A group of children make friends with ghosts that live in a derelict theatre and then fight to save it from demolition.

A fun and entertaining read filled with wonderful characters.

Following on from The Nothing to See Here Hotel series - an hilarious collection of books for 7-9 years olds - Steven Butler has released a middle grade novel, Spooked: The Theatre Ghosts. Set in a run-down seaside village, it focuses on the discoveries made by Ella as she settles into her new home...

Moving to Cod's Bottom is NOT what Ella Griffin had planned for her life. Having to leave behind her theatre group friends in London was bad enough but her new home seems to have nothing to offer except cantankerous neighbours and spiteful residents. But when Ella discovers an old,abandoned theatre everything changes. For this beautiful, historic building is anything but empty...

This is a cosy, uplifting character-led novel, full of quirky personalities and a crumbling, memorable setting. Perfect to read around Halloween or at any time of the year, it offers the fun-factor rather than the fear-factor. As Ella makes friends with the theatre ghosts, so does the reader and it's great news to hear that this is going to become a series, as it will feel like revisiting a whole host of lovable family relations. I particularly loved the three poodles and watch out for the elusive pair of legs!

Although the pace and the plot potters along, Steven Butler evokes a strong feeling of both fun and nostalgia within the pages of this book. There's the hint of a mystery, some hilarious antics and a not-unusual-but-particular-nasty villainous pair to thwart. Convinced that I'd predicted the plot, there was a shock-gasp twist at the end that had my heart in my mouth and which leaves the series wide open. What will happen next? I can't wait to find out. This story, to me, feels like a pair of cosy pyjamas as the weather turns colder, a bakewell tart and a hug in a mug...all the good things!

Ella has been packed off by her single mother to Cod’s Bottom, and a life unlike the one she preferred back in London. En route to gaining new friends there she finds a wonderful and ruined Hippodrome performance space, and three local kids who love the theatricals a lot. The only thing is, the crumbling venue and the new potential mates come with the addition of a host of limelight-seeking ghosts of performers old…

This was no classic, for the very clear reason that this is too broad and blunt for adult perusal. Ella is borderline spectrum, as she needs to learn to like spaces by their sounds and has to write any and every potential list possible to organise her thoughts. The ‘stuck in a poor old seaside town’ shtick has been done so many times before and so much better (see “Looking for Emily”, for one), and once we go through some wonderful scenes of spookiness and intriguing premise and promise alike, the introductory parade of all the ghosts is ploddingly effusive in its energy – like being stuck on a trampoline and never able to dismount, I’d hazard to guess.

The author can write – with realistic detail, a warmth to the mother-daughter relationship and so on to perk this up for the target reader. But anyone older – say, eleven plus – will find this so unsubtle they might as well be treated like “dung-brained flapdoodles”. Which, when the romance of the theatre is a great intention of the plot and the mood, is a great shame. As are all the dropped bits of spectral intrigue, and as is the fact the real purpose of the narrative is revealed a whopping two thirds of the way in, by which point it’s been bloody obvious to everybody what the closing drama will be.

Really enjoyed Spooked. Good fun, easy reading which will not fail to make you smile. Loved the characters, both dead and alive!
#RfP
@sbutlerbooks @misspowellpeeps @simonkids_UK @NetGalley

Thank you so much to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

Ella loves her life in London, her friends, her theatre group. Then she is moved to Cods Bottom the worst place imaginable. She is instantly drawn in by an old run down hippodrome and soon finds new friends her own age and ghostly friends.

This was good but I struggled to get into it. I liked the small town with it being so run down and dull, with bad weather constantly, nothing much for kids to even do in the small town. It really added to the feel of what was coming next in the story.

The ghosts were interesting and each one offered something different and unique to the story, they were all unalike and that was good. I really liked that we started getting hints before we even knew for sure also it made it a bit eerie to start with.

I liked that Ella found friends that were actors and had big imaginations just like her, she was finally able to start feeling better about being in this run down town having actually made some friends.

This book is really imaginative and I know that this would be a perfect book for children that like books a little bit spooky, with lots of friendship, humour and an array of unusual characters. Not to mention illustrations throughout that help tell the story and bring the characters to life.

A great story about friendship and community perfect for LKS2.
Moving to a new town is always hard and Ella misses London and her best friends until she makes new friends, alive and dead.

A delightful take on the rundown theatre at the seaside; complete with a myriad of ghosts and a really horrible Councillor and his daughter. this is funny, fabulous and a real tonic for the reader.

Steven Butler is back with a brilliantly original & entertaining read in Spooked The Theatre Ghosts. He has assembled the most sparkiest kids & spookiest ghosts in this madcap romp of an adventure! Claire Powell brings the story to life with witty & lively illustrations. Love!

Ella has been moved to the town her mother grew up in and is finding it extremely boring compared to London. That is, until she meets a whole group of new friends including the theatre ghosts! Ella is a great main character and there are some really funny bits to make you laugh out loud. I loved the many ghosts, each with their own quirky characters.

Spooked: The Theatre Ghosts is a thoroughly enjoyable read from Steven Butler. When ten year old Ella Griffin is forced to move away from her happy life in London to the dull and miserable seaside town of Cod’s Bottom, she fears her life might as well be over. That is until she stumbles into an abandoned theatre and meets a whole range of new friends - both living and dead!

Spooked would be a great book for pupils in Year 3 and 4. It has the perfect balance of humour and mystery, as well as having dastardly villains and unlikely heroes. It’s an entertaining and lively read. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

This would be perfect for a class reader. The realistic characters and sense of humour combined with mystery will keep children wanting to know what is going to happen next. I love the idea of a story being set in an old disused building - the possibilities are endless!

This was such a good read, it was humourous and cute at times nd would be the perfect read to introduct children to paranormal and supernatural elements in fiction. I read it in one sittign and loved it. I will definitely be looking for more from this author.