The Ghosts of Namless Island #2: The Boy Who Could Fly by Carly Anne West, illustrations by Teo Skaffa
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Format Read: E-ARC
Number of pages: 322 pages
Published: July 22nd, 2025
Source: Edelweiss +
Opening Line: "The wind off the South Sound pushes their hair around and get's in the way of their faces."
The story opens with a haunting prologue centered around the image of a circus tent. A young boy then arrives at a creepy manor with his mother in the dead of the night. By morning, she has vanished, leaving behind only the silver necklace she wore around her neck every day. We leap forward to a chilling moment from the first book, Gus is caught in the merciless grip of the Broken Boy, whose icy fingers are closing around his throat while he demands Gus returns his medallion. Just as darkness threatens to consume Gus, he is saved by Catherine the Great, his fierce and fearless cat. She breaks the Broken Boy's grip, and he vanishes into the night.
As a new school year begins, Gus and his friends, Miles and Tavi resume their search for answers to who the Broken Boy was and how to finally lay him to rest. But Gus remains vulnerable to ghostly threats without his protective penny. When a new spirit is discovered haunting Rotham Manor, the trio must face the terrifying question, how do you survive a ghost that wants you dead, while unraveling the identity of another that refuses to be known?
Gus still hasn't confided in his mother about his ability to see ghosts. Instead, he covers his visit to Ms. Walker with a lie. It's heartbreaking that they at first can't share everything that is on their minds. I enjoyed that Gus and his mother were able to reconnect following a vision of Gus's father and their decision to seek a new therapist together. There's a special moment when they are finally able to discuss that she too had been seeing and hearing things at the manor.
Gus still hasn't confided in his mother about his ability to see ghosts. Instead, he covers his visit to Ms. Walker with a lie. It's heartbreaking that they at first can't share everything that is on their minds. I enjoyed that Gus and his mother were able to reconnect following a vision of Gus's father and their decision to seek a new therapist together. There's a special moment when they are finally able to discuss that she too had been seeing and hearing things at the manor.
Meanwhile, Gus's nemesis at school, Charlie Cleave continues to be a bully and Charlie's dad further complicates things for his mother through the historical society and the revelations that the Rotham's may have been bootleggers. The trio devote a huge part of the book researching their school project on what makes Nameless Island the ideal location for the Pacific Northwest Lower South Sound Fish Derby Fair. While also trying to lay the ghosts attacking them to rest. They comb the library, diving deep into the archival files and find old newspapers that reference the "Flying Wymans" and a rumored murder for $2300 in cash.
While the information that the trio uncovers is intriguing, the pacing lags slightly. The subtle clues don't create the level of suspense that might hook younger readers. That said, I enjoyed the unraveling of the events from the 1940's- 50's and the commentary on the town's legacy, or whether exposing the Rotham's past "sully's" their name, or whether history should stand as is and remain open for interpretation. Read this for its creepy factors, the sunken hollow eyes and corpse like features of the Broken Boy, or the various hauntings and intrigue of the ghost's identities. Or maybe wait to read the entire series as the cliffhangers can be disappointing. Especially the latest final image of a girl in the morgue with her wrist dangling from a gurney. I really want to know her connection to Gus's dad. Guess I'll just have to wait.
I hope you'll check out all the other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at Greg Pattridge's blog HERE
I hope you'll check out all the other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at Greg Pattridge's blog HERE
