The Last Ghost: A Belladonna Johnson Adventure (2000) - Plot & Excerpts
The premise is very intriguing. I was so excited reading it, until page 100-200. And then I was disappointed with the execution. Too many coincidences and when cornered, the characters seem to know the right thing to do. How could one blab in ancient spells without really knowing them? So many loose ends, and I find myself not really caring what would happen next. How could they even meet the Oracle? Why the cryptic messages? I don't understand when Belladonna and Steven live... should be around the age of internet, right? No cell phones, not even internet to look up for some weird word from the past. Perhaps because it's located in a small town? I still find it weird.I find it weird why one could become a Spellbinder and Paladin without clear explanations---grown ups conveniently choose not to explain. And ruler? Why ruler? It seems odd and out of place. If it is supposed to be a mag weapon, wouldn't it be better to be in a shape of a twig, or a stick, or even a stone? The d'oh moment for me: when they find out the bad guy is keeping "things" in bottle glasses. They wanted to open the cap but they couldn't. They didn't try to smash it, but in the end they smashed the glasses anyway. I don't really understand the mechanism of magic and "worlds" in this book, the readers aren't given enough clues. Maybe as cliffhangers for book 2 and 3? A young girl can see ghosts -- it's a family trait. So when her parents die, life continues pretty much as normal. Until one day her parents, and all the other ghosts, disappear, and it's left up to her to investigate. This is one of those books where the kids/adults dynamic didn't really work for me. Maybe because I'm getting older, but it seemed like the adults were a lot more "shut up and mind your own business" in this than they really had reason to be.
What do You think about The Last Ghost: A Belladonna Johnson Adventure (2000)?
This book kind of lost me in a few spots, but otherwise it was good.
—itsvictoria
Not bad. Uniquely imaginative. Look forward to the next book.
—adam
this was a great book about friendship and adventure.
—Jolene
