Teen Review: Ghost Knight

Ghost Knight by Cornelia Funke
Release Date ~ May 1, 2012
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers ~ Hachette
ISBN13: 9780316056144
ARC received from HBG Canada
Goodreads Synopsis:
Eleven-year-old Jon Whitcroft never expected to enjoy boarding school. He never expected to be confronted with a pack of vengeful ghosts, either. And then he meets, Ella, a quirky new friend with a taste for adventure. Together, Jon and Ella must work to uncover the secrets of a centuries-old murder while being haunted by terrifying spirits, their bloodless faces set on revenge. So when Jon summons the ghost of the late knight Longspee for his protection, there's just one question: Can Longspee truly be trusted?
This fantastic original ghost story is also a thrilling tale of bravery and friendship — bound to become a classic!
When I was younger I really liked to read fantasy books set in a medieval era.  This book was an interesting blend of fantasy and contemporary that was actually pretty well done.

1. Jon:
   Jon is one of those boys that is very misunderstood.  He gets into trouble a lot for various reasons, and adults seem to instantaneously hate him.  I liked that he was the narrator of the novel because then we got to see into what he was thinking, and why he did the things he does.  I liked that he was especially interested in being rebellious for the sake of being rebellious, but it was mostly just big misunderstandings.  I also liked how he wasn't perfect.  He says and does some things that are not the best.  He's also the one being rescued most of the time, although that changes a bit near the end of the book.
2. Sir William Longspee:
   Longspee is a ghost that is a knight.  That should be enough to explain it right there, but I'll go into a bit more detail.  Basically Longspee is this awesome knight that's just epic in every way imaginable.  At first, he's painted as this perfect figure that never makes mistakes and always has good morals.  You do get to learn a bit more about his past, which made him the most complex character in the entire book.  He's also very handy with a sword, and constantly wins his battles throughout the book.

I do wish that a bit more character development could've been established in this book, but the main focus is an older, more mature Jon telling this story.  I am glad though that Longspee's character was very well established.  This book could definitely appeal to a lot of people, including an older audience, since some of the scenes in this book were a bit frightening and there was some language in it.  Overall though, I would reccomend this if you like fantasy and contemporary books, then this is the book for you.

Purchase Links

United States	Canada	International
Amazon	Ghost Knight	The Book Depository
Barnes & Noble	Chapters Indigo	Audible (audio book)