Ophie's Ghosts

Ophie's Ghosts
Justine Ireland
HarperCollins, 2021
325 Pages
Grades 4-7
Historical Fiction/Fantasy/Mystery

Ophie is awakened in the middle of the night by her father, who is now a ghost. He instructs her to grab his secret stash of cash and her mother and flee to Pittsburg to live with elderly Aunt Rose. Ophie does as suggested and finds herself part of the great migration, trying to survive as a young black girl in 1920's, who can now see ghosts--everywhere. Aunt Rose reveals that it is a family trait to see haints and instructs Ophie in how to deal with them, before she suddenly dies. Ophie and mom must move into Daffodil Manor, where they both work as maids. Ophie is seeing ghosts all over the manor as she serves as a companion to elderly racist Mrs. Carruthers. Boredom leads to a friendship with a ghost who was formerly also a servant with a more personal connection to the family. Aunt Rose says that ghosts can't ever be trusted. Should Ophie allow herself this one friendship even though Clara has her own agenda? And how did Clara die in the first place? No one in the Carruthers family seems to know. Ophie gets to the bottom of the mystery, all while learning to survive in her new life and deal with her cranky old employer.

YA author, Ireland, makes her middle grade debut with this winner of a paranormal mystery set firmly in the past. This is a book that ticks a lot of boxes, but does so without feeling too busy or disjointed. The setting places the story in a dark place for African Americans and racism runs deep throughout the context of the book. After Dad's racially motivated murder and their house is burnt to the ground, Ophie must work as they cannot afford for her to go to school and she and her mother have very few prospects for employment, even in the more liberal north. The mysteries behind Clara, who she was and her murder, are all satisfactorily solved. The culprit is getable, yet not too obvious, and I enjoyed speculating on who it could be. The ghosts who run through the story are unsettling, yet not too creepy. Kids who love a little paranormal shiver will enjoy this element, yet it is not the stuff of nightmares. Ireland easily makes the transition to middle grade and doesn't talk down to her readers or write over their heads. This book is spot-on for the target audience and will find a readership. Ophie's Ghost is one of my favorite books of the year so far and it is sure to win lots of accolades for combining substance with great entertainment.