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Ballad for a Mad Girl

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( 813 ratings, 191 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Ballad for a Mad Girl by Vikki Wakefield is a gripping young adult novel that balances mystery and psychological suspense. The story follows Grace Foley, a rebellious teenager renowned for her fearless nature. After a daring prank goes wrong, Grace experiences unsettling visions and unravels a haunting local mystery, blurring the line between reality and madness. This book explores themes of identity, grief, and the supernatural while maintaining an intense and atmospheric narrative.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're drawn to gripping young adult mysteries that weave together themes of grief, identity, and the supernatural, set against the backdrop of a small Australian town. The story deftly explores the boundaries between reality and the spectral, offering an enthralling and haunting narrative that will keep you captivated.

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Ballad for a Mad Girl

The funny girl isn't laughing anymore. She's haunted by voices and visions - but nobody believes a girl who cries wolf.

Ballad for a Mad Girl is a ghost thriller with a literary angle. An action-packed page turner about survival and the different ways we deal with grief.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Everyone knows seventeen-year-old Grace Foley is a bit mad. She's a prankster and a risk-taker, and she's not afraid of anything—except losing. As part of the long-running feud between two local schools in Swanston, Grace accepts a challenge to walk the pipe. That night she experiences something she can't explain.

The funny girl isn't laughing anymore. She's haunted by voices and visions, but nobody believes a girl who cries wolf. As she's drawn deeper into a twenty-year-old mystery surrounding missing girl Hannah Holt, the thin veil between this world and the next begins to slip. She can no longer tell what's real or imagined—all she knows is the ghosts of Swanston, including that of her own mother, are restless. It seems one of them has granted her an extraordinary gift at a terrible price.

Everything about her is changing—her body, her thoughts, even her actions seem to belong to a stranger. Grace is losing herself, and her friends don't understand. Is she moving closer to the truth? Or is she heading for madness?

Ballad for a Mad Girl is a suspenseful and haunting novel that explores the blurred lines between reality and imagination, the burden of secrets, and the search for truth deep within oneself.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Ballad for a Mad Girl by Vikki Wakefield is praised for its intelligent and spine-crawling narrative, blending elements of supernatural mystery with the complexities of teenage life. Reviewers highlight Wakefield's skill in crafting believable, flawed characters and her ability to deliver emotions in a gripping, cinematic style. The novel is described as haunting and thought-provoking, using themes of grief and growth within a Gothic setting to engage readers.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781925355291

Publisher: Text Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 29 May 2017

Country: Australia

Imprint: The Text Publishing Company

Audience: Children

DIMENSIONS

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 0g

Pages: 320

About the Author

Vikki Wakefield's first YA novel, All I Ever Wanted, won the 2012 Adelaide Festival Literary Award for YA Fiction, as did her second novel, Friday Brown, in 2014. Friday Brown was also an Honour Book at the Children's Book Council of Australia, in 2013, and was shortlisted for the prestigious Prime Minister's Awards. Vikki's third novel, Inbetween Days, was Highly Commended in the 2016 Barbara Jefferis Award, was a 2016 CBCA Honour Book and was shortlisted for the 2016 Prime Minister's Awards. Vikki lives in the Adelaide foothills with her family.

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