Aggie and the Ghost
by Matthew Forsythe; illus. by the author
Primary    Wiseman/Simon    64 pp.
8/25    9781534478206    $19.99
e-book ed.  9781534478213    $10.99

Aggie’s new house is haunted. She’d been excited to live on her own, but now “the ghost followed her everywhere.” Setting rules for it (“No haunting after dark. No stealing my socks. And no more eating all the cheese”) only leads to broken rules. A frustrated Aggie challenges the ghost to a game of tic-tac-toe; if it loses, it will have to move out. The game goes on so long that they forget why they were playing, but more house rules being made and broken leads to the ghost finally disappearing. Is it gone for good? And is that really what Aggie wants? Forsythe (Pokko and the Drum, rev. 1/20; Mina, rev. 1/22) introduces another smart female protagonist who reassesses her needs, learns how to problem solve, and mostly gets what she wants (introverts, the clever ending is for you). The story’s repetition and brief sentences will appeal to beginning readers, the tone is droll and slightly edgy, and the balance between the text’s pace and the spot, single, and double-page-spread art is nicely measured—particularly at page-turns. As for the expressive characters, Aggie’s gnome-like appearance is endearing, with the shapeshifting ghost a whimsical counterpart. Forsythe’s style of aesthetically pleasing textured watercolor, gouache, and colored-pencil illustrations features a soft palette of fall colors, especially fitting for this slightly spooky tale (readers will enjoy spotting the ghost or its eye throughout). ★

From the September/October 2025 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.