Frankie Johns spots what appears to be a teenage girl through the window of the old house up the street.
Problem is, the house, a Gothic-looking structure said to have been the home of an undertaker, is abandoned and boarded up. No one lives there, and it’s unlikely that a young girl would go there alone. Frankie decides that it must be a ghost.
He enlists the aid of his friend Dan to go to the house late at night and investigate. They don’t find anything.
When Frankie investigates on his own, he meets the ghost of Caroline Wald, who has been dead for 200 years. He likes her. She’s pretty, and he enjoys talking with her.
Turns out she’s buried in the old cemetery by the river. In the casket with her is her diary. She convinces Frankie to dig it up and bring it to her. When he does, he realizes that this sweet little ghost may not be what she appears to be.
The Ghost of Caroline Wald is a story about a rebellious young man, just turned eighteen, and testing the boundaries of being an adult. Not sure what to do with himself, he dedicates his energy to trying to understand the ghost. In the process, he learns a lot about himself, his relationships, and his place in the world.
Funny, poignant, and sometimes scary, readers young and old should enjoy it.