I will keep this one short and sweet. I absolutely loved it. When I first finished I was a little undecided and initially slightly underwhelmed. That was last night. This book has been in my head ever since, its like an earwig.

The themes of this novel are confronting within an adult book. Here it is a novel meant for younger children and teenagers. Discussing mental health, familial bonds, friendship and compassion for others, Ghost Boy really packs a punch and forces you to question yourself.

I loved that for a fairly short book, the characters are relatable and fully fleshed out. Usually I would have a problem with the lack of intricate imagery, but in this it just didnt need it (its there but i honestly didnt even think about it because i was so engrossed in the story),

While in places it is super dark, talking about one person having a dark mass riding his back and someone losing a foot in a train accident, the narrative didnt feel particularly heavy. So much so that my 10 year old daughter read it after me so as I could get a tweens opinion.

Overall this was excellently written and on point with the difficulties many children face in today's judgemental society. I will definitely be recommending it to family and friends when it releases

An interesting and intriguing blurb drew me to this book, unfortunately it did  not live up to my hopes or expectations. 
Ben is in seventh grade, and unlike most kids his age, he can see ghosts. His Grandmother speaks to him, and he has a friend , Abby, who seems almost like a guardian angel to him. Despite being teased by friends, and medicated by family, he is adamant that the spirits he sees are real, and he does not want to let them go.
I had a couple of issues with this book, firstly and most importantly the writing style was very choppy, there didn't really seem to be a good narrative flow to the book , it just jumped from one episode or event to another without any smooth transition. My second issue was the ending of the book, it took a turn that verged on the creepy and unnerving given how the characters were described throughout the book to that point. It's impossible to discuss that more without giving away a major plot twist , one which I felt was poorly executed.
My third criticism is that there really didn't seem to be much fact checking about some pretty basic things, it seems like the author is not clear about the difference between transgender and non binary, but also some pretty basic medical facts seem to have been ignored. Again going into detail would be a major spoiler but it left a sour taste in my mouth.

This was a sweet book for middle schoolers about a boy who sees what others cannot. When he confides to his friends, of course they make fun of him for seeing "ghosts" and word gets out at school. But his spirit friend, Abby who always appears when he is in danger seems to calm and get him through difficult times. When he eventually finds out the truth about things, we are relieved along with him. Although I don't usually read books for this age group, I think this is a lovely story that will surprise and delight young readers!

Have you ever seen a ghost? Do you even believe in ghost? Ben does, he sees them and talks with them. He sees a girl around his age that seems to show up whenever he is about to make a bad choice, he sees his granny when his family is discussing a tragic event, he even can see the evil that are in some people. When Ben tells his friends and family that he sees the ghost of a girl that he has named Abby, only his mom believes him. His dad thinks he is crazy and his friends start calling him "Ghost Boy". Ben is a very unusual seventh grader in that he doesn't let what others say about him bother him very much. Because of this, he is alway willing to help those who are underdogs. One day while they are visiting their family home in Alabama, Abby comes to talk to him. The problem is, Ben's dad has threatened to send Ben to military school if he mentions Abby again. However, Abby has something very important to tell Ben that will change the way his family thinks of his abilities. Read this enjoyable book about the paranormal and life in middle school (which can be just as scary as ghost) to find out how Ben's story turns out.

As I was reading this book initially didn't understand some of the sequence.  The story seemed a bit choppy. When I finished and was looking back at those events I now understand why the author did this. I also would like to give a disclaimer that this book does have some bad language in it. I am a huge paranormal fan so I really enjoyed this book.

This was one of those books that just make you say ''aww..''  all the time.  This kid, who is pretty popular, just does so much for others while he doesn't even have to..  All because he thinks he saw someone that told him to be good.. Loved it!

Ghost Boy is a wonderful book written with a fresh plot with a young boy as the main character with twists that just piece all the problems of the boy's family together to make sense. I found some of the behavioural changes in the side characters a little odd and not normal of a real human and therefore felt the story to be a little rushed. But it was a fun little read and I would recommend this to a teen or a young adult.

Sometimes a book starts a little awkwardly, like the author was trying too hard to make a start and to get too many things in too soon or to make a special effort to mention some 'agenda'. I had to make a few allowances for this one because the story I was expecting to read, about a protagonist who sees ghosts, was worked into that crucial first chapter smoothly enough to hope for some good flow to the rest of the story.

It did flow well after, though I felt the narrative was 'young' for my taste, but it's targeted at YA and middle grade and I would say appropriate for the middle grade age group, apart from the diversions into conversations about 'God' that don't quite fit in and come across as if the author is laying ground to push young readers towards religious beliefs.

Ben Conover is a boy from a religious family, but he sees ghosts, especially a girl ghost who he calls Abby. His parents don't believe what he sees is real of course and try to get him to stop making comments about it. The story covers interactions with other kids, both friends and foes, as well as family members. There are a few lessons about following the lead of older kids, especially relatives, who do things you know aren't smart and about dealing with life in general from a 12-13 year old's perspective.

Overall I did enjoy the story, but it didn't really progress in a central theme and I thought the ending left some inconclusive loose ends. I liked Ben as a character, but I did think some of the situations could have been better developed or followed up.

Ben sees ghosts. He is able to communicate with them, but they don’t visit him very often. When he admits that he sees them to his parents and his friends, he receives a lot of pushback from his friends who make fun of him and his dad who sends him to a psychologist who tells Ben he’s not crazy but starts him on medication anyway. 

This book reads like it was the author’s first draft. There are some good ideas here with the plot, but the plot isn’t ultimately fully developed. 

The character is 12 for most of the book and going to be beginning junior high (7th) grade which would put this book most appropriate for a middle grade audience. However, this book is very difficult to follow at times, and while it’s clear throughout that it’s supposed to be a contemporary novel, there’s not enough of Ben’s world established to truly create that. 

There’s also a whole lot of characters. Ben’s parents are referred to by their first names, and Ben also has an older sister who is only mentioned a few times despite the fact that she is 4 years older than Ben and lives with him. There are other characters that are brought up in one chapter, never to be seen again. 


I had been really interested by the description of the novel, but ultimately, this reads too much like an unpolished first draft to be a good read.

An interesting perspective on people with "special" talents, shows that people can make wrong choices and then come back and make them right

Ghost Boy by Stafford Betty - This one I would suggest for 5-8th grade age maybe. Easy read with an intriging story. 
7th grader Ben has always had friends...unfortunately no one can see these friends but him. Abby, who has been with him since he was little, he feels isn't so much a ghost as she is his guardian angel. She often helps him in times of trouble. His father believes Ben is hallucinating while his "real" friends decide to tell the whole school which makes him the target of bullies. 
Ben takes the role of being a seer of the dead pretty seriously...and Abby? There's a reason she has chosen Ben. 
#GhostBoy #NetGalley

Interesting idea for a book,and quite interesting if a bit slow for me in places,.I like different though so am going to give this 4 stars because it is different and did pique my interest,I also liked the main character .I enjoy reading books that stretch my imagination and make me think and this book did that.I couldn't read too many books like this, but I think I would struggle to find another one like it,this was a very original concept and quite different.Thanks to the publishers and netgalley for an ARC.

Thank you first to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book. 

I wanted to like this book, but there were a few things that just held me back from being able to enjoy it fully. First off, I found the flow of the novel to be far too stop and go. It didn't flow naturally, and instead had an odd, jerky narrative that I found myself getting pulled out of time and again. Second, the characters were all rather robotic. I didn't get the sense of any real emotion, even when tragedy struck the family. It was glossed over, more "Oh, that's too bad!" than an a moment that made any real difference in the narrative.

Ben as a lead character is vanilla. Even though he's a 12 year old boy, I couldn't get a sense of who he was. I knew some of his hobbies, the names of his friends, but I didn't know anything about him other than he saw ghosts. The same goes for his parents. Everyone was just so bland. The dialogue was also quite painful at times. There wasn't the flow or emotion that goes into actual conversation, and that's something I really missed. 

The twist near the end of the book was also disturbing to me. I won't say anything since it's a bit of a spoiler, but  I found it to be very offputting, and even creepy. I thought there were other avenues the author could have explored other than the one chosen.

This was a very interesting read. It's one of those books that grabs you quickly and holds your attention.  I really enjoyed how it read more like a collection of short stories rather than the traditional chapter book, and I will for sure recommend this to my tween patrons,

Thank you Stafford Betty and Netgalley for a copy of this title.
Wow! 5 stars. What a sweet book with so many lessons. Ghost Boy is a book that people with resound with for so many individual reasons. I am so glad I had the chance to read this book.

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  
From the publisher --- 
Seventh grader Ben Conover sees people no one else can see. When he confides in his best friend, it's not long before smartphones start lighting up with text messages as the air cackles with gossip and he becomes known in school as the 'Ghost Boy'. Home has become a battleground between his Mum's acceptance and his Dad's disapproval. Ben desperately seeks his father's approval and wants to be like a regular twelve-year-old. But he doesn't want to break free from his spirit friend, Abby, who shows up when he is in danger or about to do something wrong. She somehow guides him and he has grown very fond of her. Will Ben's father accept his son's psychic gifts? Can he persuade his father that spirits are real and not just hallucinations? And who exactly is Abby?
This is an interesting read: it kind of goes all over the place(s) that you expect yet still surprises you at times. I think that tweens and teens will enjoy it more than a grown up but nonetheless, I enjoyed it as the story was thought-provoking and the ending enjoyable. 3.5 stars rounded up to four.
(Totally off topic but would it not be nice to have access to passed loved ones via text messages? So that you can still be in each other’s lives??  Yes, I digress very well and very off topic!!!)

A nice sweet story about a boy that can see ghosts. Each chapter is different to the last, that makes it feel like lots of short stories together. The dad is a little controlling and mother is the opposite. I like how the characters evolve throughout the book. Ben’s future is sure to be interesting.

An interesting book but very different to any other I have read. A new insight into the subject of ghosts !!

This book was fast paced and fun. It gave the reader a different look on ghosts, so to speak.
Well written and engaging.

I really wanted to like this book. This was an ok read, it was slow to get into, and it never really picked up for me. 

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

A well written book full of positive messages. The main characters is well developed and the book can touch your emotions.
Strongly recommended!
Many thanks to John Hunt Publishing Ltd and Netgalley for this ARC