Ghost Squad

by Claribel A. Ortega

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

A little bit spooky and a whole lot of fun, Ghost Squad is the story of two young girls who accidently cast a spell that stirs evil spirits in their Florida town. With the help of one witchy grandmother and a naughty feline friend, it’s up to the girls to reverse the curse and save the day. This sweet and not-too-scary ghost story is perfect for spooky season — or any season, for that matter.

A New York Times bestseller!

Coco meets Stranger Things with a hint of Ghostbusters in this action-packed supernatural fantasy adventure!

For Lucely Luna, ghosts are more than just the family business.

Shortly before Halloween, Lucely and her best friend, Syd, cast a spell that accidentally awakens malicious spirits, wreaking havoc throughout St. Augustine. Together, they must join forces with Syd's witch grandmother, Babette, and her tubby tabby, Chunk, to fight the haunting head-on and reverse the curse to save the town and Lucely's firefly spirits before it's too late.

With the family dynamics of Coco and action-packed adventure of Ghostbusters, Claribel A. Ortega delivers both a thrillingly spooky and delightfully sweet debut novel.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338280135
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	09/28/2021
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	108,131
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.40(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Claribel A. Ortega, New York Times bestselling author of Ghost Squad and the Witchlings series, and Pura Belpre and Eisner Award-winning author of the graphic novel Frizzy, is a former reporter who writes middle grade and young adult fantasy inspired by her Dominican heritage. When she's not busy turning her obsession with pop culture, magic, and video games into books, she's co-hosting her podcast Bad Author Book Club and coaching authors on how to navigate publishing. Claribel has been featured on BuzzFeed, NPR, Good Morning America, and Deadline. You can find her on social media at @Claribel_Ortega and on her website at claribelortega.com.

Read an Excerpt

LIGHTNING STRUCK, and a brilliant white light bloomed, illuminating the night sky outside Lucely Luna’s bedroom window.

Four hours had passed since her bedtime, but the thunderstorm outside kept her wide-awake.

She'd tried every one of her abuela's tricks—including taking slow, deep breaths while focusing on the warm glow of the fireflies coming from outside her bedroom window—but nothing had worked.

Lucely hugged her knees to her chest, gazing out the window. She counted the seconds between the flash of lightning and clap of thunder, praying that it was still too far away to strike her home.

"One, two, three. . ."

BOOM!

Lucely threw the covers over her head with a shriek.

"Nina," a voice whispered.

Lucely slid the blanket slowly from her face so only her eyes were exposed. The soft glow of one of her firefly family members filled the room.

"Mama?" Lucely asked.

Like water sparkling in the sun’s rays, the firefly transformed before her. The translucent form rippled before becoming whole, solid.

Lucely's grandmother, Mama Teresa, settled onto the bed beside her. Well, her ghost did.

"¿Que te pasa, mi nina?" Mama reached for Lucely's hand. Her touch was soft and warm, just like it had been when she was alive. Her voice always comforted Lucely like fuzzy socks and Dominican hot chocolate.

"I'm scared," Lucely whispered to her abuela.

Mama brushed Lucely's curls out of her eyes and kissed her forehead before beginning to sing softly, her accent thick yet clear as the sound of rain on a metal roof.

"Duermase, mi nina,

"Duermase, mi amor,

"Duermase, pedazo de mi corazon . . ."

Mama's voice wrapped around Lucely like a wool blanket, and before the song had ended, Lucely was drifting away from the storm outside and to a place that was quiet, safe.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Ghost Squad:

A New York Times bestseller

An NPR Best Books of 2020

A Good Morning America Summer Reading Squad pick

Winner of the 2021 Ignyte Award for Best Middle Grade Novel

"Ghost Squad is a charming adventure full of girl power and heart. Young readers will want to be best friends with Lucely, Syd, and Chunk!" -Zoraida Córdova, author of The Way to Rio Luna and the Brooklyn Brujas series

"Ghost Squad manages to be both creepy and heartwarming, fulfilling a need for stories that are both deeply relatable and culturally specific. Highly recommended for kids looking for a spooky read, a whole lot of feelings, and a story they'll not soon forget." -Mark Oshiro, author of Anger is a Gift and The Insiders

"Dark humor, mystical vibes, and pop-culture references abound in this action-packed ghost hunt. Shoutouts to Ghostbusters, Hocus Pocus, The Goonies, and the like crop up continually as debut author Ortega expertly weaves a feel-good, phantasmagorical adventure that readers won't want to miss." -Booklist

"While it's undeniably a ghost story, Lucely's love for her family, both corporeal and spirit, carries the narrative, giving it warmth and depth. A warmly spooky middle-grade debut." -Kirkus Reviews

"A fast-paced adventure rooted in Dominican mythology and packed with action, humor, and originality." -School Library Journal

"A high energy yarn, interwoven with Dominican culture and mythology, that is pleasantly spooky with a Ghostbusters vibe that rarely falters. Readers will appreciate this lively entrée to supernatural literature." -Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Ortega takes Hispanic folk traditions and weaves them into an artful narrative set in modern times. A recommended read for those who like ghostly adventures." -School Library Connection

From the Publisher

★ 03/16/2020

When Dominican-American Lucely Luna, 12, learns that her single father might lose their house, her primary concern is for the myriad ghosts of her family, who inhabit the willow tree out back as fireflies, at least when they’re not manifesting in human form. When her grandmother’s spirit warns her of a coming darkness before falling dormant, Luna and her best friend, Syd Faires, seek to revive Mamá. Borrowing a book of magic from Syd’s grandmother, who owns an occult store, they cast a spell that unleashes malevolent forces upon the town of St. Augustine—one that they must reverse to defeat the evil that seeks to destroy them all. With this delightfully spooky adventure, Ortega draws upon her Dominican heritage to craft a heartwarming story with a strong focus on family genetic and found. A peppering of pop culture references—a nod to Ghostbusters, a clowder of cats named for Goonies characters—add humor, but it’s the personal touches, such as Lucely’s opinionated, ever-present ancestors; her dedication to those she loves; and an emphasis on Latinx food, love, and folklore, that gives this debut its distinctive spirit. Ages 8–12. Agent: Suzie Townsend, New Leaf Literary. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

04/01/2020

Gr 4 Up–Looking for a Halloween read? Look no further. Something strange is happening to Lucely's ghost family of fireflies, known as cocuyos—they are fading away. They tell her that something evil is coming. In an attempt to revive her Mama Teresa, Lucely and her best friend Syd perform a spell to raise the dead, but accidentally awaken old evil spirits that want to revenge against their town. Lucely, Syd, and Syd's grandmother Babette (who is a witch) must undo the curse and save her ghost family. This is a fast-paced adventure rooted in Dominican mythology and packed with action and humor. Readers are pulled into the family's close bond and supernatural world easily, with tender moments like abuela singing Lucely to sleep during a storm and the collective urgency as Lucely feels Mama's spirit quieting. VERDICT Ortega's debut is filled with action, humor, and originality. Lucely and Syd's adventure gives readers paranormal thrills akin to Ghostbusters and the Goonies, from a refreshingly different cultural perspective.—Ruth Guerrier-Pierre, New York Public Library

School Library Journal

Bilingual narrator Almarie Guerra brings Ortega’s humorous ghost-hunting story to life with ease as she introduces listeners to young Lucely Luna and her firefly spirit family. Guerra imbues Lucely’s voice with vibrant notes of determination and curiosity as she and her best friend, Syd—the more skeptical and rebellious of the pair—work to unravel a decades-old mystery that is endangering the Luna family. Throughout the audiobook, listeners meet a variety of characters—from the slick Mayor Anderson to the no-nonsense, magical Babette, all of whom Guerra voices with distinct tones. Offering an authentic glimpse of Dominican folklore and the thrill of ghost hunting, both voiced expertly by Guerra, this audiobook makes for a lighthearted listen. V.T. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

MAY 2020 - AudioFile

Bilingual narrator Almarie Guerra brings Ortega’s humorous ghost-hunting story to life with ease as she introduces listeners to young Lucely Luna and her firefly spirit family. Guerra imbues Lucely’s voice with vibrant notes of determination and curiosity as she and her best friend, Syd—the more skeptical and rebellious of the pair—work to unravel a decades-old mystery that is endangering the Luna family. Throughout the audiobook, listeners meet a variety of characters—from the slick Mayor Anderson to the no-nonsense, magical Babette, all of whom Guerra voices with distinct tones. Offering an authentic glimpse of Dominican folklore and the thrill of ghost hunting, both voiced expertly by Guerra, this audiobook makes for a lighthearted listen. V.T. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

MAY 2020 - AudioFile

2019-12-18
After unwittingly unleashing dead spirits on St. Augustine, Florida, Lucely Luna works to restore the city with the help of friend Syd and the spirits of her family.

Dominican American Lucely Luna lives with her family. Her father, Simon, runs a ghost tour business. The rest of them are deceased but are still very much in her life, their spirits appearing to her as cucuyos, or fireflies. Alarmingly, after one ghost tour, the spirit of Lucely's grandma, Mamá, goes dim. At school, Lucely learns of Las Brujas Moradas, witches who fled Spain during the Inquisition and who were reputed to have a lost spell book. Lucely and her best friend, Syd, decide to look for a spell that can awaken the dead so they can wake Mamá up, so they prowl through the library of Syd's grandmother Babette, who owns an occult shop. When they recite a spell they find there, they accidentally awaken other—evil—spirits of the town. Lucely and Syd join forces with Babette and Lucely's spirit family in the fight to save St. Augustine and Mamá. Lucely's action-packed and ghost-filled adventures unfold briskly, with seamlessly incorporated and unitalicized Spanish. While it's undeniably a ghost story, Lucely's love for her family, both corporeal and spirit, carries the narrative, giving it warmth and depth. Readers will root for Lucely and Syd as they try to save St. Augustine and Lucely's cucuyos. Both girls present black on the cover.

A warmly spooky middle-grade debut. (Fantasy. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews