Liesl and Po by Lauren Oliver

Liesl is a girl, locked in the attic because her father has died and her stepmother wants to control her inheritance.  Will is a young alchemist’s apprentice who likes to watch Liesl draw through her attic window.  Po is a ghost who also likes Liesl’s drawings and decides to pay her visits.  When William accidentally switches Liesl’s father’s funerary box with one that contains a great magical power it sets off a series of events that brings Victorian England to the brink of disaster, but just might bring Liesl, Will and Po their greatest heart’s desire.  This is a cute, non-scary ghost story.   It reads like a fairy tale.  The characters are not really very dimensional, especially the villains, who are comical caricatures, but there is a brisk pace of action and suspense, and a very nice happy ending.  It is such a different kind of Ghost story from Lockwood and Company.  Po is not spooky at all and certainly not threatening.  He is actually endearing and seems to have a little crush on Liesl. This is a good book for a younger child who is a good reader and wants to read a ghost story but gets creeped-out easily. 370 p