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Neshama
A bullied girl who communicates with ghosts finds her inner strength in this haunting novel in verse that will resonate with anyone who has felt themselves to be different.
Anna sees ghosts. The spirits of her ancestors call to her from the shadows, and no matter where she is, Anna always answers. Kids in her middle school tease her. Teachers and parents are worried by her strange behavior. The only one who seems to understand is Anna’s beloved grandmother, Bubbe, who has always treasured Anna’s shayna neshama, her beautiful soul. Spending Shabbos with Bubbe is the only thing that gives Anna the sense of love and belonging that she needs.
But when a ghost named Ruthie appears at Bubbe’s house by the sea, Anna begins to uncover long-hidden secrets that reveal the mystery of her family’s troubled past. As Anna and Ruthie get closer, Anna must decide for herself whether being connected to a restless ghost is worth the risk. When it becomes clear that Bubbe’s life is in danger, Anna must face the horrible She alone has the ability to save her family and heal the wounds that follow them from one generation to the next.
National Book Award long-listed author Marcella Pixley brings her Jewish faith and her acclaimed sense of lyricism to this powerful story of bravery, forgiveness, and healing.
Anna sees ghosts. The spirits of her ancestors call to her from the shadows, and no matter where she is, Anna always answers. Kids in her middle school tease her. Teachers and parents are worried by her strange behavior. The only one who seems to understand is Anna’s beloved grandmother, Bubbe, who has always treasured Anna’s shayna neshama, her beautiful soul. Spending Shabbos with Bubbe is the only thing that gives Anna the sense of love and belonging that she needs.
But when a ghost named Ruthie appears at Bubbe’s house by the sea, Anna begins to uncover long-hidden secrets that reveal the mystery of her family’s troubled past. As Anna and Ruthie get closer, Anna must decide for herself whether being connected to a restless ghost is worth the risk. When it becomes clear that Bubbe’s life is in danger, Anna must face the horrible She alone has the ability to save her family and heal the wounds that follow them from one generation to the next.
National Book Award long-listed author Marcella Pixley brings her Jewish faith and her acclaimed sense of lyricism to this powerful story of bravery, forgiveness, and healing.
368 pages, Hardcover
Published May 13, 2025
8 people are currently reading
170 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
May 17, 2025
Hands down the most beautiful book I read this year. I’d give it a galaxy of stars if I could. I am a lover of verse novels but sometimes they feel like regular prose styled into verse form without playing an integral part to the narrative. But not this time. This time the verse are actual beautiful poems that serve a purpose. It is simply a beautiful read with so much heart and emotions packed in there. If you’re a teacher looking to mix things up in a poetry unit, use this book, it’s just hands down awesome.
September 10, 2025
I really enjoyed this one. As per usual with me...I went into this without reading the synopsis and I assumed it was going to be a fantasy story...magical in some way ..based on the cover. And what I got was a ghost story centered around grief and the Jewish faith. Lucky me because I LOVE ghost stories and books about grief and loss. It also addresses issues of bullying, finding your voice, being accepted by family and friends, etc and I feel like it wove all those elements together nicely. My only real complaint is that I feel like the school elements of this story didn't really have a satisfying conclusion ..but you can see where it was headed and hope for the best on that front. While it's not a new favorite...I did really enjoy this one and would recommend it.
May 11, 2025
What an exquisite, lyrically-rendered tale about beautiful souls, both those who are living and those who have passed.
“Seeing ghosts
wherever I look,
children
centuries old,
their quick footsteps
skittering
like autumn leaves,
a cold hand
on my shoulder,
a voice in my ear
insistent as wind.” (ARC 4)
Anna sees spirits, not only from her ancestors but those who have passed from others’ lives, such as her peers. She communicates and dances with them and writes poetry to and with them. She is ostracized by the other kids in her middle school class, especially the popular, mean girls led by Eden, and sadly, also by her father who wants her to fit in with the other kids, not like his little sister Ruthie who died when eleven.
Anna is very interested in her Jewish heritage and religion even though her father sees himself as a “secular” Jew and has forsaken the customs. Her mother’s heritage is Lutheran and, therefore, she does not know the traditions, but her grandmother, her Bubbe Esther, practices, observing the Shabbat every week, following the rituals of past generations, passing to the next, Anna.
Bubbe calls Anna a “shayna neshama” (beautiful soul) and gifts her a leather journal for her ghost poems, but when things escalate with Eden at school and Anna stands up for herself, her father burns her journal and Anna begins going to her Bubbe’s for the weekends,
“…this magical place
where no one can say
it’s more important
to pretend I am normal
than to be
who I was meant to be,
a girl who is not quite
like the others,
a girl who would rather
dance with ghosts
than try to slow my feet
so they can fit
into the normal
endless predictable pat.” (ARC 76)
Here she meets the ghost of Ruthie, “…the wild child everyone thought was crazy,…” (ARC 65)
Ruthie writes poetry with her, and Anna lets her inhabit her body so she can feel her mother.
But Ruthie has a score to settle with Jeremy, the boy—now a man—who, at the direction of his abusive, anti-Semitic father, teased Ruthie, and her ghost cannot forgive him. He lives a sad life at the bottom of the hill near Bubbe, and Ruthie begs Anna to take vengeance on him. But through the events that follow, and, mostly due to Anna’s happy, singing, loving little sister, Evie, Ruthie, her brother (Anna’s father), and Bubbe learn forgiveness. And Anna learns to help her peers, such as Eden—not changing who she is but using her gift for others, a true shayna neshama.
“Seeing ghosts
wherever I look,
children
centuries old,
their quick footsteps
skittering
like autumn leaves,
a cold hand
on my shoulder,
a voice in my ear
insistent as wind.” (ARC 4)
Anna sees spirits, not only from her ancestors but those who have passed from others’ lives, such as her peers. She communicates and dances with them and writes poetry to and with them. She is ostracized by the other kids in her middle school class, especially the popular, mean girls led by Eden, and sadly, also by her father who wants her to fit in with the other kids, not like his little sister Ruthie who died when eleven.
Anna is very interested in her Jewish heritage and religion even though her father sees himself as a “secular” Jew and has forsaken the customs. Her mother’s heritage is Lutheran and, therefore, she does not know the traditions, but her grandmother, her Bubbe Esther, practices, observing the Shabbat every week, following the rituals of past generations, passing to the next, Anna.
Bubbe calls Anna a “shayna neshama” (beautiful soul) and gifts her a leather journal for her ghost poems, but when things escalate with Eden at school and Anna stands up for herself, her father burns her journal and Anna begins going to her Bubbe’s for the weekends,
“…this magical place
where no one can say
it’s more important
to pretend I am normal
than to be
who I was meant to be,
a girl who is not quite
like the others,
a girl who would rather
dance with ghosts
than try to slow my feet
so they can fit
into the normal
endless predictable pat.” (ARC 76)
Here she meets the ghost of Ruthie, “…the wild child everyone thought was crazy,…” (ARC 65)
Ruthie writes poetry with her, and Anna lets her inhabit her body so she can feel her mother.
But Ruthie has a score to settle with Jeremy, the boy—now a man—who, at the direction of his abusive, anti-Semitic father, teased Ruthie, and her ghost cannot forgive him. He lives a sad life at the bottom of the hill near Bubbe, and Ruthie begs Anna to take vengeance on him. But through the events that follow, and, mostly due to Anna’s happy, singing, loving little sister, Evie, Ruthie, her brother (Anna’s father), and Bubbe learn forgiveness. And Anna learns to help her peers, such as Eden—not changing who she is but using her gift for others, a true shayna neshama.
August 23, 2025
What worked:
The idea of religion is one facet of the story that creates a conflict. Anna’s father says they are secular, which means they don’t pay attention to what it means to be Jewish. Her mother grew up Lutheran and doesn’t know enough about Judaism to teach Anna. However, Anna’s grandmother, Bubbe, is still a practicing Jew and invites Anna to her home to celebrate Shabbat. They sing prayers together in Hebrew, and the author includes the lyrics with English translations. However, visiting Bubbe opens the door for a larger conflict.
Anna can see ghosts, and she lets them control her hands to write messages in a journal. Other people, including her teacher and parents, think she has an active imagination, but Anna doesn’t try to hide the truth. Talking about ghosts scares some students, but it also makes her a target for ridicule and teasing. Bubbe believes Anna is a shayna neshama, a Yiddish-Hebrew term for a beautiful soul, but even Bubbe doesn’t think Anna can see ghosts. Bubbe doesn’t know that the ghost of Ruthie, sister of Anna’s father, hangs around her home, and Ruthie misses dancing with her mother and holding her hands. Anna and Ruthie communicate through the journal, but Anna decides to make a fateful decision.
The entire book is in verse, with each page sharing something different. Some pages narrate the story, and others present the thoughts from ghosts. Readers will know what Anna is thinking and feeling as she deals with school, her father, and Ruthie. Eden is the main tormentor at school, and she goes out of her way to make Anna’s life horrible. Anna’s father isn’t an understanding character, and he does something terrible to her that is unforgivable. The verses use short lines to quickly communicate feelings and ideas, so the plot actually moves fairly quickly.
What didn’t work as well:
It’s sometimes challenging to differentiate Anna’s thoughts from Ruthie’s. The story in verse shares thoughts and feelings, but readers may not fully connect with Anna. There are scenes where readers might not grasp exactly what she’s experiencing without more description.
The final verdict:
This story in verse offers a touching tale of family and faith. The lyrical style allows readers to capture the intense emotions and thoughts of the characters, as Anna tries to restore peace to troubled souls. If you’re okay with books in verse, I recommend you give this one a shot.
The idea of religion is one facet of the story that creates a conflict. Anna’s father says they are secular, which means they don’t pay attention to what it means to be Jewish. Her mother grew up Lutheran and doesn’t know enough about Judaism to teach Anna. However, Anna’s grandmother, Bubbe, is still a practicing Jew and invites Anna to her home to celebrate Shabbat. They sing prayers together in Hebrew, and the author includes the lyrics with English translations. However, visiting Bubbe opens the door for a larger conflict.
Anna can see ghosts, and she lets them control her hands to write messages in a journal. Other people, including her teacher and parents, think she has an active imagination, but Anna doesn’t try to hide the truth. Talking about ghosts scares some students, but it also makes her a target for ridicule and teasing. Bubbe believes Anna is a shayna neshama, a Yiddish-Hebrew term for a beautiful soul, but even Bubbe doesn’t think Anna can see ghosts. Bubbe doesn’t know that the ghost of Ruthie, sister of Anna’s father, hangs around her home, and Ruthie misses dancing with her mother and holding her hands. Anna and Ruthie communicate through the journal, but Anna decides to make a fateful decision.
The entire book is in verse, with each page sharing something different. Some pages narrate the story, and others present the thoughts from ghosts. Readers will know what Anna is thinking and feeling as she deals with school, her father, and Ruthie. Eden is the main tormentor at school, and she goes out of her way to make Anna’s life horrible. Anna’s father isn’t an understanding character, and he does something terrible to her that is unforgivable. The verses use short lines to quickly communicate feelings and ideas, so the plot actually moves fairly quickly.
What didn’t work as well:
It’s sometimes challenging to differentiate Anna’s thoughts from Ruthie’s. The story in verse shares thoughts and feelings, but readers may not fully connect with Anna. There are scenes where readers might not grasp exactly what she’s experiencing without more description.
The final verdict:
This story in verse offers a touching tale of family and faith. The lyrical style allows readers to capture the intense emotions and thoughts of the characters, as Anna tries to restore peace to troubled souls. If you’re okay with books in verse, I recommend you give this one a shot.
June 3, 2025
4.25*
Young Anna can see ghosts—she observes them, plays with them, and converses with them. The only problem is that no one believes her. She is mercilessly bullied at school and her father bullies her at home. Her only comfort is her beloved Jewish grandmother, Bubbe, at whose home she spends Shabbos. While there, she meets the ghost of Ruthie—her father's sister, who shared the same gift and who died as a child. She has to decide how she chooses to absorb what she learns and how to respond when she learns old family secrets. Self-consciousness and self-assuredness battle within Anna as she develops her own sense of self.
I love how this novel gracefully weaves themes of grief, reconciliation, Jewish tradition, regret, and family ties together in free verse. I think the message that empathy is more courageous than spitefulness comes across clearly. I think Pixley worked hard to communicate that forgiveness is not denial/forgetting what happened, but a process that can’t be shorted. Likewise, reconciliation is portrayed as something that happens only when the offending party accepts responsibility and works to right their wrongs.
What keeps this from 5 stars to me is that I honestly felt that I wanted more. The poetry of this novel was beautiful, and I felt that every word was truly intentional and well-chosen, but in the end, I just felt like something was missing. That said, this was a really lovely, heartwarming, and reflective novel, and I'd happily recommend it to someone looking for something genuine and weighty but not so heavy your heart might break.
TW: child death, antisemitism, bullying
Young Anna can see ghosts—she observes them, plays with them, and converses with them. The only problem is that no one believes her. She is mercilessly bullied at school and her father bullies her at home. Her only comfort is her beloved Jewish grandmother, Bubbe, at whose home she spends Shabbos. While there, she meets the ghost of Ruthie—her father's sister, who shared the same gift and who died as a child. She has to decide how she chooses to absorb what she learns and how to respond when she learns old family secrets. Self-consciousness and self-assuredness battle within Anna as she develops her own sense of self.
I love how this novel gracefully weaves themes of grief, reconciliation, Jewish tradition, regret, and family ties together in free verse. I think the message that empathy is more courageous than spitefulness comes across clearly. I think Pixley worked hard to communicate that forgiveness is not denial/forgetting what happened, but a process that can’t be shorted. Likewise, reconciliation is portrayed as something that happens only when the offending party accepts responsibility and works to right their wrongs.
What keeps this from 5 stars to me is that I honestly felt that I wanted more. The poetry of this novel was beautiful, and I felt that every word was truly intentional and well-chosen, but in the end, I just felt like something was missing. That said, this was a really lovely, heartwarming, and reflective novel, and I'd happily recommend it to someone looking for something genuine and weighty but not so heavy your heart might break.
TW: child death, antisemitism, bullying
May 25, 2025
Written in free verse poetry, this emotional book is about a girl who can see ghosts, including her aunt who died when she was young. Many important issues are addressed in this book that are relatable to middle school students and older - bullying, antisemitism, feeling like you don't belong, family, and forgiveness. What happens when we die? Does our soul linger on earth to watch over loved ones or to right a wrong? These are just two questions that students might ask. This would make a great book to be read for a child-adult book club.
May 31, 2025
Neshama means soul in Hebrew. This book is infused with the joy of Jewish ritual and family, bound up in a story about a girl, Anna, with the ability to see ghosts. Her father punishes her and fears for her because his dead kid sister died due to her similar free spirited ways. The ghost actually inhabiting Anna is a fun plot element and the author uses it to allow us to learn family secrets. Anna also learns to be open and truthful and self-determined and to use her gifts for the good of others. A nice coming of age arc. I love the Jewish joy, and I liked this book a lot.
July 14, 2025
Neshama is a wholly unique middle-grade novel in verse that blends heart, heritage, and a touch of the supernatural. The story centers on Anna, a young Jewish girl navigating a complex family dynamic, who, oh by the way, can also see ghosts.
In a short span, the book weaves together themes of grief, bullying, Jewish tradition, and mysticism with surprising depth and emotional clarity. Despite its brevity, it thoughtfully resolves each thread, leaving the reader with a sense of hope and wholeness.
A must-purchase for middle school collections—this one stands out.
In a short span, the book weaves together themes of grief, bullying, Jewish tradition, and mysticism with surprising depth and emotional clarity. Despite its brevity, it thoughtfully resolves each thread, leaving the reader with a sense of hope and wholeness.
A must-purchase for middle school collections—this one stands out.
July 19, 2025
I read this beautiful book in great thirsty gulps, not just because verse goes faster than a full page of print, but because my own neshama (soul/breath/spirit) seemed to need it. It's a ghost story, yes, but also a story about feeling and being different, about healing and forgiving our own and others' shortcomings, and about honoring and carrying forward our ancestors' hopes. And it's done with verse that's nimble and heart piercing.
January 4, 2026
Rowynn picked this book at the library for her to read at and upon bringing it home and reading the synopsis myself, I was intrigued. It’s written in prose style, so it was a quick read, but it was beautiful throughout! Kids books are so good sometimes! It explores patterns of generational trauma and complicated family dynamics, which was something that’s been on my mind lately, so I thought it interesting that Rowynn picked it out unprompted. Really enjoyed it.
October 30, 2024
I had the privilege of getting an early read of this book. I loved it!
This book will steal your heart and open your soul. Neshama by Marcella Pixley is a beautiful homage to the lessons our ancestors, the power of prayer, the transcendence of forgiveness, and the freedom that comes from being uniquely you. I loved every word!
This book will steal your heart and open your soul. Neshama by Marcella Pixley is a beautiful homage to the lessons our ancestors, the power of prayer, the transcendence of forgiveness, and the freedom that comes from being uniquely you. I loved every word!
April 24, 2025
An increasing number of novels for tweens are being written as prose poetry. When used properly, it can add mood and meaning to a story. That is true for Marcella Pixley’s sweet and moving “Neshama” (Candlewick Press). Anna is an unusual tween: she sees and can speak to ghosts.
See the rest of my review at https://www.thereportergroup.org/book...
See the rest of my review at https://www.thereportergroup.org/book...
November 10, 2025
Anna tries to hide the fact that she sees ghosts because it makes her father so angry, and the only one who understands is her Bubbe. I really enjoyed this novel is verse, with its very complicated characters. The ghosts were well done, and there were some really tense moments with Ruthie and her anger and fear.
December 1, 2025
I'm not sure exactly who I will recommend this book to, but it is a fast and impactful read. It made me want to read more by this author. At first I was very frustrated with the amount of bullying described, but knowing that the author is an 8th grade language arts teacher means they have much more insight into middle schools now. I hope it gets some love from others.
September 25, 2025
Anna sees ghosts and no one, not even her family believe her. Except for her grandmother who knows there is more to Anna than the others will admit. While visiting her grandmother where she is happiest, a ghost comes to visit her that will change everything.
June 24, 2025
Beautifully written book with subjects of grief and bullying. Worth a read.
July 6, 2025
The story has a beautiful soul, but gets bogged down by itself.
August 29, 2025
Beautiful novel in verse with a lot to say about forgiveness.
October 4, 2025
it was ok
November 4, 2025
This book, from beginning to end, was packed with beautiful prose and heartwarming passages. I couldn't put it down and highly recommend it.
Read
November 5, 2025Read in my role as a member of the
NCTE Children’s Poetry Awards Committee.
NCTE Children’s Poetry Awards Committee.
November 9, 2025
ooooooooooo! This middle grade novel in verse is spooky in the sweetest, warmest, and coziest of ways!
December 12, 2025
Loved this story about a unique girl who comes to appreciate her gifts. Beautifully written in verse.
November 4, 2025
I'm OBSESSED with this book! An incredible novel in verse on ghosts, grief, and reconciliation.
"how fragile and fine it is/ to be alive."
Here's a ghostly novel in verse I absolutely LOVED! Neshama by Marcella Pixley is an incredible story on writing poems to ghosts, grief, reconciliation, generational trauma, and being different. Pixley tells such an incredible story here that as soon as I finished, I picked it right back up to start again! I don't remember ever doing this with a book. I hope you'll check it out for yourself and enjoy it as much as I did!!!
"how fragile and fine it is/ to be alive."
Here's a ghostly novel in verse I absolutely LOVED! Neshama by Marcella Pixley is an incredible story on writing poems to ghosts, grief, reconciliation, generational trauma, and being different. Pixley tells such an incredible story here that as soon as I finished, I picked it right back up to start again! I don't remember ever doing this with a book. I hope you'll check it out for yourself and enjoy it as much as I did!!!
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews