Neshama

An eerie, melancholic story of family trauma and healing.

The accessible verse is rich with imagery, with feelings evocatively described, and warm scenes at Bubbe's house mixing with Anna's awareness of ghosts. An atmospheric ghost story for character-driven readers.

A mesmerizing meditation on family, forgiveness, and the freedom to be found in embracing one's truest self.

Sporting combat boots and having dyed the tips of her long hair “universe blue,” Anna Fleischmann looks different from her class’s other sixth graders, but it’s her ability to see ghosts that truly sets her apart. It also angers her scornful father and results in her becoming a target of bullying. Anna draws comfort and strength from writing poems and spending time with beloved paternal grandmother Bubbe Esther. Bubbe sees Anna as a “shayna neshama/ a beautiful soul,” just like her late daughter, Ruthie, who died at age 11. After an incident at school lands Anna in the principal’s office, the girl retreats to Bubbe’s home in Gloucester, Mass., for Shabbos—where she encounters the jealous ghost of Ruthie. Ruthie demands that Anna give her “permission/ to come inside your body/ and finish what I started,” in return promising to help her stand up to her father and cruel classmates. In verse that alternates nimbly between Anna’s thoughtful first-person narrative and Ruthie’s fierce interjections, Pixley (Trowbridge Road) illustrates concrete earthly experiences alongside a more diaphanous ghostly world. Characters read as white. Ages 10–up.

Copyright 2025 Publisher’s Weekly, LLC Used with permission

A unique ghost story that may have been better served in a different format.