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116th out of 135 books
—
203 voters
Ghoulish Song (Zombay #2)
A brave girl flees a ghoul while trying to save her town in this lively, fast-paced companion to National Book Award winner Goblin Secrets.Kaile lives in Zombay, an astonishing city where goblins walk the streets and witches work their charms and curses. Kaile wants to be a musician and is delighted when a goblin gives her a flute carved out of bone. But the flute’s single...more
Hardcover, 176 pages
Published
March 5th 2013
by Margaret K. McElderry Books
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William Alexander’s, Ghoulish Song, is a fascinating middle grades book with enough adventure to satisfy any adult. What I love about this book so much is that it isn’t necessary to read the first story in this series to understand what is going on. Although I did read the first book in this series, I just enjoyed this one more! Kaile’s story is a wonderful one and following her adventures leaves me incredibly worn out. Kaile dreams of becoming a great musician just like her Grandfather, but her...more
Kaile lives in a world that is half medieval and have steam punk. She works in the family pub and bakery doing her best to help and still be a feisty young girl. She loves her family, even the little brother she calls Snotfish. When she is given a strange flute that only plays one song, Kaile blames the goblin who gave her the flute for all her troubles. She begins a journey to learn the origins of the flute, how to return to her family, and along the way discovers her own surprising destiny.
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William Alexander's Ghoulish Song is a short read and an adventurous, magical tale. Though technically the companion to Goblin Secrets, in which readers are first introduced to the city of Zombay, it isn't necessary to read this previous offering to enjoy Kaile's story.
Kaile dreams of being a musician and following in the steps of her grandfather, who recently passed away. In Zombay, music is magic that musicians use to protect the city and its inhabitants. Kaile often refers to stories and advi...more
Kaile dreams of being a musician and following in the steps of her grandfather, who recently passed away. In Zombay, music is magic that musicians use to protect the city and its inhabitants. Kaile often refers to stories and advi...more
I think I liked Ghoulish Song better than Goblin Secrets, although I don't think I would have appreciated it nearly as much without reading Goblin Secrets first.
Do you have to read Goblin Secrets first?
No - although if you do the world of Zombay will feel familiar, and there are a few extra connections you will make as a reader.
Ghoulish Song can definitely stand on its own as as a fabulous fantasy novel/
William Alexander said that the working titles for the books were #1) The Masks of Zombay, an...more
Do you have to read Goblin Secrets first?
No - although if you do the world of Zombay will feel familiar, and there are a few extra connections you will make as a reader.
Ghoulish Song can definitely stand on its own as as a fabulous fantasy novel/
William Alexander said that the working titles for the books were #1) The Masks of Zombay, an...more
At first, I didn't think I was going to like this book. But after a few chapters I was hooked into the story which is about Kaile, a young girl who losed her shadow after playing a tune on a flute made out bone. Kaile is now thought to be "dead" since she no longer has a shadow. Her parents even hold a funeral for her even though Kaile is still breathing and talking. The rest of the story involves Kaile trying to get her shadow back. She has to deal with ghouls, zombies and other creatures. This...more
Ghoulish Song is a companion to Goblin Secrets, one really couldn't call it a sequel. The story takes place in the same city, Zombay, as Goblin Secrets, and at about the same time.
Kaile is the daughter of the finest baker in all of Southside. She lives and works in the bakery, her mom, the finest baker, has little time for songs, Kaile's passion. After inviting a troupe of Goblins to play in their public room everything goes wrong. Kaile looses her shadow and is exiled from her house. They don'...more
Kaile is the daughter of the finest baker in all of Southside. She lives and works in the bakery, her mom, the finest baker, has little time for songs, Kaile's passion. After inviting a troupe of Goblins to play in their public room everything goes wrong. Kaile looses her shadow and is exiled from her house. They don'...more
Ghoulish Song is a companion book to the award-winning Goblin Secrets. Perfect for young readers who love music or the macabre, Ghoulish Song breaks a young musician’s tie to her own shadow when she is given a mysterious gift. Cast out from her home, Kaile and her shadow must put together the puzzle of her flute’s origins before the floods come and wash away her ties to her previous life. Ghoulish Song invites you into a richly crafted world, and leaves you watching carefully for where your own...more
Recommended for grades 4 and up.
It’s always a pleasure to discover a fresh new voice in children’s fiction–in my case it’s especially delightful when it’s a new voice in fantasy. There’s a lot of fantasy out there, and a lot of it takes the same story ideas, the same tropes and cliches and it makes for a lot of stories that can’t get me excited or interested because I’ve heard them already. So when authors like William Alexander come along and throw me into their vividly imagined urban landscape...more
It’s always a pleasure to discover a fresh new voice in children’s fiction–in my case it’s especially delightful when it’s a new voice in fantasy. There’s a lot of fantasy out there, and a lot of it takes the same story ideas, the same tropes and cliches and it makes for a lot of stories that can’t get me excited or interested because I’ve heard them already. So when authors like William Alexander come along and throw me into their vividly imagined urban landscape...more
I agree with another reviewer who said that she liked this even better than Goblin Secrets but would, perhaps, not have appreciated it as much if she hadn't read Goblin secrets. It's as if W. Alexander created a world in the first book and now we can have adventures in it. I loved the relationship between Kaile and Shade, but I missed masks and more goblins. I'm eager for MORE!
Really loved this book. It's an excellent light fantasy read that kept my attention from beginning to end. Some moments in the story definitely verge on creepy, being slightly reminiscent of Coraline, but overall the story reads as a wonderfully exciting mystery/adventure. Added bonus? William Alexander has a wonderful writing style -- making me fall in love not only with the heroin, but the strange, lyrical world she inhabits.
I have high hopes for the world Alexander has created in his Zombay series. Loved the first book, Goblin Secrets. Not as crazy for this book, but I still enjoyed it. Ghoulish Song felt like a stopover on the way to Book #3 and not a complete entity of its own.
I read this book aloud to my 9-year-old daughter because she loved Goblin Secrets. I enjoyed this book very much. William Alexander weaves quite an interesting world and we did find tie-ins to the other book, even though this one stood well enough on its own. Ironically, while I think I enjoyed this book more than Goblin Secrets, my daughter had the opposite feelings.
I was enchanted by this tale of music and goblins and things that go clank/hiss/geary in the night. Alexander brings in characters from his first book, but he introduces a spunky heroine with the gift of music. Don't miss!!!
Just right. Just the right amount of spooky and adventure and beauty and sadness without being over-the-top. And just the right length.
Fascinated by shadow severing and how someone could be dead to people without actually being dead.
This quick read is set in the magical world first introduced in Goblin Secrets and is a worthy successor. Reminds me of Diana Wynne JOnes's Dalemark Quartet, which is high praise indeed.
May 21, 2013
Karrie
marked it as to-read
May 20, 2013
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William Alexander studied theater and folklore at Oberlin College and English at the University of Vermont. He currently lives, writes, and teaches in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His short stories have been published in many magazines and anthologies, including Weird Tales, Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, Interfictions 2, and Fantasy: The Best of the Year 2008.
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