Not Quite a Ghost

Named one of the Best Books of 2024 by the Chicago Public Library, New York Public Library, and NPR!

From the award-winning author of The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy comes an unforgettable and deeply personal story of the ghosts that surround us—and the ones we carry inside.

The house seemed to sit apart from the others on Katydid Street, silent and alone, like it didn’t fit among them. For Violet Hart—whose family is about to move into the house on Katydid Street—very little felt like it fit anymore. Like their old home, suddenly too small since her mother remarried and the new baby arrived. Or Violet’s group of friends, which, since they started middle school, isn’t enough for Violet’s best friend, Paige. Everything seemed to be changing at once. But sometimes, Violet tells herself, change is okay.

That is, until Violet sees her new room. The attic bedroom in their new house is shadowy, creaky, and wrapped in old yellow wallpaper covered with a faded tangle of twisting vines and sickly flowers. And then, after moving in, Violet falls ill—and does not get better. As days turn into weeks without any improvement, her family growing more confused and her friends wondering if she’s really sick at all, she finds herself spending more time alone in the room with the yellow wallpaper, the shadows moving in the corners, wrapping themselves around her at night. 

And soon, Violet starts to suspect that she might not be alone in the room at all.

• A Middle Grade Ghost Story: Is the sickness real, or is the house making her sick? Violet must uncover the truth before she fades away completely.
• Friendship Drama: As Violet gets sicker, her friends, Paige and Ally, start to pull away, leaving her more alone than ever just when she needs them most.
• The Yellow Wallpaper: A chilling nod to the classic tale, where the twisting patterns on the wall seem to hide a terrifying secret—and a figure that moves when no one is looking.
• A Haunting Mystery: With no help from doctors, Violet realizes the key to what's wrong with her might be hidden within the walls of her new attic room.