The Forgotten Girl - One Page Review (OPR)
1. Title: The Forgotten Girl by India Hill Brown 978-1-338-31724-4-First Second, New York,
$16.99, 256 pp.
2. Genre: Fiction, ghost stories / horror, friendship / social issues, African American literature
3. Characters: Iris is brave and outspoken, her best friend Daniel is more reserved and less
likely to stir up trouble, he likes to follow the rules and act as the voice of reason for Iris.
Avery Moore is the little girl who is awakened as a ghost by Iris and Daniel, they want to
help her have recognition for her death, but is demanding and jealous towards the pair who
simply want to help.
4. Plot: The Forgotten Girl follows Iris and Daniel, 12-year-old best friend neighbors through
their misadventures. The book takes place in North Carolina, so snow is a big deal there,
when it happens, this is especially important to Iris. Iris is definitely characterized as the
brave friend and Daniel is shy and reserved. In the first chapter they are exploring late at
night in the snow and stumble across a grave sight while making snow angels. They run
home after catching an uneasy feeling. The chapter ends on Iris looking out of the window
into the eyes of a little girl. Iris is very involved in school, but somehow continuously feels
left out, like she has been forgotten. She is starting to feel racism and begins to feel very
aware of her blackness. This is important for later in the novel as they realize that the
graveyard that they stumbled upon is an old segregated gravesite, and the eyes of the little
girl that she saw belonged to a girl named Avery. The discover that Avery is a ghost and that
the pair had essentially awakened her when they stumbled across her grave marker. Avery
wants recognition for her death and the pair wants to help her “crossover”. Avery is
demanding and jealous of Iris and Daniel, and while Daniel remains skeptical of Avery’s
intentions, Iris feels empathetic towards Avery and just wants to help.
5. Touchy Areas: there is talk of death, but otherwise this book is intended for 8-12-year-old
children, so there are no true touchy areas
6. Related Titles:
- Movies: Ghostbusters, The Nightmare Before Christmas,
- Music: “Have You Seen The Ghost of John?”, “The Monster Mash”
- Poem: “Ulalume” Edgar Allen Poe, “La Belle Dame Sans Merci” John Keats
- Classic Work: Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte
- Art: The Nightmare, Henry Fuseli
Evaluation: I really enjoyed this book, it was a truly easy read for me, but the story was still
captivating enough that I did not lose focus while reading this book – it kept me very engaged. I
love how there are social themes that feel very adult in essence but are made suitable for
children. They talk about friendship, segregation, race, jealously, loyalty, etc. but in this book,
they are watered down for children to be able to comprehend. I think this is a really good horror
book for children who want to delve into scary stories, but there are some ideas that may be hard
to grasp, like larger racial ideals and more obscure, nuanced issues in society. Author India Hill
Brown does a fantastic job with the dialogue and plot construction and I would genuinely
recommend this to any student interested in the genre.
Reviewed by: Mikayla Chandler
1. Title: The Forgotten Girl by India Hill Brown 978-1-338-31724-4-First Second, New York,
$16.99, 256 pp.
2. Genre: Fiction, ghost stories / horror, friendship / social issues, African American literature
3. Characters: Iris is brave and outspoken, her best friend Daniel is more reserved and less
likely to stir up trouble, he likes to follow the rules and act as the voice of reason for Iris.
Avery Moore is the little girl who is awakened as a ghost by Iris and Daniel, they want to
help her have recognition for her death, but is demanding and jealous towards the pair who
simply want to help.
4. Plot: The Forgotten Girl follows Iris and Daniel, 12-year-old best friend neighbors through
their misadventures. The book takes place in North Carolina, so snow is a big deal there,
when it happens, this is especially important to Iris. Iris is definitely characterized as the
brave friend and Daniel is shy and reserved. In the first chapter they are exploring late at
night in the snow and stumble across a grave sight while making snow angels. They run
home after catching an uneasy feeling. The chapter ends on Iris looking out of the window
into the eyes of a little girl. Iris is very involved in school, but somehow continuously feels
left out, like she has been forgotten. She is starting to feel racism and begins to feel very
aware of her blackness. This is important for later in the novel as they realize that the
graveyard that they stumbled upon is an old segregated gravesite, and the eyes of the little
girl that she saw belonged to a girl named Avery. The discover that Avery is a ghost and that
the pair had essentially awakened her when they stumbled across her grave marker. Avery
wants recognition for her death and the pair wants to help her “crossover”. Avery is
demanding and jealous of Iris and Daniel, and while Daniel remains skeptical of Avery’s
intentions, Iris feels empathetic towards Avery and just wants to help.
5. Touchy Areas: there is talk of death, but otherwise this book is intended for 8-12-year-old
children, so there are no true touchy areas
6. Related Titles:
- Movies: Ghostbusters, The Nightmare Before Christmas,
- Music: “Have You Seen The Ghost of John?”, “The Monster Mash”
- Poem: “Ulalume” Edgar Allen Poe, “La Belle Dame Sans Merci” John Keats
- Classic Work: Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte
- Art: The Nightmare, Henry Fuseli
Evaluation: I really enjoyed this book, it was a truly easy read for me, but the story was still
captivating enough that I did not lose focus while reading this book – it kept me very engaged. I
love how there are social themes that feel very adult in essence but are made suitable for
children. They talk about friendship, segregation, race, jealously, loyalty, etc. but in this book,
they are watered down for children to be able to comprehend. I think this is a really good horror
book for children who want to delve into scary stories, but there are some ideas that may be hard
to grasp, like larger racial ideals and more obscure, nuanced issues in society. Author India Hill
Brown does a fantastic job with the dialogue and plot construction and I would genuinely
recommend this to any student interested in the genre.
Reviewed by: Mikayla Chandler
