Taxi Ghost - Sophie Escabasse - ★★★★.½

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AUTHOR: Sophie Escabasse
GENRE: Middle-grade Graphic Novel
PUBLICATION DATE: September 3, 2024
RATING: 4.5 stars

In a Nutshell: A middle-grade graphic novel combining entertainment as well as value-addition. The title isn’t an exact indicator of the content, but don’t let this turn you away. Strongly recommended to the target age group.


Plot Preview:
When Adèle hits puberty, the last thing she expects is the arrival of a new skill: the ability to interact with ghosts. No one had told her that she comes from a long line of mediums. Her grandmother isn’t happy that Adèle has inherited the family gift, but Adèle’s elder sister Helen encourages her to explore the gift and decide for herself. The interactions seem okay at first, but soon Adèle learns that the ghosts are trying to get in touch with her for an important reason.


Bookish Yays:
👻 Adèle: Constantly worries about her pimples, loves books and the library, adores her family, is courageous about doing the correct thing. A great protagonist for a middle-grade book.

👻 Helen and Grandma: amazing secondary characters. Contrary to each other in attitude but never hesitant about being there for each other and speaking up for what’s right. The girl power in this book is strong.

👻 The ghosts: Coming a variety of ages and sizes and abilities. They range from fun to quirky to slightly dangerous. They bring gravitas as well as humour to this story.

👻 The snowy setting of Montreal, used so well in the plot!

👻 The concept of “period parties.’ I am not entirely convinced by how smoothly the whole first period experience went. Regardless, even the concept of normalising periods and talking about menstruation without awkwardness deserves a Yay.

👻 The theme of city management and maintaining their integrity without succumbing to the demands of big corporations: tackled strongly without making the plot seem tedious to younger minds. I hope this theme raises awareness in youngsters about how much damage the rampant commercialisation of cities is doing to smaller suburbs.

👻 The introductory note by author: offers the perfect start to the story and how it came into being.

👻 The illustrations: Just my kind of comic art, with clear faces and expressions, neat panels, and colourful pages. Even the ghosts are multi-hued. I especially loved the typeface – speech bubble text is usually kept plain as to be legible, but this is the first time I have seen a font style that looks so appealing while still being clear to read.


Bookish Nays:
☠ The title isn't exactly indicative of the storyline. The story is much beyond one “Taxi Ghost.”

☠ I wish the character ages had been specified, especially for the sisters. Right till the end, we don’t know how old they are, though we know that Adèle is probably in school, and Helen is already working and moving out from the family home in summer.


All in all, the complaints are quite minor. This middle-grade graphic novel offers a great package of characters, storyline and artwork for every young reader to be delighted. My daughters read the book along with me, and they loved it as well.

Definitely recommended to tweens and teens, looking for a fun story that goes much beyond light entertainment.

4.5 stars, happy to round up wherever applicable. (Not that I had a choice. I am under explicit instructions from the two not-so-little in-house bosses that this needs to be given a 5!)

My thanks to Random House Children's for providing the DRC of “Taxi Ghost” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

On an aside: While I do love graphic novels and rarely hesitate when I see an appealing cover, this book came into my agenda for a different reason: the cover reminded me of the movie ‘Heart and Soul.’ Anyone remembers that old comic fantasy from the early 1990s? It was the first time I saw Robert Downey Jr. act, but more than him, it is the story that impressed me as a child: the ghosts in the car. Seeing this cover made me nostalgic. Does anyone else remember that movie? I wonder how it will fare if I watch it now. 😊

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