What do you think?
Rate this book
Gilda Joyce #3
Gilda Joyce: The Ghost Sonata
When her best friend, Wendy Choy, qualifies to compete in an international piano competition in Oxford, England, irrepressible Gilda Joyce finds a way to get an invitation herself—as a page-turner. Wendy settles into an exhausting practice schedule, made worse by strange nightmares, while Gilda finds herself falling in love with a British boy. But when Wendy discovers a ghostly message written in the frost on her window, Gilda realizes her friend’s life could be in danger, and the key to solving the mystery may be in learning the truth behind the untimely death of a previous piano virtuoso.
344 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
27 people are currently reading
635 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer Allison
19 books180 followersJennifer Allison is the author of the Edgar-nominated GILDA JOYCE: PSYCHIC INVESTIGATOR mystery series for readers age nine and up (www.gildajoyce.com). The first book in her new series, IGGY LOOMIS: SUPERKID IN TRAINING (www.iggyloomis.com), focuses on the sometimes stormy relationship between two brothers -- Daniel and his younger brother Iggy, who mysteriously develops strange superpowers. IGGY lOOMIS is a smart, funny read-aloud that will engage both avid and reluctant readers.
Ms. Allison holds a B.A. from the University of Michigan and an M.F.A. from American University. Her various careers have included work as a news reporter and high school English teacher. She has also held numerous odd jobs — piano player in a shopping mall, assembly-line worker for General Motors, waitress, preschool teacher — that have helped her generate ideas for characters and stories. Jennifer Allison currently lives in Chicago with her husband and three children.
Ms. Allison holds a B.A. from the University of Michigan and an M.F.A. from American University. Her various careers have included work as a news reporter and high school English teacher. She has also held numerous odd jobs — piano player in a shopping mall, assembly-line worker for General Motors, waitress, preschool teacher — that have helped her generate ideas for characters and stories. Jennifer Allison currently lives in Chicago with her husband and three children.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 142 reviews
January 6, 2023
I’ve been very quickly making my way through this middle grade series over the last couple of weeks, and I feel like each one gets better and better! I’ve rated the first two books in this series 5 stars simply because they were so much fun, but The Ghost Sonata is my favorite one yet. I’ve loved getting to watch Gilda’s character develop during each mystery she finds herself a part of. She’s an entertaining protagonist, that’s for sure! I love the little paranormal aspects sprinkled through the books but it’s the general mystery that always gets to me.
I loved the Oxford setting and the inclusion of Gilda’s best friend Wendy in The Ghost Sonata as well as the sprinkle of romance as two teenagers attempt to develop feelings for each other (only to fail because one of them sucks LOL). The spooky vibes in this story were the best of the series yet, and I’m excited to continue with it!
CW for death by car accident (in past).
I loved the Oxford setting and the inclusion of Gilda’s best friend Wendy in The Ghost Sonata as well as the sprinkle of romance as two teenagers attempt to develop feelings for each other (only to fail because one of them sucks LOL). The spooky vibes in this story were the best of the series yet, and I’m excited to continue with it!
CW for death by car accident (in past).
June 11, 2025
the next installment in the gilda joyce audio books i’ve been falling asleep to.
Gilda is a fucking MENACE!!! i think ive already compared her to Greg ala wimpy kid but god she’s so fucking funny and lowkey a terrible friend? 😭i love her.
Gilda is a fucking MENACE!!! i think ive already compared her to Greg ala wimpy kid but god she’s so fucking funny and lowkey a terrible friend? 😭i love her.
September 5, 2018
The book I chose for my summary is called The Ghost Sonata. The genre of this book is mystery because on the book cover, underneath the title is says “ A Mystery “.
The main characters of this book are Wendy Choy and Gilda Joyce. Wendy is Chinese and her family believes in all kinds of Chinese luck and good luck charms because they rearrange everything so that it bring good luck like their furniture. Gilda is American and she likes to solve mysteries so she made up her own job where she solve all kinds of mysteries. Wendy and Gilda went to England to compete in the Young International Virtuoso Piano Competition. Wendy will perform and Gilda will be Wendy’s page turner.
Mrs. Choy was very strict about Wendy winning the competition. They stayed in a place called Wyntle House with some other competitors. The performers has to pick their performance number and Wendy got number nine, which is her room number in Wyntle House. During their first night, Gilda saw a ghost boy and Wendy heard piano music that sounds like the piano was floating around. In the morning, both girls discussed about their night before going to the theatre for the first round of the piano competition. While waiting for Wendy’s turn, they met a English boy named Julian. Julian was very nice to them and was a great piano player. After the first round, Gilda and Julian went to a cafe and Julian told Gilda that he saw a ghost boy in the graveyard!.When Gilda came back, she told Wendy what happened and that she likes Julian. Wendy, however, was listening to a tape record of her playing the creepy music she heard the night before. They both heard something talking in the background.
The next day during practice rounds, Gilda saw Julian talking to Jenny, Gilda became jealous of Jenny after that. On the day of their departure for England, Glida did a tarot card reading for Wendy, since then, competitors have been seeing tarot cards everywhere. Gilda thought the culprit of the tarot cards is Ming Fong Chen so she searched her room, but she wasn’t the culprit. Still Gilda believes it is Ming Fong. For the second round, the competitors have to compete in a sight reading contest. Gilda was the page turner for all the competitors since she wasn’t competing. After the sight reading contest, Julian and Gilda went to the graveyard to look for clues about who is haunting them.
At the graveyard, Julian and Gilda found a grave which indicates that a boy named Charles Drummond died four years ago. He died at the age of 14. They then, went inside a church and when they came back out, they saw a person wearing a long cape drop a white rose onto Charles Drummond’s grave. Later they went to a pub and found Professor Waldgrave and Professor Maddox in there. Gilda heard them talking about Charles Drummond and mentioned something about him being murdered. When Professor Maddox left the pub, everyone in there noticed that she was wearing a long cape with muddy edges.
The next day, the finalist were chosen and Wendy was one of them. When they had to pick their performance number, Wendy got nine again! But Gilda knew that Wendy picked nine everytime because Charles Drummond was in the Young International Virtuoso Piano Competition four years ago and his performance number was nine too! That night Wendy was sleepwalking and nearly got hit by a car. In China, they believes that when a ghost choose a person to take its place the person will die the same way the ghost did. Gilda woke Wendy up and told her that she was heading towards the graveyard. So, they went there to find more clues. When they got there, Wendy followed a puppy behind the church and they found a hole behind the church with black water in it. They found a jar in the water and inside the jar, was a letter written by Charles Drummond. They also found a composition titled “Sonata in A minor”. By reading the notes Wendy knew that it was the music that she keeps hearing. She also had a feeling that Charles Drummond really wanted to play this music in the final rounds, but died instead. So Wendy made up her mind to play this composition in the finals.
While the competitors were getting ready for the final round, Gilda found out that Jenny’s mother, Martha Pickles was the culprit who has been sneaking tarot cards everywhere. Later, after the final round, Gilda found Professor Waldgrave and asked him about Charles Drummond. The professor confessed and said that Charles was once a student of his. Once he heard him playing Sonata in A minor to Professor Maddox. Charles wrote Sonata in A minor himself. Then he took Charles home. But on the way they got into a car accident. Charles died immediately and Professor Waldgrave was sent to the hospital. After the performance, people started asking Wendy about the piece that she played. She told them the tille and the composer. They were so surprised to hear that a 14 year old boy had composed that piece.
Later Gilda wrote Julian a letter saying that she had moved on and that she has gone back to America. The winners of the competition was published in The Oxford Times. Julian was the winner of the competition so he received 5,000 pounds in cash. In the newspaper, it states that people interviewed Wendy and Gilda before they left. Gilda replied to the interviewers that solving mysteries is what they do.
I recommend this book to students who likes to read mystery books. But if you are willing to try this book, please read until the fourth or fifth chapter before abandoning this book because the first few chapters are a bit boring.
The main characters of this book are Wendy Choy and Gilda Joyce. Wendy is Chinese and her family believes in all kinds of Chinese luck and good luck charms because they rearrange everything so that it bring good luck like their furniture. Gilda is American and she likes to solve mysteries so she made up her own job where she solve all kinds of mysteries. Wendy and Gilda went to England to compete in the Young International Virtuoso Piano Competition. Wendy will perform and Gilda will be Wendy’s page turner.
Mrs. Choy was very strict about Wendy winning the competition. They stayed in a place called Wyntle House with some other competitors. The performers has to pick their performance number and Wendy got number nine, which is her room number in Wyntle House. During their first night, Gilda saw a ghost boy and Wendy heard piano music that sounds like the piano was floating around. In the morning, both girls discussed about their night before going to the theatre for the first round of the piano competition. While waiting for Wendy’s turn, they met a English boy named Julian. Julian was very nice to them and was a great piano player. After the first round, Gilda and Julian went to a cafe and Julian told Gilda that he saw a ghost boy in the graveyard!.When Gilda came back, she told Wendy what happened and that she likes Julian. Wendy, however, was listening to a tape record of her playing the creepy music she heard the night before. They both heard something talking in the background.
The next day during practice rounds, Gilda saw Julian talking to Jenny, Gilda became jealous of Jenny after that. On the day of their departure for England, Glida did a tarot card reading for Wendy, since then, competitors have been seeing tarot cards everywhere. Gilda thought the culprit of the tarot cards is Ming Fong Chen so she searched her room, but she wasn’t the culprit. Still Gilda believes it is Ming Fong. For the second round, the competitors have to compete in a sight reading contest. Gilda was the page turner for all the competitors since she wasn’t competing. After the sight reading contest, Julian and Gilda went to the graveyard to look for clues about who is haunting them.
At the graveyard, Julian and Gilda found a grave which indicates that a boy named Charles Drummond died four years ago. He died at the age of 14. They then, went inside a church and when they came back out, they saw a person wearing a long cape drop a white rose onto Charles Drummond’s grave. Later they went to a pub and found Professor Waldgrave and Professor Maddox in there. Gilda heard them talking about Charles Drummond and mentioned something about him being murdered. When Professor Maddox left the pub, everyone in there noticed that she was wearing a long cape with muddy edges.
The next day, the finalist were chosen and Wendy was one of them. When they had to pick their performance number, Wendy got nine again! But Gilda knew that Wendy picked nine everytime because Charles Drummond was in the Young International Virtuoso Piano Competition four years ago and his performance number was nine too! That night Wendy was sleepwalking and nearly got hit by a car. In China, they believes that when a ghost choose a person to take its place the person will die the same way the ghost did. Gilda woke Wendy up and told her that she was heading towards the graveyard. So, they went there to find more clues. When they got there, Wendy followed a puppy behind the church and they found a hole behind the church with black water in it. They found a jar in the water and inside the jar, was a letter written by Charles Drummond. They also found a composition titled “Sonata in A minor”. By reading the notes Wendy knew that it was the music that she keeps hearing. She also had a feeling that Charles Drummond really wanted to play this music in the final rounds, but died instead. So Wendy made up her mind to play this composition in the finals.
While the competitors were getting ready for the final round, Gilda found out that Jenny’s mother, Martha Pickles was the culprit who has been sneaking tarot cards everywhere. Later, after the final round, Gilda found Professor Waldgrave and asked him about Charles Drummond. The professor confessed and said that Charles was once a student of his. Once he heard him playing Sonata in A minor to Professor Maddox. Charles wrote Sonata in A minor himself. Then he took Charles home. But on the way they got into a car accident. Charles died immediately and Professor Waldgrave was sent to the hospital. After the performance, people started asking Wendy about the piece that she played. She told them the tille and the composer. They were so surprised to hear that a 14 year old boy had composed that piece.
Later Gilda wrote Julian a letter saying that she had moved on and that she has gone back to America. The winners of the competition was published in The Oxford Times. Julian was the winner of the competition so he received 5,000 pounds in cash. In the newspaper, it states that people interviewed Wendy and Gilda before they left. Gilda replied to the interviewers that solving mysteries is what they do.
I recommend this book to students who likes to read mystery books. But if you are willing to try this book, please read until the fourth or fifth chapter before abandoning this book because the first few chapters are a bit boring.
July 7, 2017
The book was very interesting, and I really enjoyed how it was a bit relatable to my life, because it was about a piano competition located in England for a girl named Wendy Choy, who is to best friend of Gilda Joyce, the protagonist. During to competition a series of events happen that a ghost starts haunting Wendy, by the name of Charles Drummond who died 4 years ago in a car accident and was a student of Nigel Waldgrave, one of the judges in the competition. I would DEFINITELY recommend this book to anyone who is into music and mystery novels.
August 3, 2009
I never get tired of hearing or reading the name Gilda Joyce. Whenever I hear or read that name, a sassy and witty improviser comes to mind. She's direct and straightforward...these are just a few things I love about her. She is hilarious and different from all of the other characters I've read about. Gilda Joyce is a conspicuous character not just because she's wacky, but also because of how she handles herself in the situations she's in.
When I picked up the third installment of the Gilda Joyce series. I was expecting thrilling and captivating adventures that were also unique. I wasn't disappointed. Allison's writing all throughout the entire series has been substantial and consistent. In Gilda Joyce: The Sonata Ghost, she proved that even further and added more unpredictable twists and turns. Sure, some things were a little random here and there but isn't it supposed to be? Just like Gilda?
After I read this book, I have done everything you should expect from a comedy thriller; I laughed out loud and I got scared. Only good books like this can get a reaction from me.
The Bottom Line: This book is a great, funny read. You will embark on a one-of-a-kind adventure where you will find thrills and laughs all the way. Gilda Joyce: The Sonata Ghost is truly, an unforgettable read. A :-)
When I picked up the third installment of the Gilda Joyce series. I was expecting thrilling and captivating adventures that were also unique. I wasn't disappointed. Allison's writing all throughout the entire series has been substantial and consistent. In Gilda Joyce: The Sonata Ghost, she proved that even further and added more unpredictable twists and turns. Sure, some things were a little random here and there but isn't it supposed to be? Just like Gilda?
After I read this book, I have done everything you should expect from a comedy thriller; I laughed out loud and I got scared. Only good books like this can get a reaction from me.
The Bottom Line: This book is a great, funny read. You will embark on a one-of-a-kind adventure where you will find thrills and laughs all the way. Gilda Joyce: The Sonata Ghost is truly, an unforgettable read. A :-)
August 13, 2010
The third book in the series, this is the best and funniest yet, as 14-year-old Gilda wangles a way to accompany her talented pianist friend, Wendy, to Oxford, England, for a virtuoso competition. Having read up on Brit-speak and English customs, the ever-confident Gilda is all set to have a great time in Oxford and solve any mysteries that call for her skills as a psychic investigator.
Soon, eerie things start happening, such as ominous tarot cards appearing to Wendy and other participants, strange coincidences involving the number 9 and Alice in Wonderland, and the normally rational, intelligent Wendy's experience of an apparent haunting by a mysterious melody and the ghost of a boy.
This paranormal mystery has fast pacing, a complex, intriguing plot, excellent characters, and plenty of humor. The series, which will appeal to both kids and adults, is especially recommended for fans of Harriet the Spy, and both Anglophiles and classical music lovers will find this particular installment just their cup of tea.
Soon, eerie things start happening, such as ominous tarot cards appearing to Wendy and other participants, strange coincidences involving the number 9 and Alice in Wonderland, and the normally rational, intelligent Wendy's experience of an apparent haunting by a mysterious melody and the ghost of a boy.
This paranormal mystery has fast pacing, a complex, intriguing plot, excellent characters, and plenty of humor. The series, which will appeal to both kids and adults, is especially recommended for fans of Harriet the Spy, and both Anglophiles and classical music lovers will find this particular installment just their cup of tea.
September 17, 2012
"The Ghost Sonata" gives equal time to Gilda's best friend, the logical and studious Wendy Choy. What I love about the series, but which this book exemplifies the most, is that Jennifer Allison captures the complexity of childhood. She allows the characters their childishness, but also acknowledges their ability to understand the intentions behind other people (i.e. like when a child realizes his father wants him to fail), and to make their own moral decisions even if they can't act on them in an adult world. I particularly loved Wendy's realization that her choices (though ghost propelled) have forever changed her relationship with the adults in her life. And, that sometimes freedom is accompanied by loneliness. "The Ghost Sonata" perfectly captures the balancing act that is adolescence.
December 6, 2007
Gilda, psychic investigator, and her friend Wendy, brillilant piano player, go to Oxford for an international piano competition. Both Wendy and Gilda hear strange noises in the night, including eerie piano music, and have frightening tarrot cards left for them. Gilda is on a mission to figure out if this is a spirit or just a vicious competitor out to get Wendy.
I have mixed feelings on the appropriate age for this book. I think the plot is fine for 4th/5th graders, but some of the language and ideas in it may be for middle school.
I have mixed feelings on the appropriate age for this book. I think the plot is fine for 4th/5th graders, but some of the language and ideas in it may be for middle school.
Read
February 1, 2013I am currently reading The Ghost Sonata by Jennifer Allison. The theme of the book is hard work pays off. Why I think that the theme is that is because when Wendy Choy gets into an international piano competition in Oxford, England, but as soon as she gets there, things immediately go wrong. She keeps seeing the number nine and she does terrible on the first part of the competition. Her best friend, Gilda Joyce, is really worried about her. I have not read the whole thing, but I am in the middle of it. I think that it is really interesting and it is very action packed.
January 31, 2013
January 31, 2013
December 31, 2007
This is the third in the Gilda joyce series. Gilda convinces her friend's piano teacher to take her along to a piano competition in Oxford. Her friend is haunted by the ghost of a young pianist while they are in England, and Gilda has to figure out what's happening before he (the ghost) ruins her friend's chance of winning.
This book is a page-turner. it's suspensful, but also light and funny.
This book is a page-turner. it's suspensful, but also light and funny.
January 5, 2023
3.5 / 5
I ended up getting quite hooked on this but I'm not sure I was the right audience all the same.
'Gilda Joyce: The Ghost Sonata' is a book in a children's mystery novel series that features a young girl solving psychic and supernatural puzzles. Her best friend Wendy gets into a piano competition in Oxford and she manages to land a free trip with her as her 'page-turner'. She ends up getting embroiled in a love interest, a young boy also in the competition, and finds enough to fill her time with some mysterious signs suggesting the presence of a ghost who has walked a similar path...
Chief amongst the complaints (for me, not for the book given it's a children's book) was the convenience by which all the characters would bump into each other. I'm also not especially interest in supernatural elects to stories. But it was a fun read that I would recommend to most children.
I enjoyed Jennifer Allison's descriptions of Oxford as a town and as a University though. There was also a quite complicated emotional scene between an overbearing mother and her son and an envious and washed up/dead-beat father. Within this same scene was some admonishment of casual racism too. It all felt like a very real and complicated scenario that I thought commendable to be in a book like this.
I ended up getting quite hooked on this but I'm not sure I was the right audience all the same.
'Gilda Joyce: The Ghost Sonata' is a book in a children's mystery novel series that features a young girl solving psychic and supernatural puzzles. Her best friend Wendy gets into a piano competition in Oxford and she manages to land a free trip with her as her 'page-turner'. She ends up getting embroiled in a love interest, a young boy also in the competition, and finds enough to fill her time with some mysterious signs suggesting the presence of a ghost who has walked a similar path...
Chief amongst the complaints (for me, not for the book given it's a children's book) was the convenience by which all the characters would bump into each other. I'm also not especially interest in supernatural elects to stories. But it was a fun read that I would recommend to most children.
I enjoyed Jennifer Allison's descriptions of Oxford as a town and as a University though. There was also a quite complicated emotional scene between an overbearing mother and her son and an envious and washed up/dead-beat father. Within this same scene was some admonishment of casual racism too. It all felt like a very real and complicated scenario that I thought commendable to be in a book like this.
May 29, 2018
Gilda Joyce: The Ghost Sonata (Gilda Joyce, #3)
by Jennifer Allison (Goodreads Author), Jessica Almasy (Narrator)
The first book you read in a new series (if you liked it), you are enthralled by. The second book you might still be enthralled or you might start to notice little things that annoy you, especially if you read them back-to-back. Or you might realize that reading a book written for kids/YA is really meant for that age group. hahaha
I liked this book, it was fun, youthful and a good yarn. 14-yr-old Gilda Joyce is silly and self-absorbed and I'm totally amazed that her mother lets her travel the country/world with little to no supervision. But there is still a good story at the base and a couple of nicely hidden 'life lessons' for the young reader to ponder.
This time Gilda and Wendy go to Oxford, England for an international piano competition that Wendy is competing in. They, or mostly Gilda, run around Oxford alone and unsupervised pretending to be Dames and experiencing young love.
It's cute and fun even if sometimes (as a supposed adult) I want to scream "Shut up Gilda!". Jessica Almasy does a really good job in the reading of the Gilda Joyce books.
by Jennifer Allison (Goodreads Author), Jessica Almasy (Narrator)
The first book you read in a new series (if you liked it), you are enthralled by. The second book you might still be enthralled or you might start to notice little things that annoy you, especially if you read them back-to-back. Or you might realize that reading a book written for kids/YA is really meant for that age group. hahaha
I liked this book, it was fun, youthful and a good yarn. 14-yr-old Gilda Joyce is silly and self-absorbed and I'm totally amazed that her mother lets her travel the country/world with little to no supervision. But there is still a good story at the base and a couple of nicely hidden 'life lessons' for the young reader to ponder.
This time Gilda and Wendy go to Oxford, England for an international piano competition that Wendy is competing in. They, or mostly Gilda, run around Oxford alone and unsupervised pretending to be Dames and experiencing young love.
It's cute and fun even if sometimes (as a supposed adult) I want to scream "Shut up Gilda!". Jessica Almasy does a really good job in the reading of the Gilda Joyce books.
August 28, 2023
Gilda Joyce finds a way to go with her friend Wendy Choy to Oxfor, England. She will act as page turner during Wendy's piano competition. But of course she gets side tracked by a paranormal investigation. The house they're staying in has ghosts. Wendy isn't herself from the moment they get there. She's hearing strange beautiful music that she can't get out of her head. She feels like someone or something is pulling her to do things. Gilda wants to find out what's happening. Wendy just wants it to stop so she can concentrate on the highly competitive competition. Somehow they learn that a boy who died young may be involved. Charles Drummond has a connection to the judges but how? Kids in the competition are finding tarot cards in all sorts of places causing them, especially Wendy to wonder what they mean. The cards are the most dark ones....Wendy gets the worst one. Gilda has more and more questions about all the strange occurrences. And there's a boy she likes and she thinks he likes her too but she's not sure about him. He does things that make her have even more questions about boys and England. So many questions....can she find any answers?
June 28, 2018
This is a sweet story that takes the main character, Gilda, "across the pond" with her best friend Wendy to a piano competition in England. Wendy becomes haunted almost immediately by a melody that she cannot seem to shake, though it shakes her to her core, and which throws her off her game in the piano competition. Gilda tries to help Wendy in her roles as best friend, page turner, and psychic investigator; but she is quickly distracted by a boy who gives her her first kiss and quickly turns out to be quite a scoundrel.
Throughout the story, tarot cards keep popping up. Gilda does some investigating into this and finds that one that Wendy got could mean that she will find something change in her. This proves to be the case as she surpasses everything that she always thought about herself and shocks her piano teacher at the same time.
Throughout the story, tarot cards keep popping up. Gilda does some investigating into this and finds that one that Wendy got could mean that she will find something change in her. This proves to be the case as she surpasses everything that she always thought about herself and shocks her piano teacher at the same time.
August 14, 2018
Gilda je nejvíc. Když jsem ji četla poprvé, v páté třídě, byla pro mě něco jako vzor. Patnáctiletá (v mém vnímání prakticky dospělá), nebojácná, s naprosto šíleným, ale taky zatraceně úžasným stylem oblékání. A taky vášní pro duchy. Z mého současného pohledu Gildě za ta léta nic neubylo. Kdybych se snažila, dokázala bych na ní určitě nějakou vadu najít, ale to se knihám z dětství nedělá. Má to spád, má to různorodé propracované postavy, dokonce i náhled do životů lidí hned několika odlišných kultur. Zápletka má logickou pointu a navíc se to celé odehrává v Oxfordu.
Jo a chci ty kočičí brýle, ale už. ❤️
Jo a chci ty kočičí brýle, ale už. ❤️
June 3, 2020
Was really a good book the only complaint is these books can be downright addictive for 150 pages and then get boring and then mellow out at the end. I just like consistency when I read but this is a good series. I read this a long time ago when it just came out actually thats when I read a lot of books.
Read
March 9, 2022No rating
First sentence:
Prologue
I suppose none of this would have happened to us if we hadn't traveled to Oxford, England--to a land where eccentric scholars ponder the great questions of life while safely nestled within their Gothic walls and dreamy gardens, to a city of antiquity, where ghosts haunt the winding streets, silent cloisters, and damp hallways of elite colleges.
First sentence:
Prologue
I suppose none of this would have happened to us if we hadn't traveled to Oxford, England--to a land where eccentric scholars ponder the great questions of life while safely nestled within their Gothic walls and dreamy gardens, to a city of antiquity, where ghosts haunt the winding streets, silent cloisters, and damp hallways of elite colleges.
June 29, 2023
I’ll be honest here. This has some of the best writing, vibes, mystery, and music in the Gilda Joyce series. The English setting is wonderful, the tarot motifs work greatly, and this book actually amanges to be scary. So why did I subtract a star? Wendy Choy. This book focuses on her the most, and to be frank, she’s a boring Asian stereotype sidekick. And I don’t think Gilda likes her at all. So even though the rest of the book is great, I can’t rate this one a full five stars.
August 9, 2025
I really enjoy this series! but im not sure if it was just my book or others to, the font was weird (I know the font changes for the typewriter, letters etc) but it was in places it shouldn't be. also the words at the bottom were cut off as if they ran out of room on the page, tho I did feel like I was reading cross eyed sometimes, i still really enjoyed the book!
December 21, 2025
picked this up over winter break for nostalgic purposes but genuinely was enamored by how good this story is. quite literally made me laugh out loud while simultaneously maintaining an eerie undertone. jennifer allison is truly such a talented writer. this is a middle grade book but i would gladly read it again and again at the ripe age of 21
November 2, 2019
This is the best Gilda Joyce book I have read so far. The plot was really mysterious and gloomy and I liked how Wendy played a bigger role in this novel. Gilda herself is an amazing protagonist and she always makes me smile.
May 9, 2024
Gilda Joyce is quite an unusual 14 year old yet at the same time a typical 14 year old. The Ghost Sonata is entertaining and a fun read. Even though I'm a senior citizen I enjoy YA books and this one deals with so many issues in a totally accurate way. Enjoy.
September 10, 2017
BRAVO!!!! This was such a fun read from beginning to end. What a pleasure!
September 25, 2018
Cute for grades 4-10. It did a good job of combining "clues" with supernatural things for a cohesive mystery. Gilda is certainly a piece of work and an enjoyable main character.
January 12, 2019
3.5 star round-up.
Cute and spooky.
Cute and spooky.
April 6, 2019
Quite enjoyable
May 23, 2020
Cute, young adult fiction. A little dabbling into history and Oxford culture and tarot card reading all wrapped into a likable story.
dnf
June 14, 2020dnf@20%
December 9, 2020
I loved the Gilda Joyce series growing up
Displaying 1 - 30 of 142 reviews