Title: The Fighting Spirit
Author: Rob Keeley
Publication Date: March 28, 2025
Genre: MG ghost story / time travel
Buy The Fighting Spirit
What Goodreads has to say:
“Would you like to adopt a ghost?
Young spirit, born 1887, seeks kind home to haunt. Gentleman by birth. Good company. Gets on well with other children. Jokes and shocks a speciality.
If interested, place outside your home three twigs, in the shape of an arrow, pointing to your front door...”
Ruby and Jayden get more than they bargained for, when they adopt the ghost of Edward Fitzberranger. He’s a boy from Victorian times, has left his haunted house without permission and is living in Ruby’s wardrobe.
When they find out he can time-travel, they find themselves in the Second World War, with bombs falling and a royal kidnapping plot. Simon Fitzberranger and his Anti-War Party offer a solution – but is he all he seems?
This is the first new Spirits novel for five years. It is both a reboot and a continuation of the original series, featuring the return of ghostly Edward and classic villains alongside some new characters.
What I have to say:
This is a charming story that I enjoyed very much---all the way from the sweet, funny ad Ruby finds in the newspaper ("Would you like to adopt a ghost?") to the WWII adventure our characters get caught up in when they try to time travel to the 60s (don't ask).
The dialogue is adorable, such as when Jayden tells Ruby he made up her mind for her and set her up to adopt the ghost from the ad ("This poor ghost's looking for a home. He can be company for you, when I'm not here.") and Ruby's retort ("Jayden, I do not want to adopt a ghost! Even if he is a gentleman.")
When the ghost shows up, Ruby tells Jayden, "He came out of my wardrobe. He's written on my wall and filled our bathroom with flowers and I am furious with you! He's called Edward Fitzberranger and he's younger than we are and I can't look after a ghost!"
But Ruby and Jayden soon realize that having a ghost around will be more fun than they thought: he can time travel.
When a time traveling adventure goes wrong, they find themselves in WWII-era England under the threat of the Blitz---and unable to leave. Soon, it's up to the three of them to rescue Britain from not just the Nazis, but a much more sinister force---evil beings from the spirit world.
Once again, any story with Edward Fitzberranger in it is one I'm going to heartily enjoy. Edward is up to his usual tricks here (though he also manages to save the British monarchy, so maybe he's grown up a very little bit since his first adventures).
The ghostly hints in this story are also fun: dopplegangers---spirit beings who can assume the form of any person---are trying to sabotage the British monarchy, and there's a great moment near the end of the story where we get to see the spirits of the past kings and queens of England, who come to "life" at just the right moment. I enjoyed that too.
At the end of the day, this is a quick, fun read that will make you smile. While the action is a bit slow in the beginning, it's very charming all the way through, and I kept reading to find out what shenanigans Edward would pull and how Ruby and Jayden would deal with them.
Rob Keeley has done it again: concocting a delightful MG story with a touch of ghostliness and time travel, and I for one am glad.
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