Breathe: A Ghost Story

I'm always on the lookout for a good ghost story--one full of atmosphere and creepyness, and that isn't stupid. Because well-written ghost stories are hard to find, Breathe: a Ghost Story was a pleasant surprise, especially since it's a novel written for children.

Jack and his mother Sarah arrive at an old farmhouse they've leased in the English countryside where they have come to grieve and regroup after the sudden death of Jack's father (side note: I guess because it's a kid's book we don't see Sarah's pain over the loss of her husband? Odd.) In the beginning of the book, Jack reminds me of the little boy in the movie the Sixth Sense because he sees dead people--well, ghosts, actually. And this farmhouse has five--four children who show more died at different points over a forty year time span, plus a woman from the Victorian era whose daughter died from consumption in the garden. At first the Ghost Mother (as they call her) seems nice, but you soon learn that she is a little on the obsessive crazy side, and terrorizes the other ghosts as a result. She soon begins to terrorize Jack and Sarah too.

There are a lot of things I liked about Breathe: a Ghost Story. First, although it is written for children, it read like a book for any age reader (trust me, this is a rare and wonderful thing). The story was unique from start to finish--I soon got to know Jack and stopped imagining him as Haley Joel Osment. There were several twists that I didn't expect, and it was never predictable. The ghosts weren't the creepiest, but the whole logic and worldbuilding around them was both solid and inventive. Also, Jack has severe asthma, and McNish incorporates that effectively into the story. Finally, the chapter headings had cool illustrations. Overall, this is a terrific book. show less

[This is a review I wrote in 2007]

Coming after the magnificent Doomspell Trilogy, this ghost story left me feeling deflated. It's still an okay readable story, but it's really missing the energy and vitality of his earlier books. So, alright, it's a ghost story, and it's not supposed to be "real" but I really found this a lot more unbelievable than the far more far-fetched fantasy Doomspell books. I think the real problem with it for me is that it's half-grounded in a "real" world of normal everyday people and the "ghost" story just doesn't seem to fit with the story of a young boy and his mum coming to terms with the recent death of the boy's dad.

The story begins promisingly by introducing the ghosts - four children's spirits of show more different ages trapped in an old farmhouse and hoping that the next occupier of the house will bring with them a child to watch and maybe play with. There are two boys and two girls and the boys hopes are realised when they see 12 year old Jack approach the house with his mum. Jack's dad has recently died and his mum has brought him to the house because he loves old houses, and old things around him. As soon as he arrives he runs his hands around everything in the house and picks up vibes, feelings and images from the objects, about the people that have been in the house before them. He discovers abilities he never knew he had when he "senses" details about the old lady who died in the house before they moved in. Gradually, Jack begins to sense other spirits in the house; first an adult (the strongest feeling) and then slowly he senses impressions of children as well. But something is not quite right. There is animosity between the ghosts... and Jack isn't quite sure who to believe and trust. Can he work it out, and keep his severe asthma attacks under control as well?

I found the story starts to lack substance about half way through and then doesn't really pick up again after that. The plot gets a bit repetitive, and then picks up again slightly towards the end. It's readable, but not McNish at his best. show less

Breathe by Cliff McNish is a children’s story dealing with a young asthmatic boy, Jack, and his mother who move to an old farmhouse after the death of his father. Instead of peace and quiet, they find they are living in a haunted house. There are four children’s spirits and one of a woman who is called the Ghost Mother. It turns out that the woman spirit is keeping the others as prisoners, she feeds on their souls in order to keep herself strong.

The Ghost Mother has plans for both Jack and his mother, but Jack is a special boy with the ability to communicate with those from the Other World. He soon realizes that he must be the one to save not only himself and his mother but the other spirits as well

Obviously the target audience for show more this book is much younger than I and so what I mostly found silly might appeal to younger children. With the lack of depth to the plot and the ending that felt too convenient and contrived Breathe: A Ghost Story appears to be more focused on offering life lessons than serving up the chills that I was looking for. show less

I read this book last spring, but it really stuck with me. It’s not a ghost story in the pop out at you sense. It’s more a creepy story that makes you feel very unsettled. The ghost mother made my skin crawl – especially with what she was doing to the ghost children. Many times I want to tell Jack to run - run away fast! I couldn’t stand the thought of the ghost mother touching Jack or being near him! I will admit the ending was a bit confusing to me. I had to reread it several times to make sure I understood it.

In a nutshell: great creepy story that made me shudder a few times.

Starts very strong, but gets a bit convoluted with too many plot lines about half way through. Avid ghost story fans will enjoy.

I loved this book once I got to the second chapter, so kids need to be encouraged to do that. The story centers on Jack, a boy of 12 (I think) who has the ability to sense the history of objects around him and soon finds that he can also see and speak to ghosts. This book has an interesting take on what happens when you die and are not taked by your loved ones to a better place: you go to the Nightmare Passage. Scary stuff, but the ending wrapped it all up nicely. JAck is able to save the ghost children he has gotten to know by helping the loved ones retrieve the souls they want from this awful place.

I read this last March and forgot to add it to my read list. I thought this was a great story. It held me wondering where it was going and what the ultimate story was (why, why was she like this?!) a pretty spooky tale.