After learning about this book in a HarperCollins book preview, I knew I needed to read it. So thank you to HarperCollins and Edelweiss for allowing me to read and review this book. Such a great addition to the middle grade lit world!
Summary:
I am a dark spirit, the ghost announced grandly. I am your inheritance, your grandmother’s legacy. I am yours to command.
Suraya is delighted when her witch grandmother gifts her a pelesit. She names her ghostly companion Pink, and the two quickly become inseparable.
But Suraya doesn’t know that pelesits have a dark side—and when Pink’s shadows threaten to consume them both, they must find enough light to survive . . . before they are both lost to the darkness.
My Thoughts:
The opening few chapters of this book truly hook you in. This is a Malaysian folktale immersed in ghosts, jealousy, and blood. We learn about the pelesit that is gifted to Suraya by her grandmother. Suraya forms a very close-knit bond with the pelesit and names it Pink. Pink always wonders why Suraya doesn’t hang out with any of the kids at school and why she likes to be alone. Evenutally Suraya meets the new kids at school, Jing, and slowly overtime Pink realizes that this was a mistake. Suraya is spending all of her time with Jing and no longer giving attention to him. The more distanced they become the more hateful Pink becomes. He makes cruel things happen to Jing and everything around Suraya. Suraya catches on, and confronts Pink several times. He is to obey her, but his jealous gets the best of him. Suraya learns that it is time that she takes control. She must put an end to their relationship before it becomes deadly. The ending will hurt your heart, but it is so good. I loved this book and I think even though there are some edgier moments in the story that it is still appropriate for middle grade readers ages 8 and up!
About the Author
Ever since graduating with a degree in journalism from Northwestern University, Hanna Alkaf (please see: A note on names) has worked as a copywriter in online B2B marketing, a senior writer at a major fashion & lifestyle magazine, and a communications manager at a non-profit organization in education. She’s written everything from profiles to press releases, from corporate annual reports to long-form investigative
features, from social media posts to email newsletters, and her work has appeared in the Malaysian iterations of Marie Claire, Esquire, Shape, Female, Her World, and more.
Hanna has lived in Malaysia her entire life except for the six years she spent studying and working in and near Chicago. She currently lives near Kuala Lumpur with her husband and two children, and attempts to write books while juggling her never-ending to-do list (this works on some days better than others).
Her critically-acclaimed debut Young Adult novel, THE WEIGHT OF OUR SKY, was published in February 2019 by Salaam Reads, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. Her debut Middle Grade novel, THE GIRL & THE GHOST, was published by HarperCollins in August 2020, and she is also part of the MG anthology ONCE UPON AN EID, released in May 2020.
*Also, because this seems to come up in Internet searches a lot, Hanna was born in 1985.
What is a gripping folktale you’ve read before? I’d love to know! Share with me below!
Xo, Sierra
Books. Iced Lattes. Blessed. 