The Phantom Isles

by Stephen Alter, John Rocco (Illustrator)

The book is called The Compleat Necromancer , and when Ming, Orion, and Courtney read an incantation from its pages, they have no way of knowing they are about to conjure up the ghosts of an entire nation. Because the ghosts that the three friends summon aren't just any ghosts. They were captured from an island in the middle of the Indian Ocean―the Ilhas dos Fantasmas―a place where the living and the dead once coexisted peacefully. Now confined to the pages of a few dozen library books in a New England town that's thousands of miles from their home, the ghosts must rely on the children and a determined librarian to free them before they are lost forever.

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Supernatural, Fiction, Ghost Stories, Adventure

210 pages, Hardcover

First published January 23, 2007

About the author

STEPHEN ALTER is the son of American missionaries to the Himalayas, and was raised in India. The author of seven books for adults, he is the former Writer-in-Residence at MIT, and a recipient of a Fulbright grant. He currently lives in India with his wife, where he is researching his newest book for adults—a behind the scenes look at the world of Bollywood.

Reviews

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a little town in Carville, Massachusetts three friends Ming, Courtney and Orion sneak into the town library where they plan to "meet in darkness and conspire to raise the dead" by reciting from the The Compleat Necromancer . Creepy right? What happens instead, is that the ghosts that have been imprisoned in the books are now visible on the pages. Author Stephen Alter tells a story through alternating time periods current and that of the 1930's in a country called Ilhas dos Fatasmas in the Indian Ocean. The mystery of how these ghosts were trapped in the books and brought to America leads the three friends and librarian to investigate further into the donor of the books to the library and the people of Ilhas dos Fatasmas. Alter goes to great lengths to create stories behind each of the ghosts in the book and although some may be tragic endings, Porquoix swimming in the reef when a shark "takes him for its lunch", there are also lovely ones about a couple who become separated. The premise was sound and even had watermark illustrations on the page to represent ghosts on the page, which took me aback for a second. I also really enjoyed getting the story told from different characters viewpoints, even the 6th grade teacher Mrs. Hokum who really wants all these books to be discarded because she thinks they are "terrible stories with tragic endings, ugly descriptions of unpleasant places etc.' Overall a great suggestion for All Hallow’s Read (a suggestion by Neil Gamin to give someone a scary book for Halloween.)

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Three children and a librarian join forces to help ghosts that have been imprisoned in books escape and return to their country. The encyclopedia, book, and web site entries containing information about their home country, Ilhas dos Fantasmas, were so realistic that I actually began to wonder if there really was such a tiny country in the Indian Ocean. Stephen Alter's descriptions were so rich with images at times that I felt compelled to read the story aloud (to the cats--and they enjoyed it!). The description of the 6th grade teacher, Mrs. Hokum, was priceless. This was another one that I couldn't put down. Great story! I must look into more books by this author. Highly recommended for a fun read.

[Linda Klinedinst · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so good...I love this book....it involves Books in a Library....It involves a 6th Grade Mean Ole School Teacher. I am totally in love with this book.

It is a Middle Grade Book.

I give this book 5/5 Stars on Goodreads.

Happy Reading :)

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by Carrie Spellman for TeensReadToo.com

Late one night Ming, Courtney, and Orion sneak into the town library to find a very curious book. The Compleat Necromancer contains a spell that can supposedly conjure the ghosts of the dead. The friends perform the spell and... nothing happens. Or so it seems.

The next day Alma, the librarian, notices books out of place. Stranger still is the face that looks out at her when she opens one of them. It seems to materialize on the page, and it appears to be looking right at her! And it's not the only face stuck in a book.

Slowly a mystery comes to the surface. It seems to center around a place called Ilhas dos Fantasmas, and a professor who went to live there for awhile a long time ago. If Ming, Courtney, Orion, and Alma can solve the mystery, they might be able to free the ghosts from their books. But, the clock is ticking, and the books might be in greater danger than any of them realize.

This is such a fun book, and such an original idea! I love that it tells the stories of the ghosts, as well as has their faces on the page. It makes the story so much more vivid. Plus it has a crazy teacher, who at first is almost funny then turns creepy. It's the fun kind of scary book that is a great story for anyone. It also seems like just the kind of book that parents could read to their kids.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Middle school friends Ming, Courtney, and Orion find an interesting book in the basement of the Carville Public Library. It's called The Compleat Necromancer: An Investigation into the Mysteries of the Afterlife by Prof. Hezekaih T. Osgood, published in 1946. In it, they recite the words that supposedly make ghosts appear. When nothing happens however, they are somewhat disappointed. The next morning, the librarian Alma Parker notices books out of place and open their pages to discover images floating above the text in the books. With the help of the three friends, Alma discovers the reasons for the ghosts entrapment in the pages of text, the method by which they were imprisoned, and most importantly, the way to free all of them. Time is of the essence, however, because the townspeople, led by Ming and Orion's teacher, Mrs. Hokum, are determined to rid the library of the dangerous, depressing, and filthy books that the library keeps on its shelves.

The Phantom Isles is part adventure, mystery, and ghost-story all wrapped up around a friendship between book-loving friends, librarians, and libraries.

[Becky H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three kids go to the library and find a book of spells. They try one that is supposed to bring the dead to life. They later find out that it worked and now the library or I should say the books are haunted. Several spirits are trapped in the books and they must find out how to rescue them and save the library.
Book includes water marked pictures for a mysterious almost scary affect. Fun read for 3rd and 4th graders.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

This book reads as half kid's adventure/ghost story and half anthropology field study. It's a very weird mix, but it works better than it sounds. I wish it stuck with the kid's story line more, the characters are never very well fleshed out because of the separation, about every chapter switches back and forth. Overall it was fun. I would recommend it for older age range (it's junior fiction) because it deals A LOT with death and has some sort of grim and gruesome imagery.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This plot has so much potential that I was disappointed it wasn't executed better. The writing style is vague at times, and makes leaps from one storyline to another in such a way that I found myself wondering if I'd just skipped pages on accident. Ultimately I lost interest, and put the book down more than halfway through.

[The Library Lady · Rating 2 out of 5]

Someone else said it--great idea for a plot, but poorly written. Parts are well done, others sound more like an adult textbook. I'm not sure many kids will want to plow through this to get to the good stuff--I found it hard work myself!