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Ghost Letters
When two modern-day kids discover a grotesque secret in an abandoned mailbox, they have no idea they are about to be drawn into a mystery that began on the other side of the world. Through the help of an English genie and a phantom postman, the two children begin to communicate with a young calligrapher's apprentice who lived 125 years ago in a small, Himalayan village. Writing back and forth, across continents and centuries, the three children eventually realize the possibility of changing history by delivering three letters that were never received. The first is a love letter that could have drawn a broken-hearted Yankee trader back from his lonely exile in the east. The second is a ransom note, and the third, a cryptic missive in a bottle. If the three can make sure these lost letters reach those for whom they were intended, love may be restored, the life of a kidnapped child could be saved, and a secret agent might be able to prevent a pointless war.
227 pages, Paperback
First published January 8, 2008
6 people are currently reading
48 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Alter
45 books63 followersSTEPHEN 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.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 8, 2008
This book has elements that should make up a terrific book: a blue bottle that mysteriously carries messages through a 100-year time portal, the ghost of a postman who was killed in a post office fire who delivers mail he never got to deliver in person (leaving ashen footprints wherever he goes), and a creepy disembodied skeleton hand that scuttles around snatching things (shades of Coraline). Sounds downright shivery, right?
Wrong. I wanted to like this book, so why didn't I? I have no idea. It's built on some really cool concepts, but somehow, it just didn't work for me. Maybe switching back and forth between three different stories kept me from getting involved. I honestly don't know. I just didn't enjoy it much.
Wrong. I wanted to like this book, so why didn't I? I have no idea. It's built on some really cool concepts, but somehow, it just didn't work for me. Maybe switching back and forth between three different stories kept me from getting involved. I honestly don't know. I just didn't enjoy it much.
October 15, 2018
Gil is a boy that was expelled from a school and has to live with his grandpa. Gil then goes to the beach (which wasn’t really a beach) and finds a bottle that is empty, he puts a note into the bottle jokingly and sends it off into the ocean. The story then skips back in time to india where there is a boy who then finds the bottle, with the note tucked inside. He proceeds to send notes to someone in the past all the while trying to find out how to fix what is in the past.
The author of Ghost Letters makes the story so that it starts in 2007, and then skips back in time to the late 1800s, and back again. It continues to do this while also introducing other things into the story, such as disappearing skeleton hands, or a bottle that seemingly travels through time. These create great amounts of suspense causing you to wonder where they come from or where they went after disappearing. There are also the multiple supernatural beings such as the Mailman, and the two undead hands.
I like the novel personally because of the length of the story, though I like reading long stories sometimes it is good to have a small one to read inbetween the big books. The time changes in the beginning was confusing at first but was self explanatory after the bottle was discovered. There were many different mini folktale stories throughout the book which kept it interesting learning about these different things like the mailman and the hands.
The author of Ghost Letters makes the story so that it starts in 2007, and then skips back in time to the late 1800s, and back again. It continues to do this while also introducing other things into the story, such as disappearing skeleton hands, or a bottle that seemingly travels through time. These create great amounts of suspense causing you to wonder where they come from or where they went after disappearing. There are also the multiple supernatural beings such as the Mailman, and the two undead hands.
I like the novel personally because of the length of the story, though I like reading long stories sometimes it is good to have a small one to read inbetween the big books. The time changes in the beginning was confusing at first but was self explanatory after the bottle was discovered. There were many different mini folktale stories throughout the book which kept it interesting learning about these different things like the mailman and the hands.
February 9, 2018
Alter, Stephen Ghost Letters, 227 p. Bloomsbury, 2008.
Gil has been kicked out of his boarding school and sent to live in a big, creepy house with his grandfather until his parents can figure out what to so with him. Gil meets Nargis, an Indian girl (from India) and they stumble immediately upon a peculiar mystery that involves a bony hand that appears when it wants to, a ghostly postman who delivers dead letters and a beautiful blue glass bottle that instantly exchanges messages between Gil and Sikander, a boy who "lives" in India 100 years before Gil's present day. Sikandar needs Gil's help, but what can Gil do from the future?
The whole plot revolves around three very important letters. Did I mention the genie? Creepy and a romp, suspension of disbelief is definitely necessary to enjoy this light-hearted read.
EL, MS - OPTIONAL. Cindy, Library-Teacher.
http://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2008/...
Gil has been kicked out of his boarding school and sent to live in a big, creepy house with his grandfather until his parents can figure out what to so with him. Gil meets Nargis, an Indian girl (from India) and they stumble immediately upon a peculiar mystery that involves a bony hand that appears when it wants to, a ghostly postman who delivers dead letters and a beautiful blue glass bottle that instantly exchanges messages between Gil and Sikander, a boy who "lives" in India 100 years before Gil's present day. Sikandar needs Gil's help, but what can Gil do from the future?
The whole plot revolves around three very important letters. Did I mention the genie? Creepy and a romp, suspension of disbelief is definitely necessary to enjoy this light-hearted read.
EL, MS - OPTIONAL. Cindy, Library-Teacher.
http://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2008/...
October 15, 2018
Michele O - Imhoff 3: I would recommend this book to people who enjoy mysteries or suspicious acts.
October 19, 2018
I love this book. It is a very mysterious book which I like. You should really read this book because it is SCARY. If you like scary books you should read this one!!!
November 4, 2012
Reviewed by Allison Fraclose for TeensReadToo.com
After being expelled from McCauley Prep School, Gil's parents send him to live with his poet grandfather in a small, oceanside town in Massachusetts. While exploring the beach one afternoon, Gil finds a blue bottle bobbing on the ocean waves, and, on a whim, writes a note that reads, "Help! I'm stranded on a desert island. Save me!" He puts the note in the bottle, sends it back to the sea, and thinks nothing else of it.
A hundred years earlier, a young calligrapher's apprentice in Ajeebgarh, India, finds the bottle floating in the Magor River...with Gil's message inside! He decides to send back a reply, and the two begin a strange correspondence.
As Gil's grandfather teaches him about the history of their home and the ancestor who built it, Gil befriends a girl named Nargis. The two bond over the eerie appearances of a ghostly hand and letters that were never delivered to their original destinations. Meanwhile, war with the British threatens Ajeebgarh, and Sikander, the apprentice, is desperate to find a way to save his friend, who was kidnapped by British soldiers. Through the help of the mysterious hand, a roving ghost postman, and an English genie sealed in a letter for a hundred years, Gil must find a way to deliver the lost letters and stop the war.
Readers who enjoyed Louis Sachar's HOLES will find a similar format here, with the story hopping between two different time periods and clues scattered throughout. A great read with just the right amount of creepy chill to go with it.
After being expelled from McCauley Prep School, Gil's parents send him to live with his poet grandfather in a small, oceanside town in Massachusetts. While exploring the beach one afternoon, Gil finds a blue bottle bobbing on the ocean waves, and, on a whim, writes a note that reads, "Help! I'm stranded on a desert island. Save me!" He puts the note in the bottle, sends it back to the sea, and thinks nothing else of it.
A hundred years earlier, a young calligrapher's apprentice in Ajeebgarh, India, finds the bottle floating in the Magor River...with Gil's message inside! He decides to send back a reply, and the two begin a strange correspondence.
As Gil's grandfather teaches him about the history of their home and the ancestor who built it, Gil befriends a girl named Nargis. The two bond over the eerie appearances of a ghostly hand and letters that were never delivered to their original destinations. Meanwhile, war with the British threatens Ajeebgarh, and Sikander, the apprentice, is desperate to find a way to save his friend, who was kidnapped by British soldiers. Through the help of the mysterious hand, a roving ghost postman, and an English genie sealed in a letter for a hundred years, Gil must find a way to deliver the lost letters and stop the war.
Readers who enjoyed Louis Sachar's HOLES will find a similar format here, with the story hopping between two different time periods and clues scattered throughout. A great read with just the right amount of creepy chill to go with it.
March 21, 2011
Diverting but not exactly likable. I kept wishing the main character would develop or at least that someone would explicitly call him a quitter; page 193 and he was still claiming he can't do anything about anything. The author has a tendency to dictate rather than evolve things, so many characters are senselessly dumb. I was brought up short a few times by careless phrasing (the sun setting "over" an east-facing bay, Mercury in retrograde due to Earth's "rotation"...). There is also a mind-bending continuity problem on page 194 which could be fixed with some simple editing.
August 17, 2024
In the beginning I found the story a bit bland and almost put it down. But as it progressed the story became more interesting. Its an interesting alternative way of telling a time travel story in which none of the characters actually travels through time. Instead the characters from each century communicate with letters via a mailbox.
The ending is satisfying giving it a nice sense of closure.
The ending is satisfying giving it a nice sense of closure.
July 20, 2013
This was an interesting book about letters that never made it to their destination, causing heartbreak, war, and death.
April 14, 2008
This book was a little slow. The story line was confusing, and not my favorite. It had just enough action to keep me interested, but not enough for me to recommend it to anyone else.
April 20, 2009
This was one of several I took home over Christmas break. It was fairly lighthearted and adventurous.
July 7, 2011
It was kind of boring at first, but we kept reading and it got better. It was fun, so i'm glad we didn't give up.
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September 13, 2011its an awsome book
September 5, 2016
There was a lot of different story lines going on. The story was a little confusing. I was hoping the characters would be a bit more developed, but it was a pretty good book all around.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews