Algonquin Young Readers | Caught Read Handed

Author: William Ritter

Genre: YA, historical, paranormal

Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers

Publication Date: August 23, 2016

352 pages, hardcover (340 ARC)

Check out the full synopsis on Goodreads.

NOTE: Thank you to Algonquin YR for providing an ARC of Ghostly Echoes at BEA!

Ghostly Echoes was one of the top books I was hoping to get at BEA. I LOVED Jackaby and Beastly Bones, and I could not wait to dive back into New Fiddleham with these characters. I was not disappointed. (And I got to meet William Ritter, which was awesome!)

I absolutely adore these characters and this world so so much. Everything about these books is just…charming. But I think the best part of Ghostly Echoes is that it’s a bit darker than the other two books in the series so far.

The third book in the Jackaby series focuses a lot on Jenny Cavanaugh, the ghostly owner and resident of 926 Augur Lane, and finding out what happened to her all those years ago. She becomes a huge player in this books, and I loved seeing her strong spirit (no pun intended) and attitude. The way that Jenny’s murder, and all of the characters’ pasts play into and connect to the plot really helps you feel drawn into this one.

And, as always, I loved Abigail’s personality and drive. I especially enjoyed learning more about Jackaby’s past, and I’m excited to see more of that in the fourth book – thank goodness for book four!

It’s kind of hard to review this one without any spoilers, especially because it’s book three in the series, so I’ll just say that I could talk about how much I love this series all day, and you should probably just go ahead and read them all.

The bottom line: This is a quick, fun read full of adventure, folklore, mythology, people and creatures, ghosts and possession. Ghostly Echoes –might– have been my favorite Jackaby book, but we’ll have to wait for book four to be sure.

Rating: 9 – practically perfect

Author: William Ritter

Genre: Young adult, historical fiction, fantasy

Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers

Publication Date: September 22, 2015

304 pages, hardcover (291 ARC)

Check out the full synopsis on Goodreads.

Shout out to the wonderful Emma aka Miss Print for being so kind and sending me her ARC.

Brilliant, wonderful, charming, witty, fantastic, fun, entertaining. Basically, think of any good word you want, and it can probably be used to describe Beastly Bones, the follow-up to William Ritter’s debut novel, Jackaby (which I read earlier this year and loved).

I think the best part of this book is how many layers there are; there are so many stories all woven together into one incredible book. Not only do we have the theft of the dinosaur bones, but there’s also a group of shapeshifting kittens, a mysterious monster, a murderer who may or may not be a vampire, and so many other delightful things. Honestly, delightful is one of the best words I can think of to describe Beastly Bones.

Abigail is just as witty and wonderful as in the first book. I love reading her narration – she’s clever and charming. I’m also a big fan of Jackaby; he’s just quirky enough and I know it may turn some people off, but he reminds me so much of Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock, which I totally dig. We also get a few new characters in this one – namely paranormal creature trapper Hudson and nosy but fierce and independent reporter Nellie.

Beastly Bones opens up so many possibilities for future books – YES, THERE’S GOING TO BE MORE – and I loved the little bit of foreshadowing we get for the next book. I will say there were a few instances where I just wanted to yell at the characters because they were taking so long to put it together, but overall, I was completely into the story and I cannot wait for the next one – this is the main problem with reading books that aren’t even out yet. EVEN LONGER TO WAIT.

The bottom line: Three words – GIVE ME MORE! How about four more? Definitely a favorite series.

Rating: 8 – freaking fantastic