Book Review: The Ghost in the Gardens; A Flower Girl Mystery by HL Carpenter…

If you enjoy stories filled with intrigue, mystery, and a dash of the supernatural, then HL Carpenter’s The Ghost in the Gardens about a ten year old girl trying to ignore an intrusive ghost haunting her while attempting to find a rare orchid without trying to get killed may be just up your alley.

So what’s my take on a story that’s all about a determined tween girl trying to solve the mystery of her teacher’s disappearance and discover a rare orchid? This is what I posted on Amazon and Goodreads…

A 4 Star Bouquet of Flowers for The Ghost in the Gardens…

A perfect read for middle graders who are drawn to ghosts, mystery, and anything that goes bump in the night, or in this case, the garden. I found this well-written story filled with enough conflict to keep it going and growing (pun intended) with plenty of cliffhangers at the end of each chapter.

Chrysantha Howe dreams of being a botanist when she grows up, and is true to her nature with her knowledge of plants and flowers. Haunted from the get-go by a pesky ghost while searching for the illusive Coralroot orchid doesn’t deter the resilient tween. Chrys, her best friend, and a boy dubbed ‘the Nuisance’ face many obstacles and dangers throughout the book while learning to work together as a team to bring justice to their small town community.

In a nutshell, HL Carpenter works her storytelling magic, and is not afraid of getting her hands dirty from the very first chapter!

About the Book:

 Until the first spooky visit, ten year old Chrysantha Howe doesn't think about ghosts. She thinks about plants.

 

All.

 

The.

 

Time.

 

She has her future planned out, and that future includes plants. Chrys is going to be a plant scientist like her uncle and her favorite teacher, and she's determined to find the very rare Coralroot orchid.

The ghost is not in the plan.

But when her teacher disappears and the police suspect her uncle was involved, Chrys has to figure out what the ghost is trying to tell her—before it's too late.

Read an Excerpt:

I tugged Barkley's ear and picked up one of the quarter-size flat stones scattered beside the path. I tossed the stone into the deep end of the Water Garden pond.

Barkley scrambled to the bank, then yipped and jumped back, almost jerking the leash from my hand. The ruff on his neck rose straight up. He stared at the pond, his lips curled, his teeth bared.

I gripped the red plastic leash more tightly.

The ghost liked water.

Barkley growled.

In the pond, twin black shafts of water shifted into the wavy outline of feminine eyes. Pale lips, reed-thin and white as unearthed slugs, parted. The lips tried to form a word. A gurgle rose from the depths like a deep sigh.

"Daaaaay...daaaay..."

Bubbles roiled the surface of the water.

Barkley growled again. Then he barked, as if to prove the ghost hadn't silenced him.

I tried to speak, to ask the ghost what she wanted. My tongue clung to the roof of my mouth. My lips moved in a quivery jiggle as if I were silently whistling. But I could not force out a sound, much less a whole question.

Maybe if I could think a question, the ghost and I could communicate. Maybe she didn't need actual words to hear me and to answer.

I tipped forward. My glasses slipped down my nose. I wanted to ask her...something...something...important...

What would touching her feel like?

I stretched out my hand.

The buzz of a bee snapped me out of my trance. I scrambled back as the edge of the bank crumbled under my foot. The ghost vanished.

 

I had the future planned out.

 

The ghost was not in the plan.

 

After the first visit, I still didn't really believe in ghosts. But when she came back the second time, I had to change my mind. I hadn't been dreaming and I wasn't crazy. The only other alternative was: I had seen a ghost.

 

I started researching ghost visitations. What made them stick around in this world? How did they choose who to haunt? Why had no one ever caught a legitimate sighting on video or made a recording?

 

Mostly what I learned was that people argued a lot about whether ghosts existed. People who believed in ghosts liked other people who believed in ghosts. People who didn't believe in ghosts thought people who did were crazy.

 

I was not crazy.

 

Finding out the answers to my questions about ghosts should have been easy. I had my own personal ghost to ask. But every time she visited me, I couldn't say a word. My thoughts got all tangled and my breath stuck in my throat and I got dizzy. Having my own personal ghost was not helpful. The visits were...creepy. Like are-you-here-because-I'm-going-to-die creepy. Maybe the creep factor was why no one had ever documented a ghost.

 

I shivered, though I hadn't seen the ghost in hours and cheerful sunlight warmed the early June morning. The Water Garden, a magical green fairyland of trickling streams and arched bridges, closed in around me. Shadows shifted. Bushes rustled.

 

I'd never seen a ghost before, not even when my dad died. Why had one decided to haunt me now?

 

"Just lucky, I guess," I said. "What do you think, Barkley?"

 

My long-legged Schnauzer scratched his ear with his hind foot.

 

"That's what I think too."

 

I tugged Barkley's ear and picked up one of the quarter-size flat stones scattered beside the path. I tossed the stone into the deep end of the Water Garden pond.

 

Barkley scrambled to the bank, then yipped and jumped back, almost jerking the leash from my hand. The ruff on his neck rose straight up. He stared at the pond, his lips curled, his teeth bared.

 

I gripped the red plastic leash more tightly.

The ghost liked water.

 

Barkley growled.

 

In the pond, twin black shafts of water shifted into the wavy outline of feminine eyes. Pale lips, reed-thin and white as unearthed slugs, parted. The lips tried to form a word. A gurgle rose from the depths like a deep sigh.

 

"Daaaaay...daaaay..."

 

Bubbles roiled the surface of the water.

 

Barkley growled again. Then he barked, as if to prove the ghost hadn't silenced him.

 

I tried to speak, to ask the ghost what she wanted. My tongue clung to the roof of my mouth. My lips moved in a quivery jiggle as if I were silently whistling. But I could not force out a sound, much less a whole question.

 

Maybe if I could think a question, the ghost and I could communicate. Maybe she didn't need actual words to hear me and to answer.

 

I tipped forward. My glasses slipped down my nose. I wanted to ask her...something...something...important...

 

What would touching her feel like?

 

I stretched out my hand.

 

Book Details:

 

Genre: Middle Grade Paranormal Mystery

Page Count: 152 pages

 

Publisher: Mirror World Publishing (http://www.mirrorworldpublishing.com/)

 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40072894-the-ghost-in-the-gardens

 

Order Links:

 

Mirror World Publishing:  Ebook  Paperback

Amazon

Special Note: Due to unforeseen circumstances, The Ghost in the Gardens will only be available for purchase until the end of December 2020, and then it will be removed from both virtual and physical book shelves forever.

Meet the Author:

Florida-based mother/daughter author duo HL Carpenter writes family-friendly fiction. The Carpenters
write from their studios in Carpenter Country, a magical place that, like their stories, is unreal but not untrue. When they’re not writing, the Carpenters enjoy exploring the Land of What-If and practicing the fine art of Curiosity.

 

Connect with HL Carpenter:

 

Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5820921.H_L_Carpenter