A Girl Called Corpse by Reece Carter is a magical tale of a young ghost who must draw on every ounce of courage to defeat the evil witches and escape the rock-that-doesn’t-exist to find out who she was and where she belonged.
Corpse is the most endearing character and I couldn’t help but cheer her on. She lives in the attic of the witches hut and with the bits of magic she has picked up from the witches she has made herself a body from wax, seaweed and shells from the beach.
Her best friend is a huntsman spider and together they will face insurmountable danger, cruel witches, a sea monster and a scheming merchant. She is not always brave but she knows she has to be strong to succeed.
Reece Carter has created a fantastically imagined world with a delightful and spirited (pun intended) main character.
Perfectly crafted for the middle grade audience A Girl Called Corpse is jam-packed with danger, adventure, breath holding suspense, magical battles and a touch of ghostly humour. I was totally engaged throughout the entire book!
I enjoyed Corpse’s growth throughout the novel. She learnt a lot about friendship and the magic of love. I eagerly await her next adventure!
A selection of our Beauty and Lace club members are reading A Girl Called Corpse by Reece Carter. Read their comments below, or add your own review.
A Girl Called Corpse by Reece Carter (Allen & Unwin) is a children’s adventure story with a kooky and spooky twist.
The protagonist is Corpse a lonely child ghost who is made from wax, with seaweed hair and abalone eyes, and who longs to find out who she was and where she came from. Her best friend and companion is Simon the spider. Together this unlikely duo are trapped in a witches lair on a small island rock.
It is only through a mysterious friend and Corpse’s clever observations of how witches use magic that they finally escape to the mainland and set out on a journey to recover Corpse’s memories.
Along the way Corpse and Simon battle sea monsters and witches, encounter fleshies and other ghosts as well as the scary Merchant of the Ungeneral store.
This story talks about death and loss and the unfairness of it all with candid innocence. It touches on friendship, family and the importance of having a brave spirit … All set amongst an eerie world of creepy witches, strange sea monsters, terrifying ghouls and sinister magic.
Despite its spooky content, this book is a real charmer, and with its dark fantasy vibe, is likely to appeal to many young readers.
Despite the title, this children’s novel isn’t morbid or depressing, although it certainly has sad moments. I would have no hesitation handing it to the young readers it is aimed at.
Corpse is a ghost. When she died, she lost not only her body, but all her memories. That’s why she’s called Corpse – it’s simply descriptive. Other ghosts have similar names: Girl, Old Man, and so on.
Corpse has created a body for herself, made of wax and things rescued from the sea. She’s taught herself some simple magic, too. And with these things, she hopes to recover her memories and find her family.
Of course, there are obstacles in her path. Perhaps the biggest is the three evil witches who also want the artifact Corpse needs.
In terms of plot this is a fairly simple story, but the emotional level is more complex. It looks at familiar themes such as the meaning of family, friendship, and finding yourself, in an age appropriate way that doesn’t talk down to readers. There are no themes or scenes to worry protective parents.
I found the story quite fresh, and rather different to a lot of the kids’ books that are around. It doesn’t break significantly new ground, but the story has some unique aspects. It’s also good fun to read.
The novel is aimed at children who are around ten. I asked my Miss Nine for her opinion, and she said it was “fun and exciting and a bit mysterious. I got sad about Girl, the witches were creepy, and I really liked finding out things about Corpse’s family.” She very much enjoyed it, and asked if there was a sequel, because if so, she’d like it immediately.
So this novel strikes a positive note with the kids it’s aimed at, and is a quick and fun read for adults. It’s well written, with a tight plot and fast moving action. Characterisation is quite strong for Corpse. Some other characters are a little one dimensional, but since this is a short novel and those characters are only seen through Corpse’s eyes, that’s understandable.
I recommend this to readers from 10 upwards, including possibly their parents.
My 13yr old read this book and says; A Girl Called Corpse was a great book, I enjoyed the storyline. I thought it might be scary but it wasn’t at all. It would be good for a tween to teen.
Thank you for letting me review it.
5/5 stars
Thank you so much for allowing my daughter to review this awesome book. She is 10 years old and it was a great book for her.
She absolutely loved the characters and found it quite fun and imaginative with a few little mysteries woven throughout.
As an adult I found it a great read myself. I loved the plot, the characters and the way the book was written, for kids 10 and up but also for adults. I highly recommend this novel.
Thank you Beauty and Lace for the opportunity for my 12 year old daughter to read the “A girl called Corpse”. My daughter said she loved the adventure, turns, twists and the characters, especially Simon. My daughter recommends it to “very good young readers” as she had to concentrate on the storyline, however she said it was an enjoyable story and different.
She rates it five stars out of five or ten out of ten.
A girl called Corpse by Reece Carter .
I found this book very imaginative and adventurous.
I could picture Corpse in my mind perfectly as the author has described her well, with her wax body and bright green seaweed hair her eyes are made out of abalone shells polished blue by sand, as she is a kid ghost who doesn’t want to go to Death Proper .
Corpse and her best friend Simon a huntsman spider who communicates by clicking and hiding in Corpse seaweed hair are about to embark on an adventure to the town were she thinks she came from to answer questions about her life as it was before she became a ghost because when you become a ghost you forget all your memories and your past.
I found this book a fun mysterious, funny and goulish story. Will she find the answers she is looking for ?
I am 55 years old and found it enjoyable to read so I think it will suit any age from teen to mature readers .
Thankyou beauty and lace for the chance to read something different i wouldn’t normally of chosen .