The Invisible Friend

Louise Arnold (author)

Hodder Children's Books, UK: 2005; 280pp

ISBN: 9780340892978

Genres: adventure, crime, fantasy

Issues: bullying, ethics, friendship, identity

A charming story about unexpected friendships.

Grey Arthur is a ghost. No, not someone who died and decided to stick around for a while. A ghost. The Ghost World sits on top of (overlaps) the Real World like butter on toast. Ghosts just exist - even they don't know how or why.

Grey Arthur isn't a great success as a ghost. He's tried almost every type of ghostly job there is - Poltergeist, Sadness Summoner, Faintly Real, Screamer - and he just doesn't seem to have what it takes. Until, that is, he feels Tom Golden's unhappiness and decides to become his Invisible Friend.

Although Tom can't see him, doesn't even know he's there at first, as an Invisible Friend Grey Arthur excels. Then Tom has an accident and wakes up able to see not only Grey Arthur but every other ghost. Life becomes... complicated, to say the least, especially when the mysterious Dr Brown begins to show an intense interest in Grey Arthur's abilities.

Although lacking the page-turning excitement of Eva Ibbotsen's work, this first novel from Arnold has a similar feel. Readers will never look at drains, cats, lost pens, socks and car keys the same way again.

A charming story about unexpected friendships, ‘The Invisible Friend' will make a good classroom or bedtime read.