I loved The Weight of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf, but because I don’t follow authors or new releases, I didn’t know that she wrote a second book until Em @ A Geeky Jock reviewed it! Obviously, as soon as I heard of The Girl and the Ghost, I put it on my TBR list.

Although completely different in tone, setting, and general plot direction to You Let Me In, I thought of that book when I started The Girl and the Ghost because this Ghost (Pink), requires blood, like Pepper-Man in You Let Him In. And although Pink has a chaotic-evil side, like Pepper-Man and the rest of the fairies, he’s actually a pretty nice ghost overall.

After Pink’s master, the witch, dies, Pink seeks out her descendants so that he can bind himself to them, since he is a pelesit and needs a master. He finds the granddaughter of the witch, Suraya, and the two end up becoming friends. But everything changes when Suraya meets Jing Wei, a new girl in school, and actually makes friends with another human being. Suddenly, Pink is starting to feel left out and that is not a good thing.

So, let’s talk about setting. This book is set in Malaysia and I loved it! I can’t say I’m wholly familiar with this setting, because working in Malaysia is very different from growing up in Malaysia, but it’s great to see a familiar non-exoticised Malaysia. The setting felt completely natural and I loved everything about it (even the way Jing Wei spoke, because that is how my colleagues speak to me too).

The plot of the story was great too! I think things picked up steam in the latter half, when Suraya, Jing Wei, and Pink tried to put him to rest, but I also liked that the author spent time establishing their relationships so that the fast-paced section of the book felt natural. The book didn’t need to focus on developing the friendships between Suraya and Jing Wei or Suraya and Pink once they started hunting for the place where Pink was made because that was established.

And can I just say that the ending was amazing? I expected some things, but I did not anticipate one of the key revelations that were made! And even though it was a complete surprise to me, it also felt right and made me cry a little bit.

Although I think that The Weight of Our Sky has a bit more emotional heft because it dealt with a much more difficult topic, The Girl and the Ghost is another winner from Hanna Alkaf. This is a story with a lot of heart and I would recommend it for anyone looking for stories about friendships or stories set in Malaysia.