Ghostcloud

By: Atiya Irvin-Mitchell

Sometimes a hero’s journey starts in a coal mine, at least that’s the case in Ghostcloud by Michael Mann. Meet Luke Smith-Sharma, a 12-year-boy who has been having a rough time ever since he was kidnapped two years ago. Luke and a group of equally unfortunate and kidnapped kids are stuck in Battersea Power Station providing cheap labor for the evil Tabatha Margate. But their evil mistress promises the kids that if they work hard enough in the mines, she’ll let them go. On the day Luke wants to be the day he’s released his hopes of home are dashed when he helps Jess, the new girl, and they’re both banished to clean the sewers after a mistake.  As you’d imagine, Luke thinks the punishment is the end of any chance he had at being released, but in this tale that balances whimsy with the gloomy Luke learns that sometimes one door closing can mean a far more magical window opening.

The story takes place in a dystopian version of London where if like Luke you’ve have a near death experience you can see ghosts. At least that’s what realized when while he’s being punished with Jess. There he meets Alma, a dead girl who shows him he can temporarily lose his corporeal form and fly over the city. Ghostcloud feels like the literary lovechild of The Hunger Games and Percy Jackson. As a dystopian book, sometimes things get dark, and Mann doesn’t shy away from chances to critique the inequalities that have brought this world’s version of London to such a scary state.  Yet, the tone isn’t so dark that it’d scare off the middle grade audience it’s intended for.

Many reviewers have overserved that sometimes main characters don’t think and operate off pure impulse. Luke is an exception to that often-frustrating trend. As an aspiring detective, his intellect gets him out of as many pinches as his ghost powers do. Furthermore, in his debut novel Mann manages to use just the right amount of humor when things feel grim. Throughout the story the stakes feel real, whilst letting the kids feel like kids who are dealing with a lot, as opposed to jaded adults. As we get deeper into the story and thus deeper into Tabitha’s secrets, there are a few moments where it feels like all is lost. And, yet, even when things feel hopeless there’s always a glimmer of hope.

Between the social commentary and the magic system that doesn’t feel the need to over explain itself, despite a few of the main characters being dead, Ghostcloud is about humanity. When we meet Luke, he objectively has every reason to have lost all hope. Yet he still cares. He still has empathy for the people around him and against all odds he still believes he’ll be reunited with his father. In a world where Luke didn’t possess the aforementioned qualities, he’d never have helped Jess and he’d never know about his ghost powers. Luke might be able to talk to the dead and fly, but Mann makes the boy’s compassion his ultimate superpower.

If you like stories about boy detectives, friendly ghosts and want to read a dystopian novel that isn’t too bleak Ghostcloud might be the best next read for you. Afterall, don’t you wanna know why the wicked Tabatha Margate keeps stealing children?