I think it will also appeal to those confident readers aged 9 and up as there is nothing here content-wise that would be inappropriate for younger readers. I also really enjoyed the relationship dramas that Sarah experienced weren’t forced, but evolved naturally as part of the story and appeared in the resolution in a believable way.įor the confident reader in the target age group of 11+, this will be a quick, creepy read and one they should enjoy if they are a fan of spooky stories. While the story related in The Ghost Box is fairly formulaic, Fisher has really set the tone beautifully with some fantastically suspenseful and creepy bits. The dialogue wasn’t stilted, the characters were well fleshed-out for the limited word count and the content was appropriately atmospheric and engaging. There was nothing about the writing to indicate that this was a book for kids still gaining literacy skills. Really, you could just blow that up and stick it on the wall for instant atmosphere, couldn’t you? The first thing I appreciated about this book was the fact that it felt, for all intents and purposes, like your average late MG/early YA read. The first thing that grabbed me about the book was the stunning cover art. I received a digital copy of this book for review from the publisher via Netgalley. The sequel, Sapphique, was published in September 2008. Her futuristic novel Incarceron was published to widespread praise in 2007, winning the Mythopoeic Society of America's Children's Fiction Award and selected by The Times as its Children's Book of the Year. The Candleman won the Welsh Books Council's Tir Na n'Og Prize and Catherine was also shortlisted for the remarkable Corbenic, a modern re-inventing of the Grail legend.

The trilogy was an international bestseller and has appeared in over twenty languages. The Oracle, the first volume in the Oracle trilogy, blends Egyptian and Greek elements of magic and adventure and was shortlisted for the Whitbread Children's Books prize. Equally acclaimed is her quartet The Book of the Crow, a classic of fantasy fiction. Her first novel, The Conjuror's Game, was shortlisted for the Smarties Books prize and The Snow-Walker's Son for the W.H.Smith Award. She won the Cardiff International Poetry Competition in 1990. Her poetry has appeared in leading periodicals and anthologies and her volume Immrama won the WAC Young Writers' Prize. She lives in Newport, Gwent.Ĭatherine has won many awards and much critical acclaim for her work. She leads sessions for teachers and librarians and is an experienced broadcaster and adjudicator. She is a Fellow of the Welsh Academy.Ĭatherine is an acclaimed poet and novelist, regularly lecturing and giving readings to groups of all ages. She has worked in education and archaeology and as a lecturer in creative writing at the University of Glamorgan. She graduated from the University of Wales with a degree in English and a fascination for myth and history. Catherine Fisher was born in Newport, Wales.

In that box was ghost