Of Foodie Ghosts who love Gems and Cricket! A HOME TO HAUNT [Review]

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Title: A Home to Haunt
Author: Sudeshna Shome Ghosh
Illustrations: Pankaj Saikia
Publisher: Harper Collins Children’s Books
Type: Paperback
Length:138 pages
Genre: Mystery/Adventure
Age recommendation: 7-9 years but every age group from Bengal will love it for sure! (author’s recommendation is 8-12 years)

Here is a review by my 12 year old daughter Ayesha.

What rings a bell when you hear the word “ghost” or “haunted”…? That the story must be spooky, eerie, spine chilling and so on, right? But lo and behold, this book is everything except being spookie or eerie! So, imagine reading a story of Gems-loving ghosts, foodie ghosts, ghosts who love to party and play cricket…!

Storyline: A Home to Haunt by Sudeshna Shome Ghosh is a funny story of a haunted adventure. Poltu is all set to enjoy his summer vacations at his maternal grandparent’s home and this time it’s unique. He is going without his Maa (mother) so he is a little more excited. He sets on this journey with his Mama (maternal uncle) unaware of the adventure lying ahead. As he waits at the Sealdah station for his train, a steam engine enters full of ghosts – ghosts who have lost their homes. Now Poltu and his Mama (Traffic Warden of Ghosts) along with 4 other ghost assistants Bhola, Khepa, Lalmoni & Surja, must help them find a new home – A Home to H(a)unt. The title of the book has been well thought of and deserves a special mention.

What I loved? (special inputs from my mom who could feel the Kolkata connection much more than me) : What I loved about the story is its close connection to Kolkata – The City of Joy. I lived here and while reading the story I could relate to every bit of Kolkata – the yellow ambassador taxi, the Bengali dialogues (cholun cholun, aste ladies, egiye jaan– are the patent dialogues of every bus conductor), the iconic places and the delicious foods (puchka, ghugni, raja ballabi, sondesh, rosogulla and many more) that were named. It made my mouth water so much that for the next few days I had to go and relish all the street food of Kolkata.

The story has a fun element in it with a little bit of spookiness. Imagine a ghost getting lost and landing up in a 2-hr long trigonometry class!

Writing Style :This book is in a very simple language making it best suited for kids and it will make you fall in love with ghosts. The author has very clearly explained each scene such that the reader is able to imagine and relate to it. The book surely keeps us hooked from start to end.

Character Development: Poltu , the main character has been developed very well by the author. She brilliantly portrays the different shades of a little boy – innocent, excited, adventurous, scared, emotional and brave .

Learning aspect of the story: The story in a unique way talks of the loss that is taking place due to the rapid urbanization and gives the reader food for thought. At one place the author has highlighted how Poltu is amazed to see only Rs 50 being paid to the “coolies” /porters for their hard work which showed the soft side of the character and left us thinking on moral grounds.

Illustrations: The book is covered with simple illustrations at regular intervals which help us connect with the story. They are funny and spooky at the same time.

This book will definitely take you to a joyride around Kolkata and I will always look out for the ghosts Bhola, Lalmoni, Khepa & Suraja when I travel from Sealdah Station (coincidentally, I take the same train from the same station every summer vacation to go to my nanighar).

So if you also want to hang out with Gems-loving Ghosts then just go grab this book AND SAY “BOOOO”!

If you enjoyed this review and wish to order the book from Amazon (kbc affiliate link),

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Disclaimer: Ayesha is part of the #kbcReviewerSquad and received this book as a review copy from the author & publisher via kbc.