The Ghost Sonata (Gilda Joyce) [Hardcover]

Jennifer Allison (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up | Series: Gilda Joyce

Gilda Joyce’s best friend, Wendy Choy, is chosen to participate in a piano competition in Oxford, England, so of course super-sleuth Gilda finds a way to go too. Once there, the grueling practice schedule takes a backseat to strange and spooky occurrences. There are foreboding tarot cards that keep appearing to the participants and ominous numbers etched in frosty windowpanes. But even more chilling are Wendy’s ghostly nightmares of a young boy—and the haunting melody she can’t shake out of her mind. Could there be a sinister connection to the piano competition? Gilda has a genuine haunting on her hands, and solving this one will take every ounce of psychic intuition she’s got!

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Killer ghosts and tarot death cards give spooky messages in the latest about the smart teen detective, Gilda Joyce which began with Psychic Investigator (2005). Gilda accompanies her best friend to an international piano competition in Oxford, England. The suspense builds nicely (Is there a serial killer after the students? Is a ghost looking for someone to take its place), and there's lots of romantic comedy and hilarious play with Briticisms, as when Gilda is snogging in the graveyard with a cute English boy. Once again, Allison uses moments familiar to us all in a haunting story. Rochman, Hazel

Review

...the mystery will keep the pages turning and the midnight oil burning. -- Kirkus

The novel is wonderfully paced and clues are dropped subtly...this is an excellent addition to an already strong series -- School Library Journal, starred review

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile; 1St Edition edition (August 16, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525478086
• ISBN-13: 978-0525478089
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #977,388 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another fantastic entry, August 25, 2007

By 

Haley "knutty knightingale" (West of the Horizon) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Ghost Sonata (Gilda Joyce) (Hardcover)

The Gilda Joyce books have now officially earned the coveted spot on my top shelf, beside such classics as 'The Prydain Chronicles', 'Lord of the Rings', 'The Underland Chronicles', and 'The Dark is Rising Sequence'. They just keep getting better and better, funnier and funnier. And 'The Ghost Sonata' is no different.

When her friend Wendy is chosen in a prestigious contest to go to Oxford, England, and compete in a piano competition, Gilda is thrilled. Due to a technicality, she's able to go along with Wendy -- as her page-turner. But something is wrong -- someone or something is slipping Wendy and the other competitors tarot cards bearing terrifying dooms upon them. To add to this, Wendy is hearing strange music in her head, and thinks she's either going insane or being haunted by a ghost: the ghost of a young boy named Charles Drummond, who had her number -- nine -- in the very same competition she is currently in, and who was a brilliant composer before his death at the age of fourteen -- a death that Gilda believes was not entirely accidental.

If there was one thing I wasn't thrilled about in this book, it was that Wendy gets nearly as much page time as Gilda, and while Wendy is a good character, she's not GILDA. There wasn't any less humor, though, and I understand why Wendy needed some scenes to herself. They were perfect complements to each other: Gilda the wacky, extremely eccentric one who enjoys telling people about her psychic investigative work, and Wendy, who is rational and smart and dry-humored.

Another excellent entry in the series. Highly recommended, and I can't wait for the next book.


Rating: Masterpiece

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Our Favorite Psychic Investigator Hits Oxford, England, August 26, 2007

By 

Pat Shand "Pat Shand" (Freeport, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Ghost Sonata (Gilda Joyce) (Hardcover)

Gilda Joyce was a likable character from the very start. Anyone who read the first two books knows this, and was likely in need of a new fix of Gilda by the time this book came out, and "The Ghost Sonata" is the perfect addition to the series to quench our Gilda thirst. While Gilda's character remains consistent (as likable and as quirky), writer Jennifer Allison clearly evolves as a writer with each book she publishes. What we have here is a more mature book that still retains the almost childish outlook on the world that is a trademark to Gilda, self proclaimed "psychic investigator."

"The Ghost Sonata" is certainly greater than the two previous Gilda Joyce books in a number of ways; the mystery isn't as twisty and drawn out as it was in "The Ladies of the Lake", but it is infinitely more complex and, though this book is certainly aimed at the teenage audience, more adult in the way it is executed. There are big themes at work in this book, both in the major plot and each little intricate subplot. Each character, minor or major, has their own little inner demon or closeted skeleton and the things that happen, the way they deal, make for such poignant, real-life writing that it can literally bring a tear to your eye.

What I did miss from the beginning of the novel until around the middle was reading only through Gilda's point of view. If we had any glimpses into the POVs of a character other than Gilda in the first two books, it was a rare occurrence. However, Allison puts the character Wendy Choy, Gilda's best friend, as the main character of many chapters. Wendy is a great character, but she just can't match the charm of the protagonist... Come to think, who can? But luckily, the vast majority of the middle to the end of the book has Gilda at the forefront.

This is simply the book to get this summer if you want to read a tale that will make you laugh (a lot), actually frighten you (surprisingly often), and break your heart. I've read enough young adult books to promise that Gilda Joyce really is the best around, and the perfect answer to those still lamenting the end of the "Harry Potter" series. Only thing is, no one really knows about this series, and the reason why is beyond me, as this book deserves a classic rating.

10/10 Classic.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars READ THIS BOOK NOW!!!!!!!!, February 14, 2010

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Ghost Sonata (Gilda Joyce) (Hardcover)

This was the best book in the series yet! I was a little disappointed in the first book, liked the second book, and completely fell in love with this one! A little creepy but very enthralling, spunky Gilda Joyce sets out once again to show the world what she can do, this time as a page-turner for her best friend, Wendy Choy, in a worldwide piano competition in Oxford, England. I loved Gilda's love affair with Julian, a hot British boy, and was sad but happy for Gilda when it was over, since it was obvious that in breaking up with him, she knew what was best for her.
My only piece of advice: go sprint to the library or a book store, check out or buy this book, and read it until your eyes hurt.