I took a really long time to finish this book because frankly I had to force myself to read it. It's bland and the story kind of becomes as if someone wrote it after having smoked up. Didnot enjoy it. ( )

A dying mother, an abusive father, psychic powers, a new school, mysterious uncle and a mystery within the school how is a guy supposed to get a break?

Joshua has been psychic from day one, and mystery abounds in his family the moment his mother breathes her last as a long lost uncle comes to the forward to take him from his depressive situation. Several days of psychically induced sleep don't help either. As his story progresses more mysteries unravel and keep the reader on edge until the final pages. A good read overall. ( )

When Joshua Forester’s mother dies of cancer, his entire life is upended. His abusive father wants nothing to do with him. An uncle he never knew existed suddenly appears and whisks him away to another across the country. Joshua is left with more questions than answers when he finds himself enrolled at a private boarding school where his uncle is dean.
And this private school is no place for rest and healing after his mother’s death. He has mandatory church services to attend, difficult classes, teenage cliques to avoid, and nearly nothing to his name after leaving all of his possessions behind. If having a loaded academic schedule wasn’t enough stress, Joshua is forced to try out for the football team even though he has never played before. But none of this is truly as frightening as Joshua’s gifts. He was able to see the cancer in his mother long before the doctors were able to diagnose her. He can read minds and has prophetic dreams. All of this is made even more dangerous when a dark force pulls Joshua towards a portal to the ghost world and a deadly demon that guards the entrance.

Poor Joshua. This kid just can’t catch a break throughout the entire book. His father is abusive, his mother dies of a horrible illness and then he’s kidnapped by an uncle he’s never met. I spent much of the book hoping that the uncle would come to some horrible end-he was such an irritating character and frustrating to read. He knows that Joshua has special powers and refuses to give him any answers to his questions.
I wish there had been more information on the portal and how Ian and his school played a part in it. There are still a lot of questions that went unanswered. I’m not a fan of how the “local tribe” was introduced and used at the end-it felt too convenient.

Overall, it was a good read. The story flowed well and the characters were well developed. Joshua was very convincing as the hurt and angsty teenager. I hope it’s the beginning of a series and we can find out more about the shadowy groups behind the portal and how or why Joshua and his family have the gifts they do. ( )

This is an interesting book--well-written, with engaging characters and an intriguing mystery that's written from a refreshingly open-minded perspective. (Without giving away details, I was bracing myself to have the last few chapters turn into proselytizing, and really appreciated that the author went in another direction.) Teenagers can be hard to write realistically without being obnoxious, but I thought the balance was struck perfectly with Joshua and his friends. While I wish some threads of the story had been wrapped up at the end, I also appreciate the need to pave the way for a sequel.

In short, while it can't replace Harry Potter in my heart, I enjoyed "The Ghost Portal" and if more of Joshua's adventures make it to print, I'll pick up a copy!

Cheryl Carvajal's Ghost Portal is a good YA-and-older start to a fantasy series. The story is a hybrid messianic and coming of age plot. The main character, Joshua, is a fifteen year old emotional castaway. His mother is taken away by cancer; his father is a piece of rotten detritus; and a previously unknown uncle takes custody of him before anyone else can have a say in the matter after his mother's demise. "Taking custody" mirrors kidnapping without a ransom. His uncle inserts him into a private academy and for a time cuts him a bit of slack but not for long.

Joshua has some special talents with which he must come to grips. His uncle has a strong, smothering agenda for his care due to his talents. He divulges very little to Joshua, and this understandably brings out an adolescent disposition that anyone of any age could identify with. The uncle is high on noble intentions but low on dad skills. Very low. He gets overbearing because Joshua is unwittingly a gatekeeper of sorts. Joshua's status relates to the book title.

Carvajal writes in the first person most of the time which works very well. So long as he isn't drugged, Joshua mentally operates in 4th gear most or all of the time. He has to, because all of the adults in his tumultuous world are just a bit weird and not only by adolescent standards. A young reader will find a great deal of empathy in Carvajal's writing style. Ghost Portal is an engaging tale about an exceptionally highpressure journey into maturity. ( )