The Ghosts & Jamal

By Author / Illustrator

Bridget Blankley

Genre

Adventure

Age range(s)

11+

Publisher

HopeRoad Publishing Ltd

ISBN

9781908446633

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

22-02-2018

Synopsis

The Ghosts and Jamal is an intriguing story, touching on religion, terrorism and Nigeria's internal conflicts, following a young orphan who is negotiating an unforgiving society. Waking up in the aftermath of a terrorist attack, 13-year-old Jamal tries to piece together what has happened whilst simultaneously trying to evade capture by the attackers. It soon becomes clear that he has been living in a separate outhouse from his family on account of the \"bad spirits\" or rather his epilepsy that plagues him. \tAs he wanders around his family's compound, he comes across red canisters leaking yellow gas, which he works out were the weapon that killed his family. With his family dead, he begins to search for his grandfather who he hardly knows; when his grandfather turns him away Jamal keeps walking. On the way he meets prejudice, exploitation and friendship, before finally discovering that it is people, not ghosts, that have killed his family, and they have plans to keep on killing.

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