A Good Daughter’s Ghost

YA DEBUT TALENT: A product of Annick’s acclaimed mentorship program for writers historically excluded from children’s publishing, the teen voice in Sam Wilket’s debut is spot on.
FRESH CULTURAL LENS ON HORROR: Uses Chinese spiritual traditions and folk practices to shape its ghost logic and rituals, offering readers a chilling alternative to the overwhelmingly Western frameworks typical in YA horror.
HAUNTING EXPLORATION OF MIXED-RACE IDENTITY: Centers liminality, belonging, and racialized discomfort as essential components of the horror, not just background themes, reflecting a lived mixed-race experience rarely depicted in the genre.
CREEPY KID TROPE REIMAGINED: Takes the familiar “babysitter in a bad situation” setup and pushes it into unsettling, unexpected territory as Blythe’s connection to the dead becomes increasingly menacing.
A POWERFUL MOTHER-DAUGHTER STORY: Explores generational trauma, inherited spiritual responsibility, and the complicated bond between a single mother and her daughter who wants nothing to do with their shared legacy.
SHARP SOCIAL COMMENTARY: Confronts whiteness, class performance, and cultural appropriation head-on through the Morins’ attempts to shape grief, and ghosts, into a form that fits their worldview.
PERFECT FOR LIT FIC & HORROR FANS: Appeals to readers who want scares with substance, pairing visceral horror with layered thematic work reminiscent of Ari Aster, Jordan Peele, and Guillermo del Toro. The rich interiority and character depth that balances scares with a deeply emotional core will also appeal to literary fiction readers who may not typically read horror.
SWEET SPOT READER RECOMMENDATION: 15-16 years
LEVELING INFO: Coming Soon