A Properly Unhaunted Place – Book Review

ISFF PLANET December 26, 2020

70 2 minutes read

A Properly Unhaunted Place, by William Alexander, is a short and smart book about the past and its importance to life in the present and the creation of the future

A properly Unhaunted Place, by William Alexander is one of the books I really waited to get my hands on this year. This is why I was very glad when I finally got it. This is also the reason why I was disappointed the first time I held it. In a short sentence – the book is too short and too thin, unlike my taste in fantasy books which manifested by a clear preference of thicker books, such that you can really “sink your teeth into.” The kind of books where, if you love the story’s world, you can sink deep into it, before you need to exit on the other side when the reading is done. And that is, really, my main criticism about this book. Its limited length simply does not provide such a deep or satisfying experience.

I regret this, because especially in Alexander’s book there are so many themes and ideas I would have been happy to explore further and enjoy. On the other hand, since this is a book for middle-graders, it can be great as a pathway to the wonderful world of reading, for those who have not taken part in it until today. Its shortness promises an enjoyable experience and a feeling of accomplishment.

Synopsis

Rosa Ramona Díaz has just moved to the small, un-haunted town of Ingot—the only ghost-free town in the world. She doesn’t want to be there. She doesn’t understand how her mother—a librarian who specializes in ghost-appeasement—could possibly want to live in a place with no ghosts. Frankly, she doesn’t understand why anyone would.
Jasper Chevalier has always lived in Ingot. His father plays a knight at the local Renaissance Festival, and his mother plays the queen. Jasper has never seen a ghost, and can’t imagine his un-haunted town any other way. Then an apparition thunders into the festival grounds and turns the quiet town upside down.
Something otherworldly is about to be unleashed, and Rosa will need all her ghost appeasement tools—and a little help from Jasper—to rein in the angry spirits and restore peace to Ingot before it’s too late.

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

One of the aspects I liked about the book is the reversal of meaning concerning ghosts. Instead of seeing them as something to get rid of, ghosts in Alexander’s book are entities to appease, in order to reach a situation of coexistence. They are not a supernatural threat; they are a natural part of life and the world around us. Also, ghosts don’t have to be of humans who’ve passed away. They can be ghosts of the past and exist in any object or place of significance. In this regard, the ghosts represent the past and meaning. Without them, things and people lose their essence.

Another question raised is whether people can run away from their past. Can you really leave the past in the past and continue without it? Is it even wise to try? Or rather, like Rosa and Athena her mother’s faith about ghosts – you can’t exorcise the past, you can’t kill it, and you can’t abandon it – you can only reconcile with it. That is, find a way to live in peace with it.

To sum things up

A Properly Unhaunted Place is a short fantasy book for Middle Grade. It’s short, it’s filled with action and has original ideas about ghosts, which you probably didn’t encounter before in other books. But its advantage is also its shortcoming – it is too short and ends too quickly, without giving the reader a chance to dive deep into the world the author has created.