Brown Girl Ghosted

February 24, 2020
Violet Choudhury, 16, is one of the few people of color in her very white, very middle-American Illinois hometown, where she works hard to fit in, getting grades that are good (but not too good) and participating on the student council, tennis, and poms. But the Indian-American girl is hiding a big secret: she is descended from a powerful supernatural Assamese warrior queen tasked to “protect the world by destroying the destroyers.” Dead members of the Aiedeo, as they are known, trained her to join their ranks until a near-fatal accident at 13 caused Violet to turn her back on her legacy. When Naomi, the head pom and cruelest girl at Meadowdale High School, is murdered, the Aiedeo present Violet with an ultimatum: help Naomi’s spirit find peace by taking out the demon who killed Naomi, or be killed herself. Das (Storm Sisters) peppers her prose with pop culture references to build scenes and provide character development; while some are chuckle-worthy, many may go over young readers’ heads, and worldbuilding and characters—with the notable exception of Violet’s nanny, Dede, who is by turns funny and authoritative—can feel one-dimensional. Ages 14–up.

Narrator Kosha Patel brings believable teenage angst to a story that feels like a combination of a Mindy Kaling audiobook and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Violet Choudury is a former warrior-queen-in-training, but she just wants to fit in on her local high school's combination cheer/dance team. Instead, an ancient force has other plans. This audiobook combines fantasy and Indian mythology mixed with concerns about peer pressure, racism, sexual assault, and the desire to fit in. Patel's narration is a delight. She sounds exactly like a teenager telling the story of how she accidentally became a semi-supernatural warrior princess. Patel makes it easy for the listener to hold onto her every word. V.B. � AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine