Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse

A wonderful book for young readers that poke fun at the gothic literature of Ms.Radcliffes time. The artwork is imagination and adds to the storytelling. Highly recommended.

The story is fun and silly and can be enjoyed by adults and kids. Physically the book is a beauty--the inside covers, the paper edges, the cover and the illustrations are rich and a joy to hold. I purchase a lot of kindle books but this is a paper book that I will keep and enjoy for years.

What a great book with pleasing illustrations. I love Chris Riddell's style and storytelling.

Cute, imaginative and different like all of Chris Riddell's shorter books.

My eight-year-old daughter, who was already a fan of Ridell's beautiful illustrations from Neil Gaiman's "The Sleeper and the Spindle", loved this book. So did I. The story is charming, funny, sharp, never condescending. Grownups will appreciate the densely laid literary puns -- a mouse named Ishmael and a visit from the author Mary Shellfish are but two. Ada Goth is a smart, empowered girl protagonist. Great, silly, smart fun.

Although kids will enjoy the copious illustrations and the free-spirited heroine of this book, I really think adults will get even more enjoyment out of it. Adults (with historical or/and literary bents) will find lots of subtle and not-so-subtle digs in the portrayals of the numerous characters that are introduced herein. I really love the illustrations: masterful pen and ink bits that help one identify those “digs”. Visual puns, if you will. This book (and its successors) are not so much comic coming-of-age stories, as they are a gradual move from dysfunction to functionality within this comical community.

Very cleaver story with artistic illustrations, it was pleasure to read to my daughter.

Excellent quality hardcover book, durability will last a lifetime. Storyline and illustration are spectacular for young and old readers alike.

Ich habe das Kinder- bzw. Jugendbuch schnell durchgelesen. Und ich bin so begeistert, dass ich inzwischen beim dritten Band bin. Es geht aber auch schnell, weil es gibt viele Illustrationen, auch ganzseitige, deswegen reduziert sich der Text etwas. Zur Story nur so viel: Ada lebt nach dem Tode ihrer Mutter alleine mit ihrem Vater (also neben zahlreichen Hausgehilfen) in einem großen englischen Landsitz zu Beginn des 19. Jahrhunderts. Und es tauchen zahlreiche berühmte Gäste dort auf. Ada muss zuerst die Distanz zu ihrem Vater überwinden, der sich nach dem Unfalltod seiner Frau komplett in die Poesie zurückgezogen hat. Fazit: Ich bin total begeistert von dem britischen Humor und auch von der Geschichte. Allerdings ist es kein Kinderbuch. Wohl so ab der Pubertät, weil eben das Verhältnis zum Vater schon ganz zentral ist für Ada. Freundschaften sind dann auch ganz wichtig.

Another winner from Chris.

What an utterly delightful book. I read this to my 3 children over the space of a week. It was bought for it's beautiful illustrations and engaging title for my 7 year old daughter (who does not want to be a princess or a mermaid) and is still ever so slightly too much for her to read. However my 9 and 12 year olds were also completely sucked into the story and there was much jostling as to who could see the pictures at any one time. Gripping story, with many literary references for the grown up reader to amuse, and side ramblings that had everyone laughing. We all loved it so much that I went straight out and bought another. These are beautiful on the shelf and I can see them becoming much loved family favourites.

Imagination - check. Interesting setting - check. Some humour - check. Beautiful illustrations - check. But the characters don't hold my attention or my heart. There are too many of them introduced in a short space and many have absolutely strange and curious features including names, and you think something interesting will happen or they will have something memorable to say or do - nothing (yet; and I'm more than 2/3rd through the book). I don't get immersed in their world either. Plus there are language errors! And this is an original edition. I appreciate Riddell's illustration skills very much though.

Auch in Goth Girl liefert Riddell wieder ab, wofür er mit den Ottoline-Büchern bekannt geworden ist: schöne Illustrationen, amüsante Wortspiele, literarische Bezüge und eine skurrile Geschichte, wobei die Story diesmal etwas umfangreicher ausgefallen ist. Auf den englischen Seiten wird debattiert, wer eigentlich die Zielgruppe dieses Buches sei, ob es nicht zu anspruchsvoll für Kinder wäre, all die Anspielungen usw. (Gormenghast, Moby Dick, Gothic Novels etc.). Ja, stimmt, dies ist nicht einfach ein Kinderbuch, man kann es als Jugendlicher und jung gebliebener Erwachsener, als Grufti jeden Alters, genausogut lesen. Auch die Gesamtgestaltung des Bandes ist wieder sehr gelungen, mit Lesebändchen und allen Schikanen, darunter ein Mini-Buch mit den Memoiren der Maus. Süß! Am besten gleich auf Englisch lesen. Wer weiß, ob es überhaupt übersetzt wird. Der letzte Ottoline-Band kam auch nicht auf deutsch.