Ghost Knight by Cornelia Funke
Ghost Knight
by Cornelia Funke
(Audio)
I fell so hard in love with Funke's Inkheart series. And while I've enjoyed other books of hers, nothing has has quite as much magic for me.
This book had two Harry Potter references at the beginning AND part of it takes place in Lacock Abbey, a place I visited last year during my trip to the UK. So right off the bat, this book had a lot of significance for me.
It's about a boy, Jon, who is sent to boarding school only to find out the the historic place he's been sent is full of ghosts--one of which has a personal vendetta against Jon's family! He meets Ella, a spunky, kind, gorgeous girl who seems to know more about ghosts than most people and wants to help him. Help comes in the form of a ghost knight, Longspee. Longspee protects him, but has a dark history all his own.
This was a light, fun book. Jon is the sort of witty character I instantly liked (he calls the man he hates who is dating his mother "The Beard" because he has an unruly beard). Jon and Ella were a great, adventurous pair. I loved the mix of honor and morals and old school culture. Dealing with ghosts is like reverse time travel--some of the old coming into current day. And I loved that there were so many different ghosts in the book--some mean, some noble, some self-centered, some trouble--just like there are different people in the world. I also like all the little surprises with Jon's personal life that jumped into the plot when I least expected it. Cleverly written and lots of fun.
There was also an afterward read by the author herself. It was great to hear her voice telling me about what parts of the story she made up and what parts she heavily researched.