What a brilliant book! I love dystopian stories and London is one of my favourite cities so a dystopian MG book set in London must be a winner.
The story is set in a London similar and yet different to our own. We are in the aftermath of a war with Europe, the Channel Tunnel lies derelict and unused and the eastern side of London is flooded. There is a floating market on the Thames at Waterloo and beneath Battersea Power Station, an army of children who have been kidnapped off the streets, shovel coal to provide power for the city. Because the city is fuelled by coal, smog has returned but the smog is changing and seems to be harming the inhabitants.
Luke Smith-Sharma has been shovelling coal for 2 years. He has worked as hard as he possibly can in order to earn an amber ticket which will give him his freedom and allow him to return to his family. One day, he helps a new girl, Jess, and is punished by being sent to clean the sewers in the mysterious East Wing of the station. There he meets Alma, a ghost cloud who can ride the winds and see what is happening in the city. He discovers that he is actually part ghost and can also become a ghost cloud. He also discovers more about the evil Tabatha Margate and her plan for a new third chimney at Battersea, what the smog is and why it is changing.
This is a briiliantly told, inventive story. I loved all the details about the city and its landmarks and the characters of Luke, Alma, Jess and Ravi are really well written and are well balanced by the deliciously nasty Tabatha and her henchman Terence. The story zips along as the children plot their escape from their power station and discover what is really happening. The conclusion is completely satisfying while leaving enough space for a sequel which I really hope Michael Mann will write.
This a great Middle Grade read and I am grateful to Net Galley and Hodder Children’s books for allowing me to read an ARC in exchange for this honest review.

This is a great book! An unusual and compelling storyline and very appealing characters. Ghostclouds, I mean come on, just brilliant! We really enjoyed the storyline and liked that we knew many of the famous London landmarks, even though the book is set in the future. Enough twists and turns to keep us interested along with a good pace. Thumbs up all round and we hope there are more to come, definitely recommend!

I was immediately drawn to this book because of the cover. It’s so fun, vibrant, cute and sparked my imagination before I’d even read a single word!
Though, I could never have imagined the story that unfolded.
Michael Mann has brought together a fantastic mix of genres that blend effortlessly into a stunning story of friendship, family and unwavering hope in the darkest of times.

Set in a dystopian London, it conjures up images of the Victorian era combined with the future. Giving off a very steampunk vibe.

The descriptions transported me, as if I were a Ghostcloud myself, to the dark depths of the Power Station, where Luke & the other kidnapped children worked, shovelling coal (and other horrendous jobs) to earn the one thing that could set them free, the amber ticket! But Luke starts to discover not only can he see ghosts, in particular a girl called Alma, but things in the Power Station might be even more sinister than they first thought!
With the help of Alma, his friends and a cat, Luke begins to unravel the truth about the deadly smog and the evil Tabatha Margate.

This is a wonderful story that children and adults alike can read and really enjoy.
A crazy, creative world/story, loveable characters, an evil villain & the beauty that love, friendship & hope brings.

I give it 4 stars as I’m unlikely to read it again, but will happily recommend to everyone.
An adorable story. Thank you so much, NetGalley for an ARC ebook in return for an honest review.

Ghostcloud is an utterly brilliant debut children’s novel by Michael Mann. The story’s a fast-paced adventure, taking the reader on an exciting journey through a steampunk, dystopian London.

This is quite a challenging text due to the ideas where childrens' lives aren't valued and due to the destruction of war, the ghosts have a 'value' too. Links to history could be made but slightly uncomfortably. The story was well told - maybe a KS3 book.

A few weeks ago, on yet another visit to my local independent bookshop, one of the assistants – all of whom know me quite well now – told me that there was a book coming out that was perfect for fans of Malamander but couldn’t remember its title. With my love for the Eerie-on-Sea books being well known both on Twitter and in school, my curiosity was piqued and I made a mental note to keep an eye out for it.

Fast forward to earlier this week when I spotted this new middle grade read on Twitter carrying that same tag line, and shortly afterwards saw it was up for review on Net Galley. Keen to see whether or not those words were justified, I obviously requested it and have read it over the last few days – savouring its exciting plot and fabulous originality. Having just finished it, I would say that whether or not you are a fan of Thomas Taylor’s writing this is for you – packed as it is with mystery, danger and a thoroughly rotten baddie, and is a book to which I am hoping there will be a sequel.

Our story opens in a London of the future – a city altered by a terrible war and one in which the Channel Tunnel has closed and Battersea Power Station belches out filthy smoke. It is below this landmark that we meet our hero Luke, who is just one small part of a chain of children who have been kidnapped from the city around them to shovel coal dust to feed the fires in the great furnace room. Hidden well away from prying eyes, Luke, friend Ravi and the others dream of the day when they will earn their release from this dreadful existence and work their hardest in the hopes of speeding that up.

When new girl Jess struggles to keep up with the shovelling, Luke tries to help her but falls foul of station controller Tabatha Margate, who punishes them by sending them both to the East Wing. En route, they are taken aback by the presence of a mysterious shivering mist which appears to have tendrils and a will of its own and after managing to escape from it, the children are imprisoned within a filthy room full of pipes and are instructed to clean it. Jess and Luke set to work and chat about the smog hitting the capital and her dreams of being the first female plumber in her uncle’s guild but when she turns out to be not much better at cleaning than she is at shovelling, Luke tells her to take a nap.

Once Jess is asleep, he becomes aware of a voice begging for help and finds a girl trapped inside a machine within the room. Releasing her, he discovers that she is called Alma and is a ghost, or more correctly a ghostcloud. Using her powers, Alma shows him how she can fly clouds and takes him on a journey through the night sky before returning him to the power station. Now full of hope of leaving permanently, Luke starts to plot and plan escape but he has not counted on Tabatha who has alternative ideas. Just what are her intentions for the children? What is she really using the power station for? And how is the terrible, tentacled smog monster connected to it all?

Like a great many readers, I love a good mystery story – one which hooks you in from the start and where you cannot see what is coming next, as is the case here. With several threads running through the story in need of unravelling, I was kept on the edge of my seat the whole way through wanting to know what was going to happen next to Luke, Jess and Alma. Each brings their own unique skillset to the story and I really enjoyed the idea of Jess aspiring to be a plumber – a career choice that I doubt many children have considered, especially not girls, making her a wonderful role model for all of our young people for whom choosing a traditional trade is not often presented so positively.

Luke is a fabulous character too. Thrown into his adventure by his overwhelming need to try to help others, with little regard to himself, he is not only brave and strongly principled but also incredibly kind. When he rescues Alma and she leads him to discover that there is more to who he is than he originally believed, he sets about using this new knowledge to try to benefit all of the children around him, no matter what the cost might be to himself, and some very interesting class discussions could be shared around the rights and responsibilities of individuals versus those of the greater community in school if this was used as a class reader.

With the paperback edition of this not due until May next year, sadly there will be some readers who will have a long wait to enjoy this, although with the hardback publishing on October 7th, I’m sure there will be other lucky individuals receiving this for Christmas. Although the book doesn’t end on a cliffhanger, there are several questions left unanswered at the end of the story and, as I said earlier, I am hoping that there will be a sequel to this to tell us what comes next for Luke and friends. Until then, enormous thanks must go to publisher Hachette Children’s Group and Net Galley for my advance read. A fabulous 5 out of 5 stars.

This was a really original and compelling read that I read in one sitting. It was such a clever and unique idea for a story and is a book that both adults and children can enjoy reading.

I’ve read books about goblins, about fairies, about witches, wizards and werewolves… I’ve read books about ghosts, and books about clouds. Never have I read about, heard of, or even considered the existence of ghostclouds! What a unique and original read this was!

Set in a dystopian future, against the backdrop of many familiar London landmarks, Ghostcloud is a debut to be proud of. Fantasy mixed with adventure, with a side order of steampunk. Protagonists to root for and a villain to despise, this book has something for everyone! It’s action-packed from beginning to end and entirely unpredictable. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC - I look forward to adding this to my classroom bookshelf and very much hope for a sequel!

Phwoar! What a debut! Ghostcloud brought together two of my favourite ingredients in a book – dystopia to die for with a healthy stormcloud of the supernatural. And a villain so cruel, twisted and evil she’s up there alongside my most-hated middle grade characters.

This is a remarkable story of one boy’s fight for freedom against all odds; a soul that burns brightly in the darkness and through the mysterious smog that has a choke-hold on London.

Kidnapped and forced to shovel coal underneath a half-bombed, blackened power station 12-year-old Luke’s life is miserable…

I was absolutely hooked from that first line of the synopsis! Thousands of hidden children shovel coal to the furnaces of Battersea Power Station; instead of luxury appartments, it’s a functioning power plant and it’s overseen by the despicable pipe-smoking tyrant Tabatha Margate.

I absolutely adore how Mann has reimagined the familiar London landscape into a steampunk, alternative reality. After the old war with Europe, only two of the battle-scarred Battersea’s chimneys are operational. The Channel Tunnel stands closed and derelict, the Olympic Stadium dirtied and rotting. East London is flooded and beyond Battersea, lie the slums of South London leading into a toxic wasteland known as The Deadzone.

It’s 2 years since 12 year old Luke became a shoveller; 2 years without any contact with his family; 2 years since he last saw daylight. Hard work is the only way out of the plant and he and fellow inmate Ravi dream of winning an illusive amber ticket to freedom, only awarded to the most efficient of workers. But Margate would give Cruella De Vil a run for her money; her wickedness knows no bounds and torturing children is her favourite pass-time. Without that ticket, the boys’ lives look set to end down there, one way or another.

But in the deserted art-deco corridors of the plant’s eerie East Wing, Luke discovers he can see things others can’t – a ghost girl named Alma. I won’t spoil details of the plot but Alma explains Luke is attuned to the supernatural as he ‘knows death.’ With Alma’s help, Luke learns the terrible truth of why children are being kidnapped and forced to work in the power station and he becomes determined to break out. As the despicable Margate unveils plans to re-open the plant’s third chimney, Luke must race against time to find his freedom.

Sheer desperation drips from every page but Luke is one of those people who sticks at things and his ‘it’s not over ’till it’s over’ attitude’ burns brighter than the coal in the furnaces. He teams up with plumber’s daughter Jess (what she doesn’t know about ventilation shafts isn’t worth knowing!) and as small opportunities present themselves, the plot takes on a thrilling Escape from Alcatraz feel. There’s so many heart in the mouth moments where I was clinging on for dear life with them, willing them to succeed. As supporting characters go, Jess is absolutely bang-on-the-money and there’s a wonderful unlikely feline hero too.

If their plan to stop Margate is to have any chance of success ghostgirl Alma is instrumental, but it transpires she could use some of Luke and Jess’ help along the way too. Alma is roaming London ‘looking for her death’ She explains that when a death is sudden or traumatic, souls often block out what happened and remain trapped. Can they help her find closure?

Luke Smith-Sharma is such a well-drawn protagonist with amazing agency. Half-Indian and now half-ghost, he ‘sometimes he wishes he could be one thing properly’ stemming from Mann’s own childhood experiences which are worked subtly into the story.

Although deliciously dark and dystopian, the ghostcloud scenes above the London skyline and Luke’s memories of life before balance this perfectly, as does Margate’s hapless henchman Terence a constant source of humour throughout.

The plot comes to a blistering climax which I literally read through my fingers with my breath held! But once the coal dust settles, Mann has left a couple of threads conveniently floating like a Ghostcloud on the breeze and I’m keeping everything crossed that the whispers of a possible sequel are true…

Ghostcloud is out on the 7th October, published by Hachette Children’s.

With thanks to Hachette Children’s and Netgalley for approving me to read an advanced e-copy of the book.