Some books look boring even before you’ve opened them. Bland covers, rubbish titles, dodgy colour schemes… Now those ones are great for swatting flies and using as table-tennis bats, don’t get me wrong, but there are some books out there that are so eye-catchingly awesome they should be framed and hung up next to the Mona Lisa. We’re talking titles that whisper with magic, illustrations that leap off the page and fonts so funky they look like they belong to some secret code. And Moontrug’s been lucky enough to stumble across one of these books recently: Chris Riddell’s exquisitely packaged Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse.So when Moontrug heard Chris Riddell had illustrated AND written a book, she scurried down to the bookshop to check it out. Ada Goth lives at Ghastly-Gorm Hall with her father, the famous cycling poet Lord Goth. There are a host of servants, plenty of eccentric house guests and at least half a dozen ghosts, but Ada is lonely. She doesn’t have any friends her own age, and Lord Goth believes children should be ‘heard and not seen’, making her wear clumpy boots so he can always hear her coming. Then one night, a ghostly mouse called Ishmael appears in Ada’s bedroom and asks for her help. Soon, Ada finds herself joining forces with some young visitors, William and Emily Cabbage, as well as their friends in the Attic Club, to unravel a dastardly plot being hatched by Maltravers, the sinister indoor gamekeeper. Together, can they stop Maltravers before he unleashes his terrible plan on the day of Lord Goth’s famous metaphorical bicycle race and indoor hunt?Even before the story has begun, the purple-edged pages and silver-foiled endpapers shimmer with Gothic possibilities. And the regular Footnote musings (notes by the actual severed foot of a famous writer who lost the aforementioned foot at the Battle of Baden-Baden-Wurttemberg-Baden) add to the book’s Gothic charm. Moontrug’s a big fan of interesting facts, and the Footnotes have them in abundance: ‘Ornamental deer are extremely expensive, having to be smuggled out of China in the pockets of explorers and diplomats all the way from the Emperor’s Palace in the Absolutely-Forbidden-I-Won’t-Tell-You-Again City.’The characters are beautifully drawn, hilariously named and brilliantly described. There’s the formidable Mrs Beat’em, Ghastly Gorm’s cook, who brews up ‘rhinoceros-foot jelly and baked sea-otter pie in a reduction of scullery maid’s tears’ while hurling instructions like some sort of enraged sea monster: ‘Agnes, fuddle those eggs! Maud, bevil the batter! No, not that batter, you idiot! Pansy, frizzle those pies until they’re piping hot, then frangellate the crusts – quickly, girl!’ The mythical creatures are so quirky and original they’re practically leaping off the page (with her Scottish roots, Moontrug has a soft spot for Hamish The Shetland Centaur), and even Ada Goth’s new friends aren’t exactly ordinary – William Cabbage has a way of blending in with his surroundings. ‘It’s called chameleon syndrome.’ Ada is a true Moontrug, preferring to draw monsters instead of flowers: ” ‘I’ll draw a monster,’ said Ada, opening her crayon box. ‘From my imagination,’ she added quickly” and your heart immediately goes out to her as she strives to win her father’s affections. Tricky, though, when Ada reminds Lord Goth so much of his late wife, and he’d rather shoot at garden gnomes (with a blunderbuss) than engage with his lonely daughter. But all that could change if Ada can get to the bottom of the problems at the heart of Ghastly-Gorm Hall. Goth Girl is a charming story and truggers aged 7 years and above will love it. And Riddell’s humorous twist on the 18th century Gothic tradition, with his alternative versions of literary and historical characters, (from architect Metaphorical Smith to writer Mary Shellfish), will appeal to any adult looking for a bit of fun. I mean, what’s not to like? Gorgeous illustrations, quirky footnote facts, mythical creatures and buckets of humour… Oh, and a secret pocket containing a teeny weeny book by Ishmael Whiskers. Reasons Why Goth Girl is Awesome:It has shiny purple-edged pagesIt has brilliant illustrations.The main character, Ada Goth, is funny, tough, brilliant, sweet, vulnerable, and delightfully odd.Ada lives with her father Lord Goth in Ghastly Gorm Hall in the county of Ghastlyshire. Could we be more Gothic here?Ada has had a series of governesses all of whom are fantastic homages to figures from literature and films - we have Jane Ear (who was more interested in making cups of tea for Lord Goth than being a governess and gets fired after trying to burn down the west wing of Ghastly Gorm Hall) and Hebe Poppins (who runs away with Van Dyke the chimney-caretaker).The neighbouring village to Ghastly Gorm Hall is called ‘Gormless’ *snickers*Lord Goth employs a rather shifty gentleman as his ‘indoor gamekeeper’ named Maltravers.He also employs a fearsome chef named Mrs Beat’em who has a ‘Dante’s Inferno’ oven in her kitchen.Lord Goth is delightfully eccentric. He believes children should be ‘heard and not seen’, is a cycling poet, and spends his leisure time riding round the grounds of the hall on his hobby horse taking out garden gnomes with a blunderbuss.Ada meets and befriends a ghostly mouse named ‘Ishmael’ who is also a poet.She also encounters a ‘Polar Explorer’ - a strange but friendly monster made out of parts of soldiers and mariners. The ‘Polar Explorer’ is accompanied in his travels by an albatross who has a sticking-plaster cross on his chest and says only the words ‘water water everywhere, nor any drop to drink’. Lord Goth regularly holds eccentric parties at his house which include indoor game hunts and hobby horse races. These are attended by a group of guests who are also wonderful homages to literary history - there’s Mary Shellfish, the female novelist, Tristram Shandygentleman, and Martin Puzzlewit, the radical cartoonist among others. There’s a cute apprentice chimney-caretaker named Kingsley. It has footnotes written by a famous foot. The actual plot of the book is great- after meeting Ishmael, Ada finally learns what it is to have friends (she’s an only child and barely sees her father as he finds it difficult to look at her because she so closely resembles her dead mother) and begins to make more friends amongst the various young servants or children of Lord Goth’s permanent guests (who he tends to forget he’s invited). She and her new friends begin to suspect Maltravers is up to no good (well, he would be, wouldn’t he?), and it has something to do with Lord Goth’s upcoming party and indoor game hunt. The plot isn’t buried under all the references and wonderful characters, they simply make it all the better.Bad Things About Goth Girl:The sequel isn’t out yet.Now I want a pet albatross. And I want a blunderbuss.And I want to live in Ghastly Gorm Hall with Ada and friends. My house is so dull in comparison.Also I want an eight-poster bed like Ada has in her bedroom but I don’t think they exist outside of Ghastly Gorm Hall.
What do You think about Goth Girl (2013)?
It was a good read for 11- 12 year old girls who like animal adventure.
—spam
Completely in love with this book! Chris Riddell is a magician.
—ayoobatwats
I really liked the elusions to literary works and history.
—curt
