Golden & Grey: A Good Day for Haunting [Hardcover]

Louise Arnold (Author)

Book Description

Series: Golden & Grey

After his triumph over a ghost collector and a doctor who does no good, Tom Golden thinks life is finally...well, golden. Grey Arthur and his ghostly crew have happily settled into their roles as Invisible Friends while Tom has made a new human friend with Pick-Nose Pete.

But when one friendly ghost is overly enthusiastic about his duties, the TV show Exceedingly Haunted Homes of England is called in to investigate. A hysterical fear of ghosts takes over the school, and the Invisible Friends are glad that they witness the chaos unheard and unseen. Too bad that the same cannot be said for the ghosts in the world beyond.

The disappearance of the Crown Jewels in a rather Poltergeist-like manner is trouble enough, but a frightening specter caught on film and a knight seen charging through streets and pedestrians spell trouble. Restoration of the peace between the ghostly and human realms may be too much for one boy to handle, but Tom hopes that the help of Grey Arthur and the Invisible Friends may be just what he needs to track down the cause of this supernatural chaos.

In this third installment to the Golden & Grey series, Louise Arnold takes the reader on an exciting adventure full of Laundry Runs, ancient castles, and the ever dark and dangerous woods.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4–7—Tom Golden can see ghosts. In fact, he is one of the very few humans aware of the parallel Ghost World that exists alongside the normal plane. With his Invisible Friend, Grey Arthur, he is the link for all the Poltergeists, Sadness Summoners, Screamers, and other phantom citizens of the spectral realm. He would like to keep the two sides of his life separate. Talking about ghostly adventures worries his parents-and it doesn't do much for his reputation at school, either. Then, an inexperienced Invisible Friend-in-training tries to help a harried substitute teacher and creates the impression that Tom's school is a hotbed of haunts. When the popular television show "Extremely Haunted Houses of England" decides to feature the story, Tom and his otherworldly friends realize that Ghost World is in serious danger. There is a lot going on here-the TV show, Tom's difficulties at home and school, the "politics" of Ghost World-and it can be a challenge to follow all the twists and turns. The ghostly characters are convincingly depicted, although it is sometimes hard to keep track of who is haunting whom. Familiarity with Tom and Grey's two previous adventures is helpful, but not essential. An acceptable choice for readers who like humorous ghost stories.—Elaine E. Knight, Lincoln Elementary Schools, IL
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Louise Arnold wrote her first poem (about the adventures of cheese-eating bees) at the age of four, and her love of writing was born. She graduated with a degree in drama from University of Kent in Canterbury, England, where she now resides.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books (October 7, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416908633
• ISBN-13: 978-1416908630
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,239,068 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Golden & Grey (An Unremarkable Boy and a Rather Remarkable Ghost) actually evolved from a story I wrote when I was in junior school for a writing competition. It involved a mildly inept ghost called Boo, and his inability to be scary. Fifteen years later, nudged on by a BBC online competition, I dug the story out from the murky recesses of my memory, and ran at it again. The opening paragraph I concocted won, and from there I was contacted by an agent, introduced to a publisher, and my feet haven't really hit the ground since.

I'm currently working on a third book, and for those that are curious, the repetitive life cycle of an author is this:

Stage One: Surround yourself with pens and notebooks, daydream a lot.
Stage Two: Surround yourself with cups of tea, pages of notes, and type it all up.
Stage Three: Surround yourself with highlighter pens and post-it notes, and edit the work.
Stage Four: Go back to Stage One.

So I'm firmly entrenched in Stage One again, leaving a trail of ink stains and doodles in my wake.

I live in Canterbury with my partner Kieran, and our cat, Squeek. When I'm not writing, chances are I'm either watching Neighbours, ordering my cat down from the tree opposite my house, going to car boot sales, or watching a live band down my local pub.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another good one!, September 30, 2010

By 

Ulyyf "Connie" (NYC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Golden & Grey: A Good Day for Haunting (Paperback)

Let's be clear - if you like the other Golden and Grey books, you'll like this one. And if you didn't, don't bother.

I happen to like this series, so there you go :)

I'm not going to bother recapping everything I've said before, just a note that the school is as dismal as ever and you should be aware of whether or not your kid is up for that. But three books in, I hope you know by now!

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, June 30, 2010

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Golden & Grey: A Good Day for Haunting (Paperback)

A GOOD DAY FOR HAUNTING is the third book in the GOLDEN & GREY series. It is set in England and can be quite creepy and scary. I didn't read the first two books and at times became lost in the story - but not for long.

Tom Golden is the one human in the world who can see ghosts. After two other adventures, he has a handful of ghostly friends who have made a society of invisible friends. Each ghost has a human who doesn't know they are there and they become their friend, protecting them from harm and making their lives a little more easy.

Things are going well until a psychic comes into their midst. She has a television series where she is the host to explain ghostly happenings across England. They find that there is more about her than meets the eye, and then find a mystery they need to solve or their lives will be changed forever.

I found this book to be funny and a little scary. I teach fifth grade, and most of the students in my classes want scary books. Ones that used to be scary for me in the days of yore aren't very scary anymore due to the media that kids are subjected to now. There are many scary books out there for the middle school readers, especially ones who are struggling a little with their reading skills.

I liked this series. It had some very scary parts and was interesting to read. I am going to purchase the first two for my classroom library and will probably be reading the first one out loud to them next year. I sure hope Ms. Arnold will write some more.

Reviewed by: Marta Morrison

5.0 out of 5 stars A rather amusing, exhilarating adventure that readers will not want to miss or soon forget, February 25, 2009

By 

A Customer (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Golden & Grey: A Good Day for Haunting (Hardcover)

Following the defeat of the Collector, numerous new hauntings were reported across England, as ghosts and humans alike enjoyed the holiday season. It seemed like the joy would never end. Then January arrives, along with the First Day Back to School, a day often filled with excitement and dread for students of Thorbleton Secondary School. But for Tom Golden, it is also the beginning of yet another daring adventure involving the Ghost World.

When Grey Arthur tells Tom that Montague Equador Scullion the Third's human, Mrs. Wilson, a substitute Science teacher at Thorbleton, may have figured out that ghosts exist and that "Exceedingly Haunted Homes of England" has been called to investigate, Tom feels a strong sense of foreboding. Grey, though, couldn't be more thrilled at the prospect of being on his favorite television show. The young Invisible Friend tries persuading the reluctant student to help him and the rest of the Invisible Friends --- The Harrowing Screamer, Mildred Rattledust, Monty and Tike --- achieve their "fifteen minutes of fame," even if Grey thinks that the program's new psychic is "a fake" (a theory proven true by an embarrassing and rather funny scandal involving the show's previous psychic star).

News spreads about the recent developments, and the next day Tom and the Invisible Friends are stunned by the hysteria that has swept over Thorbleton. Relieved that they can't be seen, the Invisible Friends, along with Tom (volunteering as a tea boy), anxiously wait for the big day to arrive.

Unfortunately, it's not at all the fun and games that Grey expects, when the new psychic Claudia Sage is apparently indeed psychic. There is more than meets the eye, though, when Tom discovers the truth behind her unique ability. Tom and Grey's concerns grow, however, when Claudia seeks their help in locating a ghostly --- and rather visible --- gallivanting, sword-wielding knight before humans start to realize that ghosts really do exist. Add the disappearance of the Crown Jewels, the discovery of more spirited friends (or foes) and an ancient mystery, and it's accurate to say that Tom Golden and his Invisible Friends are soon on their biggest adventure yet.
With more spine-tingling moments than in the previous two installments of Louise Arnold's Golden & Grey series, A GOOD DAY FOR HAUNTING is a rather amusing, exhilarating adventure that readers will not want to miss or soon forget.

--- Reviewed by Sarah Sawtelle