Customer Reviews

Golden & Grey (An Unremarkable Boy and a Rather Remarkable Ghost)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

3 and ½ stars. Louise Arnold's Golden and Grey finds its way to being a rollicking read after an leisurely stroll through exposition. Tom Golden is a boy being relentlessly bullied at his new school. His despair is so great that he comes to the attention of an innocuous young ghost named Grey Arthur, who is searching for his ghostly role in life. Grey Arthur becomes Golden's Invisible Friend and guardian, and eventually introduces Tom to the rest of the ghostly universe. When Tom's ability to see ghosts is taken advantage of, it is up to Arthur and his ghosts to save the day.

Avoiding Potter syndrome when you write a book dealing with ghosts is practically impossible. Arnold has stamped her impression on the nature of ghosts (they don't say "ooooo", they're not dead people, etc.), but she does include a ghostly newspaper (the Daily Tell-Tale), phantoms that suck in light, and a boy who is able to see spirits. Though perhaps unconsciously derivative, the force of Arnold's imagination is able to suppress most parallels in readers' minds.

The warmth of the story comes in the relationship between the two boys, and Arnold's descriptions of bullying and isolation. Tom seems destined to make a fool of himself, which Arnold knows means social death in schoolroom politics. She is also particularly astute on certain small details, like Tom's mother's disgusting leftovers, his father's experimental socks, and the repetitive routine of mornings before school. A stray cliché now and again ("cold fear" and things reaching out like "greedy hands") could have been edited out.

Golden and Grey's pace picks up measurably as the ghosts band together to use their talents against Tom's enemy. The "bad guy" is frighteningly real in a modern context, as is the reaction of Tom's parents to his situation. Descriptions of Tom's plight will have both generations of readers feeling taut inside. This kind of dramatic pull is hard to create, and Arnold deserves credit for achieving it. I look forward to reading her next book, which can hopefully avoid the problems of comparisons with Potter.

Louise Arnold's first book is a delightful, charming story. Her main characters are adorable, without ever resorting to cutesy-ness. Comparisons to Harry Potter are inevitable, given that Ms. Arnold previewed this story in an "Are You The Next J.K Rowling?" contest, but this story is completely original and stands firmly on its own two feet.

And now I finally know where all those lost socks went!

Rather than harping on about "The next J.K. Rowling" like it's the end of the line for all children's authors, I think Louise Arnold breaks the mould and firmly places herself as a innovative and exciting new children's author. J.K. Rowling has the idiocity of childish love sussed, Phillip Pullman has fantasty wrapped around his fist like a barb-wire glove and Lemony Snickett makes morbid and dark the new fun and light. Louise Arnold gives us something new, and something better. A good sense of humour, an insight into childhood (and the simple traumas coming with it) and all wrapped up in the real world (plus ghosts... who aren't dead people, by the way).
Golden & Grey is a quirky, intelligent and explosively imaginative tale about a young boy who, after an accident, can see ghosts. The ghost he is lucky enough to see is Grey Arthur, a lost creature who never knew what he was until he incorrectly attached himself to Tom Golden, believing he was his invisible friend. As irony has it, after Tom's accident his invisible friend becomes visible to no-one but him. This relationship between the two friends is marvellously played out, but it is the peripheral characters that really make the novel shine.
Too much detail at this stage would be foolish and spoil the fun, but Golden and Grey is full of warm and funny chracters, sinister madmen and a whole new world which you'll be dying to find out more about way after you put the book down.
This book will appeal to all, and really reminds me of the struggles of growing up (minus the ghosts). Bullies, stupid parents and blind-trust - three things everyone can surely relate to.
I recommend this book to anyone and hope to see more from this promising and highly-amusing author.

Golden and Grey

By Louise Arnold

Do you like books about Casper the Friendly Ghost? Well this book has a ghost that's just like him, his name is Grey Arthur. Grey Arthur is a ghost who helps out a new kid in school who just moved to London. His name is Tom. Tom is a kid who gets bullied a lot. Grey Arthur helps Tom out in school. Humans can not hear or see ghosts. But one day. BAM! Tom got hit by a car while he was running from the school bully Big Ben. When Tom got hit by the car he fell back and hit his head hard, and now he can see ghosts. He woke up in the emergency room. He was fine. A couple of days later his parents over heard him talking to Arthur and got a specialist for kids who claim they can see ghosts. His name is Dr. Brown. What Know body knew was that he is a crazed psycho with a plan to win the lottery. What will happen to Tom and Arthur? Read the book to find out.

Eleven-year-old Tom Golden couldn't be more dissatisfied with his new surroundings. He doesn't fit in with his new classmates, and, due to this difference, he is beaten up almost everyday by various class bullies, both physically and mentally, leaving him drained and friendless by the time that he arrives home from school everyday. Grey Arthur, a ghost, is looking for a ghostly position that will suit his needs, but can't seem to succeed in anything he does, simply because he is too kind. That is, until Tom comes along. Tom gives Grey the idea he needs for the perfect job. Grey decides to be an Invisible Friend. He immediately takes the position at Tom's side, keeping bullies from attacking him, or leaving vicious notes on his back or backpack, but the work leaves Grey hopeless, for Tom can't see him. That is, until a freak accident renders Tom the only human in all the world to be able to see ghosts as real people, and all that changes.

I must admit that usually, after I read one of J.K. Rowling's novels - which I just did, HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE, to be exact - that I have a hard time getting deeply involved with any future novels for a good month. However, when I picked up Louise Arnold's GOLDEN & GREY, the notion was quickly swept from my mind. GOLDEN & GREY is a remarkable first novel by a wonderful new writer. Arnold's quick, lyrical writing, bring the story and its characters to life, and truly make the reader feel as if he/she were right there alongside Tom and Grey as they meet up with various ghostly species, and get into all sorts of trouble and mischief. A marvelous book that will bring a smile to the faces of the HARRY POTTER crowd.

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

Arnold has put readers into a fantastic fantasy fiction book named, Golden and Grey, a story is about an unremarkable eleven-year-old boy, named Tom Golden, whose dull life has been changed forever after a car crash. Tom never knew it before, but there is a ghost named Grey Arthur, who has been following him and keeping him away from harm. Since hitting his head in the crash, he is now able to see Arthur. Tom finds his special ability useful in good and bad situations. If you want to discover how two boys from different worlds make their one world better, read this book!

On a rainy Tuesday in England, a ghost named Grey Arthur is feeling sad and wishes that he could be more helpful in the Ghost World. Meanwhile, Tom Golden comes home after a bad day at school. Tom is the new kid at Thorbleton Secondary School and the youngest in his class. If this weren't difficult enough for Tom, he is bullied by classmates and has no friends.

Then, Arthur hears Tom's plight and decides to become Tom's Invisible Friend. Arthur goes to school with Tom every day, helping him deal with the bullies, and each night he tells Tom stories of his Poltergeist hero, the Red Rascal. This could be a wonderful solution for Grey and Tom's loneliness --- if only Tom could see his new friend. Then one day, Tom gets into a bad accident and begins to see Arthur! Tom is at first unnerved by his newfound ability, but as Arthur introduces him to other characters --- including the hilarious Ballpoint Bill and Mrs. Scruffles --- Tom begins to have better days.

The boys' friendship comes at a price, however, when people from both worlds begin seeking out Tom. When Tom gets into a dangerous situation with a shady doctor, it's up to Arthur and his friends to rescue not only Tom, but also the delicate balance between ghosts and humans.

GOLDEN & GREY is a great story that presents the complexities of a boy's friendship with a ghost. Louise Arnold's debut is sure to be a favorite with readers now and in the future.

I started reading the book when I woke up this morning and had finished it by the afternoon. I couldn't put it down! I loved the humour and the characters will stay with me for a long time. Now hurry up and get us a sequel!

I also read the brilliant short story, which won the prestigious BBC competion. I can't wait for the release of the book - Louise is a very talented and creative writer. A basis for a blockbuster movie? Arnold is A1 as far as I am concerned. Remember you read it here.

This is delightful book about two rather lost adolescent boys who join forces. Grey is a young, bumbling ghost looking for his purpose. Golden is a young English boy who has just moved into a new neighborhood and new school. When Golden is emotionally upset about the prospect of fitting in and avoiding bullies, Grey hears his pain and is called to his side.

Delightful ghosts appear and reappear as the boys work through the perils of self discovery and finding their places withing their societies,

My 10 year old grandson loved the book. I read it before sending it to him so that we could discuss the book long distance.