The Language of Ghosts is a standalone middle-grade fantasy novel by Heather Fawcett, author of Ember and the Ice Dragons, which is another middle-grade novel that published in 2019. This new release is a story centred around the three royal children of the Florean Archipelago who are forced into exile after a dark magician takes the throne for himself following their mother’s death (not a spoiler, it’s told in the very first pages).
A week after the Queen of Florean’s death, there is a brutal attack on the castle, and some assassins are on a mission to capture the three royal children: Mite, Noa, and Julian Marchena; aged 5, 11 and 16 at the time. Right then, they discover the truth surrounding their mother’s passing, and that it all was arranged by Xavier Whitethorn. He is an evil member of the council who wants the throne for himself and to turn everybody against the Marchenas by spreading fake rumours about their mother; saying she was wicked and that her power had corrupted her and that Julian, soon-to-be king, was headed in the same direction. Most people believed this because the Marchenas were dark magicians, magicians who could speak more than one out of the nine languages of magic and weave them together into complex spells. In order to save their lives, the three kids have to escape, and so they set sail to the island of Astrae. Julian, being the most powerful mage (he is the only person who can speak all the nine languages) enchants the island in order to keep it constantly moving which will help to hide them from their enemies. Astrae is a small moving island with a castle, a village made up of only a few shops and a few dozen houses, a dormant volcano, a forest of scalesia trees, sea cliffs, and a big beach full of black caves. Oh, and it’s guarded by a magical beast.
Two years pass and the children are well established on the island, but they are still trying to reclaim their throne. Julian made a makeshift court on the wandering island composed by magicians who had been loyal to the old queen and who had come to live on the island. Julian is on a mission to recapture the other islands of Florean one by one and eventually go back home. Noa, however, has another mission: make sure her brother’s dark powers do not get to his head. Lastly, little Mite just tries to have as much fun as she can. However, one day, after the island crashes with another island, the kids learn that their enemies are searching for the lost languages, which would work as a weapon to finally defeat Julian. Right then, the siblings embark on a journey to get to those languages first and find a way to use them to reclaim their stolen throne. Will they find them? If so, who will be able to speak the lost languages? You’ll have to pick up the book to discover that and the mysteries and adventures the siblings will find on this thrilling journey.
One of the book’s strongest points is the relationship between the three siblings. Julian is very dramatic and the most powerful out of the three. And, being the oldest, he is very protective of her little sisters. He has a lot on his plate and even though he sometimes can’t seem to do the right thing, he always puts her sisters first. The little one, Mite, also has magical powers even though she struggles to manage them sometimes. She is a very curious girl and loves her not-so-typical pets and to spend time with her siblings—often tagging along with her older sister on her island adventures, much to Noa’s dismay. Noa, the middle child and the main protagonist of the story, does not have any magic powers, which is often the cause of her jealousy towards her siblings. However, she is one strong and fierce girl that shines for her intelligence, even if she is often overlooked for her young age. Her sense of adventure and desire to know the truth and protect her siblings is admiring. The siblings have a lot on their plate, but they are quite mature for the most part, you sometimes forget how young they actually are. The dynamic between the three is very sweet and endearing; it’s what makes the story better. Dealing with the loss of a parent(s) at such young ages is not easy, but they always there for each other and always put each other first; even when they are mad with each other you can see how much they love and care about each other.
Fawcett’s worldbuilding and magic system, although a bit simple, are very well written. Children will enjoy this book a lot since it isn’t very complicated to understand. On top of that, the magical island setting is very dream-like with lots of animals that you wouldn’t find on the same island in real life and magical beasts with some that love to eat extravagant cakes and some that just want to rest in a nice sunny spot. Then there’s a beautiful forest, a dormant volcano, extensive beaches with caves, a lovely small village… Honestly, because of the descriptions and some of the animals and plants found on the islands mentioned, it seems like most of the environments and landscapes were inspired by the Galápagos Islands. If you are familiar with them, you’ll most likely notice that.
The book is very easy to digest because the dialogues, descriptions, and actions are very well mixed. And, although a bit slow at the beginning, the general pace of the book is quite steady. Another good thing about the book is the way it naturally weaves in characters of different skin colour and sexualities, helping with the normalisation of it, as it should always be. The fact that a character has been in relationships with both women and men is talked about normally in a passing comment discussing this character’s love life, which I think is great to have in a middle-grade novel.
Heartfelt, sweet, and action-packed, The Language of Ghosts is the perfect middle-grade read. It offers adventure, magic, and strong family relationships as well as the journey to discover one’s full potential. Ultimately, it shows a unique look through a young teen’s worries and fears and how they cope with what they are going through. As much as it’s written for younger readers who will be entertained by the magical story and see themselves in the characters, it can also be very appealing to older audiences who just want to read a nice fantasy book with lots of action and pinches of humour.
The Language of Ghosts is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good retailers, like your local bookstore, as of September 8th 2020.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
Forced into exile on an enchanted, moving island, ex-princess Noa Marchena has two missions: reclaim her family’s stolen throne and ensure that the dark powers her older brother, Julian, possesses don’t go to his head in the process. But between babysitting her annoying little sister, Mite, and keeping an eye on the cake-loving sea monster that guards the moving island, Noa has her hands full.
When the siblings learn that their enemies are searching for a weapon capable of defeating Julian—whose legendary spell weaving is feared throughout the kingdom—once and for all, they vow to get to it first. To everyone’s surprise, the key to victory turns out to be a long-lost magical language—and only Noa can speak it.
But what if by helping her brother, Noa ends up losing him?
