Ghost Ship [Hardcover]

Dietlof Reiche (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up

A contemporary, wholly original, spine-tingling ghost story born from pirate legend--think Pirates of the Caribbean meets Nancy Drew!


Vicki plans to spend her summer vacation waitressing at her father's seaside restaurant, Ye Olde Seashell Room, a must-see tourist destination with seashell-covered walls and a two-hundred-and-thirty-year old figurehead from a lost ship, the Storm Goddess.

But when the bay goes dry and the Storm Goddess suddenly appears, Vicki and her small community are thrown off course. Now the town's greedy mayor sees dollar signs from potential new tourism, a nosy reporter smells something fishy, and Vicki's haunted by ghosts! Can she, along with her friend Peter, manage to get aboard and (continued)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8–In 1772, onboard the Storm Goddess, a horrible injustice was committed. Men were killed, gold was stolen, and the crew was cursed. Now, 230 years later, 12-year-old Vicki has discovered a secret hidden inside the ship's figurehead, which hangs in her father's restaurant, and the quartermaster's journal has been found and read. Unexplainable things begin to happen–the sea leaves the bay and the fully restored ship appears on the mudflats. Vicki and her friend Peter must defy dangerous odds in order to sneak on board the Storm Goddess and try to somehow break its curse. Reiche (I, Freddy [Scholastic, 2003]) has entered new ground with this traditional ghost story. Some story elements are reminiscent of the film Pirates of the Caribbean, including the atmosphere. Vicki and Peter are fairly stereotypical characters, and several plot progressions depend on sixth-sense movements by the characters. The adults (and Peter), who know what Vicki is up to and the danger she's in, are concerned but stay out of her way. The neat conclusion ties up all the loose ends. Libraries with patrons who love pirate stories and ghosts should probably pick up this plot-driven title, as it will be read.–Melissa Moore, Union University Library, Jackson, TN
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. A summer job waiting tables at her father's seaside restaurant, Ye Olde Seashell Room, gets more interesting for 12-year-old Vicki when a mystery brews surrounding an old sailing ship and missing gold. The figurehead of the Storm Goddess, a local ship from 230 years ago, hangs on the wall of the restaurant. When it is taken down for restoration, Vicki discovers a hidden secret, and she and a vacationing boy named Peter become involved in a suspenseful adventure. The water in the bay dries up, the long lost ship appears in the mudflats, and Vicki's ancestor, the ship's quartermaster, repeatedly wages a ghostly battle on deck until Vicki puts all the pieces of the mystery together. The pompous mayor, the tenacious journalist, and other secondary characters are stock, and the translation suffers from pedestrian dialogue and lots of cliches. Even so, teens intrigued with the idea of an old pirate ship, a budding romance, and the lure of gold doubloons will gladly come aboard. Cindy Dobrez
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Press (March 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439597048
• ISBN-13: 978-0439597043
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,635,017 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars masterful story telling, February 26, 2005

By 

Gary H. Cassel "Flamingnet Teen Book Reviews" (Baltimore, MD, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ghost Ship (Hardcover)

A blend of mystery, ghost story and pirate tale, Dietlof Reiche's Ghost Ship is a brilliant novel that will keep readers intrigued until the end. Set in a small New England community in present day, Reiche supplements his story with flashbacks to the 18th century that add to the ghostliness of the tale.

Vicki is a twelve year old girl who works as a waitress in her dad's restaurant, Ye Olde Seashell Room. A community that thrives with tourism, their spectacular bay is the main reason people go there to escape. Except one day, the bay disappears. Nothing is left except a muddy area where the bay used to be, until the Storm Goddess shows up. A two hundred and thirty year old sailing vessel, the Storm Goddess appears in the middle of the empty bay looking brand new. Vicki and her new friend Peter appear to be the only one troubled by the bay's disappearance and the ship's reappearance. Could this have anything to do with Vicki's ancestor's journal? He was a quartermaster on the ship and Vicki's reading of the journal coincided with the bay's disappearance. Suddenly Vicki is being haunted by ghosts and she knows the only way to return everything to normal is to get aboard the ghost ship and unlock an ancient curse. All that stands in her way is a greedy mayor, a story hungry reporter, a security detail and her curfew.

Reiche story unfolds in such a way that a reader is never bored, yet kept in suspense until the end of the tale. His characters are fun and adventurous, everyday people who find themselves thrown into a mystery. The book, though it could be classified as horror, is perfect for ages 7-12 because of its lack of gory details and Reiche's masterful story telling skills.

[...]

10 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ghost Ship, April 23, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Ghost Ship (Hardcover)

This is a wonderful read aloud for a class. I read it to my fifth and sixth graders, and they loved it. We found ourselves stopping and discussing what might be happening next in the story many times. We were all surprized at the story's conclusion. They all hope that Mr. Reiche writes more stories like this one!!!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great summer adventure, April 15, 2008

By 

Troyce Wilson (Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ghost Ship (Paperback)

This is a wonderful example of what I call the "summer adventure" novel. One where kids find their summer interrupted by an exciting adventure. In this case, it's a coastal community that finds an 18th century ghost ship stranded in their bay. It nicely ties together several elements into an entertaining story. A fun mystery, ghostly encounters, piracy, all add up to a rewarding adventure for kids or even adults that still enjoy these kind of stories they grew up on.