The Young Necromancer's Guide to Ghosts
Lusi, a child who can talk to ghosts, travels with wizards and dragons in hopes of protecting her family. As a children's fantasy, the book folds fear and loneliness into a story about growth and responsibility.
Work Information
Seeing ghosts does not have to mean being alone.
Published by Independent Cat, this children's novel balances the clarity of adventure with a child's urgent desire to protect her family. Centered on conversations with ghosts, it keeps fear and gentleness in careful balance.
Book Information
- Publisher
- Vanessa Ricci-Thode
- Published
- 2024-04-30
- Pages
- 206 pages
- Language
- 英語
- Size
- 13.34 x 1.19 x 20.32 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9781738392902
- ISBN-10
- 1738392902
- Price
- 2639 JPY
- Category
- 洋書/Children's Books/Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths/Dragons
Lusi is a perfectly normal 12-year-old wizard except for the part where she can talk to ghosts. But everyone knows ghosts aren't real, so at best they think Lusi is lying and at worst that she's lost her mind. Her big sister Marsi is the only one who believes her, but Marsi is running away to escape Uncle's terrible plan to make her marry his creepy nephew. Lusi can't imagine being separated from her sister and leaves behind the rest of their family to flee with Marsi via merchant caravan to the Wizards Guild for help. All their plans are dashed to pieces when Uncle catches up to them in a matter of days. Uncle's connections to powerful wizards make him far more dangerous than Lusi initially realized. But Lusi isn't crazy or a freak for talking to ghosts: she's a necromancer! Marsi is worried-they've always been told that necromancers are monsters. Lusi needs to learn more to set both their minds at ease. She must enlist the help of a ghost girl, a dragon, and a strange wizard from the other side of the world if she wants to control her unusual talents and keep her family safe.
Vanessa is a Nebula Award nominated fantasy author who loves a good story. She's a Halloween enthusiast and a bookish geek who loves dragons, dogs, astronomy, and travel. If she's not hibernating, she can be found in her butterfly garden, achieving her final form as a forest witch. She lives in Waterloo (no, the other one) with her spouse, daughter and very good dogs.
Reviews
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This book had me at: "a perfectly normal 12-year-old wizard except for the part where she can talk to ghosts." Oh yeah, got to read that! This is a great fantasy story for young audiences, with an epic setting, dragons, ghosts, a despicable villain, and Lusi, our perfectly normal wizard heroine struggling to understand her innate talent for creepy necromancy. The setting is Ricchi-Thodes' rich Fireborn world, but this is a standalone story. You do not need to read any other Fireborn books to understand (and love) this one. At its heart, it's a tale of self-discovery, belonging, accepting others, celebrating our differences.
Related Literary Awards
- Nebula Award Edition 60 (2025) ・Winner