I had no idea what to expect when I started reading Lightning Falls having not read any of Amy Wilson’s other books.

I was intrigued by the stunning cover filled with rainbows and stars and after reading the blurb, I could not wait to start reading.

The Ghost House is all Valerie has ever known.

A world that is under threat.
A world he claims is her real home.

I was immediately drawn into the hustle and bustle of Lightning Falls. A ghost house. Here Valerie lives with her ghost family and a few helpful humans. Valerie is our protagonist and storyteller. She is a wonderful, strong character and I love her relationship with her ghost sister, Meg. I love the use of dialogue in the book to move the story along and to help paint a picture of the settings and the goings on. This book is exquisitely written and it had me under its spell from the start. I loved all the characters, even the not so nice ones, they were all brilliantly written and the cast of characters came together so well. The whole story flows beautifully from page to page.

Amy is amazing at painting pictures of people and places with her words. I could see everything she wrote about in my mind so clearly. Amy is a skilled world builder and I loved the ghost house and also Orbis, the magical city beyond the rainbow.

Lightning Falls is a middle grade fantasy novel. It is set in two worlds joined together by a bridge over a river. Lightning Falls, the ghost house, is built beside a viaduct, a thundering waterfall and a cemetery. The house is filled with strange secrets and dangerous magic.

The story centres around Valerie, a young girl who believes that she is a ‘Hallowed ghost’ and lives happily alongside her ghost family who found her abandoned as a toddler in the old crypt. All is well until Valerie meets Joe and begins to question everything.

Lightning Falls is a mystery story, a ghost story, an adventure. This is a story filled with sparks of magic. This is a story of family and friendship. A story of belonging and the importance of knowing who you are. This story has a strong message about belonging and families coming in all different shapes and sizes. This is a tale of fantasy filled with awe and wonder. Lightning Falls is filled with secrets and unanswered questions. The plot is filled with tension and suspense and bursts of fizzing magical excitement.

This is such a special book. I love Amy Wilson’s descriptive writing and love the worlds and characters she has created. The plot is fast moving and yet somehow pauses to allow the reader to marvel at the beauty of Orbis and revel in the warm hearted chaos of the ghost house. Amy’s writing reminds me of Sophie Andersen and the ghost house is much like a house with chicken legs in that it is not just a place but also one of the central characters of the story. Both authors have made me want to hug a house!

I loved the use of an old hidden journal discovered to add another voice to the story. A wonderful way to start unravelling the secrets and answering the questions.

This book has everything I loved in stories as a child and indeed the things that hook my own children into books now. Magical worlds, objects and portals, mysteries to solve, secrets to uncover and strong bonds between great believable characters that you grow to love.

While reading the book I kept thinking how much my own children would love the story and how they would love creating their own magical worlds, objects and characters.

Through Authorfy I found a wonderful six week scheme of work for the book that I am going to use with my children this coming term. We are going to read the book together and also

Create a ghostly soundscape
Create a dazzling painting of the sky around Lightning Falls
Write some spooky poetry
Paint a picture of Orbis
Design our own magical worlds and create maps of them
Explore the difference between a house and a home
Think about belonging – what does it mean to belong?
(Authorfy Scheme of Work)

We are also going to design our own ghost house as suggested by Amy Wilson on Twitter

You can find all the details and a What Kind Of Ghost Are You? quiz here

I cannot wait to take my children on this magical adventure!

Will you be brave enough to check in to Lightning Falls and meet the family?

I am off to buy every book Amy Wilson has ever written!!

I also sincerely hope that I will meet Valerie and Joe again for another adventure