Ghost book by Remy Lai

In Redhill Hospital two strange beings are marching through the corridors but no one sees or hears them. Horseface and Oxhead are carrying out tasks for the King of the Underworld, gathering ghosts of the newly dead as directed by the names on their list. But that night they were tasked with gathering two ghosts and left with only one. Twelve years later at Redhill Elementary school students are scaring themselves with stories about Hungry Ghosts. It is the seventh month of the lunar calendar when the gates of the Underworld are supposed to open and unless you are holding a special amulet you can be consumed by a Hungry Ghost. When a group of students decide to summon Tumour Ghost from a pond at school, July, one of their classmates no one remembers, offers her lunch, her dad’s wonky dumplings, to help lure out the ghost. July can see ghosts with her special yin-yang eyes and she sees a boy ghost and his pet mingling with the children but the others are oblivious. When the real Tumour Ghost does appear and sucks the dumplings dry the children run screaming to the teacher. When Tumour Ghost seizes the boy ghost and is about to eat him, July saves him by thrusting the special talisman into it. July has always been able to see ghosts but, to fit in, she has to pretend she doesn’t, however the new ghost is harder to ignore. His name is William and claims to be not dead, but in a coma. He wants July to tell his mum he is ok. The two battle more hungry ghosts, feeding them with special dumplings and find out more about themselves and the netherworld as the scary story unfolds.

The colourful comic style graphics are a pleasure to read, the main character distinguished by her ever-present red lunchbox while the ghostly characters with soft outlines are less opaque. Backstories are easy to identify in monochrome.  I was reminded of Festival of Shadows by Atelier Sento with a similar subject matter, but while quite scary, with its themes of death and sacrifice, this is more suitable for a younger audience. It is good to see an Australian book tapping into folklore of other Asian cultures and at the same time Remy Lai includes characters who feel they are unseen or ignored who find friendship in unexpected places, a feeling common in all cultures.

Themes: Ghosts, Folklore, Friendship, Family.

Sue Speck