This was such an interesting read! I found myself so engrossed in the story, the characters had such incredible arcs, and I can't wait to follow this author's journey!

It's a great novel, full of adventure. We shiver a little and we smile while reading.
Corpse is going to live an incredible quest and I hope it will be translated into French so that I can recommend it to my little readers. ^^

A really interesting idea for a main character, who has no corporeal form. The way that the novel creates a sense of threat generated towards a character who is already dead is intriguing - I was surprised to find myself so invested in her "survival"! Ultimately though, it is a lovely story of friendship and loyalty, which is always going to find an audience. I really enjoyed it and I am sure it will find an appreciative audience in our school library.

Corpse is a young girl that has been dead for a while, and is trying to find a way to banish the Witches from Elston-Fright once and for all.
With no memory of the kid she was before she was taken by the Witches, Corpse is bound to haunt the rock-that-doesn't-exist forever.
Until she learns of a treasure, one that can reunite Corpse with her family and her name. She must set off for answers, on a journey across the stormy sea, battling magic, zombie-skeletons and monsters. But the Witches want the treasure too. And they'll do anything to get to it first.

Such a fun, adventurous, spooky story for young readers. Some really great characters and some not so nice, it’s a perfect balance of magic and atmosphere that will capture your heart.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Corpse is a ghost who lives by the sea near some witches on ‘The-rock-that-doesn’t-exist’. She’s forgotten her actual name because that is what happens when you die. However, she has Simon the spider for company and she’s managed to make herself a physical body out of wax. Corpse is different from other ghosts. They can’t pick things up like she can and tend to move on from the rock quite quickly.
One day, she receives a visit from an old man ghost with a message for her: she must go to the town that nobody visits and find the merchant. The witches are also looking for the merchant and Corpse will need to stay out of their way - they don’t know she shares their rock with them. Corpse is desperate to find her family, so she must use the little bit of magic she has learnt from the witches to help her along the way.
With twists and turns along the way, Corpse finds herself on a journey not knowing who to trust or whether she will find out what happened to her.
Perfect to read around Halloween, children aged 9 and up will enjoy this spooky, magical tale.

The Girl, the Ghost and the Lost Name is an enthralling, spooky read filled with mystery, intrigue and danger as well as some wonderfully unique friendships.

Corpse is a ghost who has made herself a body from wax with green seaweed hair and shells for eyes. She lives on the roof of a shack on the rock-that-doesn’t exist as it is kept hidden from prying eyes by the three witches that live there, witches that Corpse hates. Corpse avoids the cruel witches, and is alone except for her rather unusual friend: a huntsman spider which she has named Simon. When she is visited by a ghost, the Old Man, she is warned that she needs to get off the rock as witches are determined to regain their lost treasure, a precious treasure that belongs to Corpse, and which will restore her lost memories. The witches need the treasure in order to restore their magic, magic that is being lost to them as the rock dies. Corpse is determined to find the treasure before they do …

And so begins the most incredible tale as Corpse finds herself in the fishing town of Elston-Fright: a tale of danger, treachery, twists and turns as Corpse is reunited with a friend she thought she had lost forever, as she faces danger from the chillingly cruel witches and the dark, uncaring Merchant who may well be responsible for the fate which has befallen Corpse.

There is a darkness in this story that is perfect for spooky nights and a real otherworldly atmosphere with nail-biting moments of tension and spine-tingling frights. There are also some gorgeous friendships and an underlying sense of hope as Corpse comes to realise that the strength of her magic doesn’t come from the magic of the rock, or even her treasure, but from the love she has for her found family and friends. I found the ending beautifully heart-warming – and then there is ‘Elsewhere’ which makes me desperately hope that there will be another visit to Elston-Fright!

A perfect, spooky adventure for readers of 9+.

Strong and compelling, this is a good start to a dark fantasy series for the under-twelves. Corpse, as she calls herself, is a ghost, possessing a wax body she’s made for herself, and haunting three male witches on an island spooked away from all human recognition, just offshore from a town the witches have been draining of all joy for far too long. She knows one thing – she cannot leave the island, unless it is to go to her Death Proper – the stage after being a ghost. She also knows that the mainland is where she would find the secrets she craves – her original identity, parents and even her name, all of which flushes from your mind when you become a ghost. When, by hook or by crook, she finds the evil witches are on the hunt for something they really should not be able to get their hands on, she realises she must enter the chase for it too – bringing her right into the peril of their company, if not worse…

To an adult reader, perhaps too much of this is too obvious, and guessable – we can practically tell what the doodad is, and this beat and that are too clearly foretold. But the rest is still sparklingly fresh and different, and the target readers will not get too many clues about the great surprises to come in these pages. They will love the conviction and thought that has gone into the expression of the lore here – you never doubt the magic (although having to narrate a quatrain every time you want to use a spell is a bit time-consuming, I’d’ve thought) nor the ghostly side of things. And neither do you ever lose track of the humanity within Corpse – yes, we are rooting for a dead person, a Golem-like formed body, with bits of stone for teeth and an as-yes-unresolved quest for the perfect ears to stick to her head.

It does suffer here and there from not being original enough, and the usual thing of the baddy having the worst goons, for no logical purpose. I’m also left wondering why the heck it is that this is the third if not fourth book I’ve read for this audience to feature a lighthouse this year alone. But rest assured this certainly has a lot of its own flavour, and is a fine calling card as a debut novel. A strong four stars.

When the book opens we are introduced to a character named Corpse who is affixing objects to herself in order to create what comes to be known as her 'effigy'. She is living in the roof space of the shack of three witches but is never noticed. This lack of fixed identity becomes a theme in this lovely middle grade/YA novel as Corpse tries to remember what her name is. An unlikely guide is Simon the spider and along the way a range of helpers point her in a range of directions. This is a lovely book about friendship and love that can stem from loss and isolation. Corpse doesn't remember who she was before and is desperate to find out what happened to her.
It's also quite scary in points, not terrifying for younger readers but scary in a delicious sort of way that builds tension and excitement for how she will get out of the many scrapes she finds herself in. Adults don't come out of this looking good but good transcends evil, as it should. Despite being an encapsulated and complete story, it's clearly set up for a further volume of adventures and I for one can't wait.

A page-turning spooky mystery full of magic and the most unlikely of friendships. With beautifully descriptive language and charming characters, it is quirky and funny. I loved it!

The Girl, the Ghost, and the Lost Name is a wonderful debut novel from Reece Carter.
The Girl is neither a ghost nor a human - she is a presence - covered in wax and all things sea life related - shells, etc - she lives on a mysterious, magical rock with her friend who just so happens to be a spider - he communicates with clicks. The rocks sits, hidden, in the sea part way out from a small village that seems to be engulfed in gloom and a form of magic.
Also on the rock are three male witches who are searching for 'Girls heart' which will allow them to draw on magic further allowing them to increase their power.
The Girl believes that her 'heart' holds all of the answers as to why she is not a ghost, and why she has not moved into the next realm and it will also reveal what her name is.
Carter's writing brings Girl to life, the atmospheric descriptions allow each character and setting to appear in the reader's mind, he truly has a way with emotive language.
A fabulous read!

The Girl, the Ghost and the Lost Name is something totally different. This story is a very special combination of creative characterisation, magical evil, a captivating mystery and ever-evolving relationships.

Told from the first person point of view of Corpse, a ghost who can’t remember her life before, readers are drawn into this strange existence. She is strong and determined – not willing to be restricted by certain rules about what a ghost can do. Corpse’s life (or death) on the “rock-that-doesn’t-exist” near a forgotten town full of magic and monsters is at risk, threatened by three truly horrible witches. She realises that they hold the key to the life she can’t remember and the family she left behind.

Corpse loneliness and desire for family builds, resulting in an unexpectedly emotionally-charged story. She is such a unique character – readers will get alongside her, willing her to discover her truth and find everything she’s looking for – but not everything goes as planned.

Throughout her quest, Corpse is accompanied by the most wonderful sidekick – Simon, a huntsman spider. Comforting, feisty and always looking out for her, he’s everything a dead girl needs.

Publishing on 29th September 2022, The Girl, the Ghost and the Lost Name is the perfect book to curl up with on shadowy Autumn evenings in the lead up to Hallowe’en.

A super-creepy seaside story.

The main character of this story goes by the charming name of Corpse, and she is a ghost of a girl with no memory of who she is, where she came from or where her family is. She's stuck on an island no one else can see with the most horrible trio of witches I've seen in ages.

There's something charmingly endearing about Corpse and her efforts, offset beautifully by her really creepy appearance. You see, despite her name, she doesn't actually have a body. Well, apart from the one she made for herself out of bits of wax and seaweed, stones and shells. But if you think Corpse is a little gruesome, the three witches are absolutely repulsive, and make really very effective villains. There's little doubt that they're up to all sorts of evil and absolutely, definitely have to be stopped!

While their maliciousness is abundantly clear, there are plenty of people around the town where we're left in doubt as to whether or not they are good or bad, trustworthy or not, including a kelp monster, the Merchant with the backroom full of magical trinkets and a mysterious Fisher wandering around in an oilskin coat. This mystery, and the mysterious nature and power of the trinket everyone is searching for, keeps the plot flowing along at a great pace and kept me reading just to uncover what was going on.

I loved the playfulness of a lot of the language too, from Elston-Fright being described as the town-that-nobody-visits and the rock where the witches' shack is as the rock-that-doesn't-exist to Corpse talking about feeling things in her not-chest. It subverts a lot of expected norms in quite a delightful way.

The Girl, the Ghost and the Lost Name also has a lot to say about friendship, family and love, and I enjoyed this element as much as the creepiness. The relationship between Corpse and Girl is not an easy one, but the full details of what happened between them are only revealed slowly over the course of the story, building tension and another layer of mystery. It also has Simon, the adorable crab sidekick, whose character growth throughout the book is quite extraordinary.

The Girl, the Ghost and the Lost Name brilliantly captures the creepiness of a bleak seaside town and not-life as a ghost having to build your own body.

Brilliantly atmospheric, this tale gripped me from the start but then I found, as I read, that it wasn’t just a really good spooky adventure but even more a tale about kindness and friendship. The character development was nuanced and managed to tread that fine line in depicting a character who needs to learn to care for others while still prompting our own empathy. I really enjoyed this and will definitely be recommending it to readers in class.

I remember seeing an announcement about this book on Twitter. I added it to my TBR list right away because Reece Carter is represented by Gemma Cooper (and she is the best MG literary agent, IMHO - her taste is impeccable) and because the title of this book (A Girl Called Corpse - how cool is that??) This was my most anticipated MG novel of this year, and I'm pretty sure that it's going to become the children's book of the month at Waterstones. I'm so grateful for an opportunity to read this arc! Couldn't wait for the publication date.