Hey bookworm friends, thanks so much for popping by my stop of The Curse of the Dead Man’s Diamond Tour! You’re just in time to add this middle-grade supernatural mystery to your October TBRs! 👻Below I will provide a review and feature my favourite quotes so, enjoy!
Thank you to TBR And Beyond Tours, Delacorte Press, & Christyne Morrell for the e-ARC.
About The Curse of the Dead Man’s Diamond
Author: Christyne E. Morrell
Genre(s): Middle-Grade Mystery, Fantasy
Publisher: Delacorte Press, imprint of Random House Children’s Books
Format Read: E-ARC
Pub Date: September 17, 2024 – OUT NOW!
Cover Artist: TK
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When twelve-year-old Charlie moves from New York to a small town in Florida, she discovers that her new house is haunted! As she struggles to settle into her new home she hears rumours of a curse. If what the townspeople say is true then the three ghosts in her house—Ada, Arthur, and Guff—are stuck here because they stole a dead man’s diamond. And it now lies hidden somewhere in the house. Since Charlie is already sick of Florida (and the school bullies that come with it) she hatches a scheme: If she could only find the diamond, they’d have enough money to move back to New York!
CWs: grief, bullying, toxic friendships, on page deaths
Purchase Links
⟡ Amazon│Barnes & Noble │Bookshop.org ⟡
My Review
This middle-grade mystery/fantasy charmed me from the very beginning because it felt like a cross between two of my favourite childhood movies: Casper (1995) and The Rescuers (1977). Okay so the references might be a tad outdated but I promise this book is not! We have a creepy haunted house, ghosts, tales of curses, making friends, and school bullies: all topics that a middle schooler (and adults) will find engaging or relatable.
The story is told in alternating POVs: one for Charlie and one for the three ghosts where we follow them before they were ghosts and how they cope with being ghosts in Charlie’s time. I enjoyed how the narrative mixed light and mysterious moments with heavier story beats as we got to know our characters better. We learn about the ghosts’ tragic past, and about Charlie’s grief and feelings of guilt—there’s a touching moment about midway through that made me tear up. But don’t worry, the dialogue also made me laugh several times, especially when the town’s medium, Madame Rayna was on the page. She and Cinco, an Argentinian boy with a satisfying character arc, are my favourite characters!
I loved how this book discusses what being a true friend means, especially because it’s aimed at an age group where kids might want to spend more time with friends than with family. It’s a natural part of growing up and finding independence and it doesn’t mean they don’t love their family but it can be tough to navigate. Charlie sometimes acts unkindly toward a new friend or behaves in a way her father doesn’t understand but I loved how the story allows her to process those things, and take ownership of her mistakes. The bullies in the story are not depicted as black-and-white and while it is clear that there is no excuse for bullying, it’s also equally clear that everyone deserves compassion.
8 Favourite Quotes
My Cheek was smashed so firmly against the cool car window that it peeled off like a Fruit Roll-Up when I lifted my head.
Winklevoss Manor—that’s right, our new home had a name—was a towering Victorian mansion, crisscrossed with so many thick vines it looked like clutching fingers were trying to drag the place back into the earth.
When Ada Winklevoss was a child, old wive’s tales were the only kind of tales she knew
Then, as suddenly as the diamond gave, the diamond took away. First in small ways—cracks in the new china, torn lace, a spoiled bottle of Bordeaux. Then in larger ways.
Don’t be afraid to add a pop of color to your wardrobe. Ghosts get sick of all the black.
I decided there and then that ghosts weren’t actually scary at all. But middle-school—now that was a different story.
I was playing a duet with a ghost. This was too much. Too weird. Even for Florida.
I don’t specialize in the living, but I do know this—I’ve never met a problem dulce de leche couldn’t solve.
About Christyne Morrell
Let’s chat in the comments!
Have I convinced you to check this one out? Or, what’s your favourite ghost story?
I encourage you to check out the other lovely bloggers on the tour schedule.
