3D Review; Callum Fox and the Mousehole Ghost - A C Hatter – REVIEWS

Adult Review

Callum Fox and the Mousehole Ghost, is a masterfully crafted, intricately plotted ghost story, with a duel story arc, one present day and one set during world war two that culminate into a charming and satisfying ending.

The two narratives are set in parallel the open being set in the summer of 2014, with accident prone twelve year old Callum Fox is on a train destined for the sleepy Cornish coastal town of Mousehole to spend the summer holiday with his estranged grandparents, lovely Nanna, and grumpy discontented Granddad Bob.

The second begins with another train journey starting from the same London station in 1939, where little Jim White is being evacuated as part of operation Pied Piper.

The two stories progress, with Callum meeting his grandparents and local girl Sophie, and Jim being placed with the Fox family of Mousehole where he meet his soon to be best friend Bob. It;s only when clumsy Callum gets knocked over by an ambulance and that the two worlds collide, as he starts to see a strange raggedy dressed scrawny boy that no one else can, Jim. It soon expires that Callum near death experience has left him with the ability to see and converse with ghosts.

As the duel narrative progress and you learn much more about Jim’s life as an evacuee, and about living as a child in rural war time Briton. Things become much more perilous when Bob and Jim witness a German fighter plane crash. The pair save and then are saved by gentle teenage pilot Gunter, and three of them hatch a plan to help the pilot escape.

In the present Callum, has to come to terms with seeing the dead, and try and stop all the ghost of Mousehole enlisting him to help them finalise their unfinished business and move on. Callum reaches out to on-nonsense Sophie and together with the help of all the neighbourhood ghosts, they endeavour to assist Jim on a mission to help Callum’s disagreeable granddad Bob.

The plotting and story arc, builds up to satisfying ending with a heart-warming twist, bring together all the plot threads and themes of the story.

Callum Fox and the Mousehouse Ghost is much more than a ghost story, it a thriller, and has charming and informative, well researched historical elements, but primarily this is a story about friendship. It is all this in addition to illustrating in an effective and attainable way the zeitgeist of WWII.

Child Review by Beatriz aged 10

Callum fox and the Mousehole is told from two points of view, firstly by Callum Fox in present time, who goes to stay with his grandparents in sleepy Mousehole a Cornwall village, there strange things start to happen. After being knocked over by an ambulance Callum can see things others can’t, GHOSTS! Even though Callum knows that this is cool, no one will believe him, not even his new friend Sophie.

Then things change once again seeing a ghost called Jim an old friend of Callum’s grumpy old Granddad’s, wants to move on with the help of Callum and Sophie.

Meanwhile in in the past, Jim is going to Mousehole evacuating from London, in the time of world war two. He is thrown into a house where he meets his new best friend Bob Fox. After a day out working Bob and Jim see a German plane crash. Trouble kicks in when both children help the pilot Gunter escape.

This is a great book, with lots of excitement, danger, and fantasy. My favourite character is; Sophie: she is very funny, keen, and joyful. She loves fishing, and teasing Callum. She is a great character, what stands out the most about her, is that she has bright red hair.