The Sad Ghost Club is both pleasant and charming. It has lovely artwork that absolutely captures the angst that teenagers suffering from anxiety feel. The writing here is perceptive and on point. It balances humour, pathos, and, sweetness exceedingly well. Sam is given to bouts of overthinking which give way to a sense of hopelessness and the self-doubt. Sam cares about his pets, parents, and cares about what people think of him. Socks also suffers from bouts of low feelings, but her experience and way of handling it are different from Sam’s. They are both characters you root for as they are sweet kids trying to do their best. It is a book that left me feeling warm all over. Without sounding too worthy, I think this is an important book. The stresses and strains that the pandemic has caused are likely to cause young people to become more vulnerable to mental illness. The message at the heart of the book is that you are not alone. You have a tribe that understands you. The hard thing sometimes is finding them. I was a shy teenager and grew up into the sort of bloke that you’d very much in the kitchen at parties. I would have very much liked to have read The Sad Ghost Club while I was growing up. It might have made things a bit easier. A lovely book.

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