The Ghost of Grania O’Malley

Michael Morpurgo's The Ghost of Grania O'Malley is a spooky island adventure for 11 year olds about a girl who refuses to be left behind.

What happens

Jessie lives on Clare Island in County Mayo, Ireland. She's ten, she has cerebral palsy (her "lousy palsy", she calls it) and her legs won't always do what she tells them. When her whole school climbed the Big Hill on a nature walk, the head teacher left Jessie down on the beach collecting shells.

So she's been trying to climb it on her own, in secret, with her mum's donkey Mole for company. So far she's failed every time. Then one misty morning she falls, bangs her head and hears a voice. A woman's voice, telling her to stop feeling sorry for herself and get up.

At the top, in a spring-fed pool, there's a gold earring waiting for her.

The voice has plans for Jessie. So does everyone else on the island. A rich man wants to cut the top off the Big Hill to get at the gold inside it, and Jessie's mum and dad are on opposite sides of the argument. On top of all that, her American cousin Jack has arrived for the whole summer, and Jessie has decided she will NOT like him.

This is Morpurgo at his warmest. The ghost is bossy and funny, with very strong opinions about handkerchiefs. Jessie is brilliant company too. She tells fibs, loses her temper and never, ever gives up.

The spooky bits are shivery rather than scary. A cold bedroom, a face in the mirror, a voice nobody else can hear. The hardest part to read is actually how Jessie gets treated at school. Her teacher tells her that her handwriting looks like "a demented spider". If your child has ever felt underestimated, that might sting a little. It's also what makes the climb feel so good.

If you've got a reader who loves a wild setting and a hero who's tougher than anyone thinks, this is a great pick.

What to read next

For another Morpurgo island where a child feels watched, try Kensuke's Kingdom. Michael washes up on a beach with only his dog Stella for company, and senses a thousand eyes on him from the trees.