Golden & Grey: A Good Day for Haunting (Golden & Grey

Invisible Friend #3

by Louise Arnold

After his triumph over a ghost collector and a doctor who does no good, Tom Golden thinks life is finally...well, golden. Grey Arthur and his ghostly crew have happily settled into their roles as Invisible Friends while Tom has made a new human friend with Pick-Nose Pete.

But when one friendly ghost is overly enthusiastic about his duties, the TV show Exceedingly Haunted Homes of England is called in to investigate. A hysterical fear of ghosts takes over the school, and the Invisible Friends are glad that they witness the chaos unheard and unseen. Too bad that the same cannot be said for the ghosts in the world beyond.

The disappearance of the Crown Jewels in a rather Poltergeist-like manner is trouble enough, but a frightening specter caught on film and a knight seen charging through streets and pedestrians spell trouble. Restoration of the peace between the ghostly and human realms may be too much for one boy to handle, but Tom hopes that the help of Grey Arthur and the Invisible Friends may be just what he needs to track down the cause of this supernatural chaos.

In this third installment to the Golden & Grey series, Louise Arnold takes the reader on an exciting adventure full of Laundry Runs, ancient castles, and the ever dark and dangerous woods.

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens, Middle Grade, Fiction, Paranormal, Childrens Fantasy

336 pages, Paperback

Published September 22, 2009

About the author

Ever since I was a child, I’d dreamed of becoming an author. It was the wish I would always make on the first star of the night, or when blowing out of the birthday cake candles. I kept stacks of notebooks, filled to over flowing with poetry, stories, ideas and doodles, hoping that one day they would make it into print. The first book published, The Invisible Friend, is actually loosely based on a book I wrote when I was 10 for a school competition - a book about a ghost called Boo! who wasn’t very good at being scary, and how he made friends with two girls. Fourteen years later, for another competition (the BBC’s ‘Are You The Next JK Rowling?’) I dusted off that old idea of a lost ghost, and that was how The Invisible Friend came to exist. Funny how things work out, isn’t it?

What else? I’m a chronic daydreamer (something my friends always laugh about), I love cats, I’m a tad messy and a bit of a hoarder, I adore visiting castles, I’m afraid of wasps, I sometimes sleep walk when I’m stressed, and I’m a complete car boot sale addict, always trying to pick up strange new objects that could crop up in my books.

Reviews

[Jennifer Wardrip]

Reviewed by Marta Morrison for TeensReadToo.com

A GOOD DAY FOR HAUNTING is the third book in the GOLDEN & GREY series. It is set in England and can be quite creepy and scary. I didn't read the first two books and at times became lost in the story - but not for long.

Tom Golden is the one human in the world who can see ghosts. After two other adventures, he has a handful of ghostly friends who have made a society of invisible friends. Each ghost has a human who doesn't know they are there and they become their friend, protecting them from harm and making their lives a little more easy.

Things are going well until a psychic comes into their midst. She has a television series where she is the host to explain ghostly happenings across England. They find that there is more about her than meets the eye, and then find a mystery they need to solve or their lives will be changed forever.

I found this book to be funny and a little scary. I teach fifth grade, and most of the students in my classes want scary books. Ones that used to be scary for me in the days of yore aren't very scary anymore due to the media that kids are subjected to now. There are many scary books out there for the middle school readers, especially ones who are struggling a little with their reading skills.

I liked this series. It had some very scary parts and was interesting to read. I am going to purchase the first two for my classroom library and will probably be reading the first one out loud to them next year. I sure hope Ms. Arnold will write some more.

[Sarah Evans]

This is the third volume in the British fantasy series about 11-year-old Tom Golden and his ghostly Invisible Friends. Ghosts in this world have a variety of personalities, inclinations, and talents and Tom, the only human who can see them, helps each find a comfortable existence. But when he gets reports of adults and kids observing supernatural phenomena and even seeing specters, Tom and his friends must find a way to keep the world of ghosts from clashing with the world of mortals. The author’s quirky world is quite creative and readers will enjoy learning about the different types of ghosts, though some may struggle to keep up with the number of characters. Unlike many children’s fantasies, Tom’s parents are present and his struggle with their disbelief in ghosts and his fear of distressing them is at times poignant. The fact that Tom appears to be wiser than even his oldest ghostly companions is odd, but children will likely accept this as part of the charming British humor. Enough references are made to previous books’ plots that this volume can stand alone. Recommended for readers ages 8 to 12.

[Renee]

Tom Golden is the only human that can see ghosts. Tom, his ghost friend Grey Arthur and other ghosts are protecting humans as Invisible Friends at Tom’s school. But after a TV host sees ghosts and other humans begin to see them as well, Tom and his friends must rush to save the balance between the ghostly and human realms. There is some British lingo in the book, but everything made sense. Third in the Golden & Grey series, this book is a fun supernatural adventure.

[Connie]

Let's be clear - if you like the other Golden and Grey books, you'll like this one. And if you didn't, don't bother.

I happen to like this series, so there you go :)

I'm not going to bother recapping everything I've said before, just a note that the school is as dismal as ever and you should be aware of whether or not your kid is up for that. But three books in, I hope you know by now!

[Alicia Vázquez]

This book makes you smile from the beginning to the end, it's easy to read and it also has a big lesson in it : Don't judge anybody.

I also love how they always continue looking for ideas and they never surrender until they reach their objectives. It also has a creative final for the main problem.

[Bo]

This book is about a boy who has an unnatural power of talking to ghosts , and that was only because brain damage. The world is in danger . He has to stop the tow worlds from miking together. He has to search for 3 naive ghosts that are completely unaware of what harm they are causing.

[Heather]

So much fun and so clever. I absolutely love the characters. I'm looking forward to the next installment!

[Brett]

Tom & his ghostly friends are fun to read about, & this book definitely sets up for further adventures.

[Abriel]

The first two books were awesome. I can't wait to read this one.

[Anne Beardsley]

Cute, fun, and nicely put together, just like the others in the series.