The Boy Who Could Fly

The Ghosts of Nameless Island #2

by Carly Anne West, Teo Skaffa (artist)

Gus Greenburg can see ghosts. In this spine-tingling sequel to The Ghosts of Nameless Island, bestselling author Carly Anne West takes readers on a pulse-pounding, blood-curdling journey to a circus from the past to unravel the mystery of a malevolent spirit that’s fighting to survive.
 

“Along with this classically atmospheric setting and scary thumps and other noises aplenty, West treats readers to multiple specters that are even more rousingly hideous in her descriptions than in Skaffa’s spiky, stylishly grotesque monochrome scenes and spot art . . . Hints of dark doings in the island’s past also emerge before this trilogy opener ends with a sudden and terrifying cliffhanger . . . All the shivery feels, escalating to the nightmarish in spots.”— Kirkus Reviews , for  The Ghosts of Nameless Island

“Join author Carly Anne West on Nameless Island for a haunting, spine-tingling mystery that will leave you on the edge of your seat! The Ghost of Nameless Island is an  illustrated tale of hidden rats, mystery ghosts, and reality TV that is sure to lift your spirits.”—Terrance Crawford, bestselling author of the Piggy series, for  The Ghosts of Nameless Island

Picking right up from the spine-tingling cliffhanger of The Ghosts of Nameless Vol. 1, Gus finds himself on the brink of peril, with the Broken Boy’s icy grip tightening around his throat. But just when hope seems lost, his black cat, Cat (named after Catherine the Great, of course) intervenes, breaking the lethal hold and saving Gus from certain doom. Unfortunately, the Broken Boy still has Gus’s lucky penny that protects him from hauntings, and his sole connection to his missing father.

Just as the new school year begins, Gus and his friends, Miles and Tavi, must unravel the new clues that have emerged about the Broken Boy. But with Gus’s penny lost, he isn’t safe from ghosts, and the stakes have never been higher—especially when they discover a new ghost living at Gus’s home of Rotham Manor. And this one was . . . part of a circus?!

Will Gus and his friends uncover the real identity of the ghosts before they strike again? Or will the ghost's sinister plan succeed?

Only one way to find out. . . .

The Ghosts of Nameless The Boy Who Could Fly is the second book in a new trilogy from bestselling author Carly Anne West. Featuring black-and-white spot illustrations throughout, this book is infused with Carly Anne West's signature wit and humor and spooky enough for fans of Claribel Ortega's Ghost Squad, Scott Cawthon's Five Night's at Freddy's, and Carly's own Hello Neighbor series.

320 pages, Hardcover

Published July 22, 2025

About the author

Carly Anne West is the author of several works of spooky fiction for readers of all ages, with titles including The Murmurings and The Bargaining (Simon Pulse), and The Ghosts of Nameless Island (Andrews McMeel). Her works also include the Hello Neighbor series (Scholastic), based on the fan favorite video game, as well as contributions to the NYT Bestselling Five Nights at Freddy's literary universe (Scholastic), based on the wildly popular video game of the same name. Carly holds an MFA in English and Writing from Mills College and lives in Seoul, Korea with her family.

Reviews

[Bexa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book one had such a hook that it terrified me to keep reading, and unfortunately this one fell a little flat. I still enjoyed it, but I think my issue is that it spent too much time on the renovations of the house rather than the ghost stories, so it wasn't as spooky as the first book. This book was about getting to know the relationships between characters better, and while that's important, it often felt like the need to figure out the ghost problem was second to everything else.

Still a good story, great illustration, and I am looking forward to book three as I really want to know what's going on with Gus's dad.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to come closer to release date