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Freja arrives in Singapore during the month of the hungry ghost, when old spirits are said to roam the streets. She's struggling to settle into her dad's new, 'happy' family, and dreams only of escaping home and leaving this hot, unfamiliar city.
Then one night, a mysterious girl in a white dress appears in the garden. Freja follows this figure to lush, secretive corners of the city, seeking to understand the girl's identity. Her search will lead her to an old family mystery - one that must be unravelled before the month is over, to allow both girls to be freed from the secrets of the past.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
September 21, 2021 -
Formats
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781782692706
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781782692706
- File size: 1187 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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July 15, 2021
Newly arrived in Singapore from Denmark, a girl meets a hungry ghost who may be connected to her own family. Twelve-year-old Freja's mother hasn't been well, so Freja moves in for a year with her father and stepmother in Singapore. Freja isn't certain she wants to be a part of her father's new family, complete with twin toddler brothers. Then she meets a strange girl wearing white who keeps disappearing into the nearby Chinese cemetery. Could the girl be a ghost? And if so, why is she attracted to Freja's family? As Freja is drawn into a supernatural world of Singaporean ghosts and spirits, she uncovers deeply buried secrets in a narrative that explores family, trauma, and memory. Freja's father is English, her mother is Danish, and her stepmother is English and Hong Kong Chinese. The friends she makes in school are also mostly mixed-race and third culture kids, with the exception of a Singaporean Chinese girl and a boy of Chinese and German ancestry, raised by his Singaporean grandmother, who serve as Chinese cultural informants for Freja. Freja's struggles adjusting to her family's changing dynamics and coping with her mother's mental illness and her own past traumas are compelling. The ghost's past, rooted in Singapore's history, however, is not dealt with in as much depth, with some past and present power differentials left underexamined. Explores lost family histories and expat life, with a taste of Singaporean myth and folk tradition. (glossary) (Paranormal. 8-12)COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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