sweet and light-hearted and are perfect reads for the fall.

LET ME KNOW IF YOU’VE READ ANY OF THESE.