Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse (Goth Girl, 1)

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With a nod to Mervyn Peake, the Goth family home is named Ghastly-Gorm Hall. The grounds hold not only the Secret Garden, but also the Even-More-Secret Garden, along with the Unstable Stables, the Dear Deer Park and the Lake of Extremely Coy Carp, all crafted by the renowned garden designer, Metaphorical Smith. Ada Goth lives at Ghastly-Gorm Hall with her father, the famous cycling poet Lord Goth. There are a host of servants, plenty of eccentric house guests and at least half a dozen ghosts, but Ada is lonely. She doesn't have any friends her own age, and Lord Goth believes children should be 'heard and not seen', making her wear clumpy boots so he can always hear her coming.

Goofy, geeky Oscar was absolutely adorable and stole my heart early on. His enthusiasm and passion were infectious and I wanted to watch him as he created the foam weapons of my dreams. Jess was claimed by the state when her bio mom’s mental illness made her unstable. While their relationship is far from traditional, blood ties are hard to break. There’s only one problem: Jess can’t reunite with her mom in New York City without a bunch of paperwork and she worries her social worker will never approve the trip. That’s when she remembers Oscar’s cosplay group, which is aiming for that big convention in New York . . . Content warnings include mention of abuse, bullying, death by suicide, fat shaming, foster care, mental health and neglect. Readers with emetophobia may have trouble with one scene. My favorite character was definitely Barbra, the foster mom, but I can’t tell a lot about her without spoiling the whole story. She is one of the kindest moms I’ve ever read about! Jess is a foster child and already had a lot other foster homes before she got to Barb. In the many years as a foster child she made up rules for herself to not get attached to anyone.Ada Goth lives in the beautifully elaborate Ghastly-Gorm Hall. She shares her home with almost absent father and famous cycling poet, Lord Goth. Ada is content, although she would love to have friends her own age – she's a little bit lonely. That is, until she meets an incredibly talented duo: William and Emily Cabbage. William and Emily are the children of servants, and Ada is honoured to be invited to their secret Attic Club. Together, the children must work to solve the mystery goings-on at Ghastly-Gorm Hall. What is Maltravers – the sinister indoor gamekeeper – doing in his spare time? What is Ishmael's – the ghost mouse who haunts Ada – purpose? And why have so many mythical creatures been captured? Goth Girl introduces us to the comedic characters and beautiful surroundings that Ada and friends come across during their ambitious expedition. Diversity. That's the other thing that I appreciated about this book. The diversity! There is an LGBTQ character, fat MC (and done in a positive way,) neurodiversity. There was so much of it and I soked it all in! Thank you NetGalley, Flux, and Lindsay Zrull for providing this e-ARC for an exchange of honest review! This book is perfect for anyone who has ever felt left out! Goth Girl, Queen of the Universe by Lindsay S. Zrull is a heartwarming YA book about girl who is constantly bullied but who carves out her own niche through her own strength and determination. The story revolves around Jessica, who has bounced from foster home to foster home since she was seven. At school, she's called a witch and bullied for her goth fashion. Meanwhile, online, her followers praise her fashion and make-up skills. One day, a woman messages her claiming to be her biological mother. Will their reunion be everything that she expects?

The characters are suitably Byronic. Mary Shellfish, the distinguished lady novelist, arrives to stay at a house party, accompanied by the poets Molebridge and O'Quincy, who spend dinner arguing over which of them wandered lonely as a cloud. The Lovelace connection is served by Dr Cabbage, an eccentric inventor who has been employed to construct a calculating machine. He has two children: Emily, an aspiring artist, and William, who suffers from "chameleon syndrome" and blends in with his surroundings, whatever they might be. They befriend Ada and aid her in foiling a scurrilous scheme hatched by one of the staff. It’s a slow road for Jess learning to trust. Her biomom is schizophrenic. Jess has been in foster care since age 7 and even though foster mom Barbra seems nice, Jess has been burned before and is hesitant to open herself up to more hurt. This was an incredible read. Starting from the wonderfully designed cover to the meaningful conversations all throughout to the conclusion, Lindsay Zrull has given us something special. Chris has been honoured with an OBE in recognition of his illustration and charity work.Chris lives in Brighton with his family.

Her new foster mom is so cute. She’s trying so hard to give Jess a healthy, happy space and encourage her sewing and creativity. I love it.