A middle grade debut inspired by a Malaysian folktale follows the story of a witch’s granddaughter who receives the gift of a ghost servant from her grandmother before discovering its dark, all-consuming nature. 35,000 first printing. Simultaneous eBook. Illustrations. - (Baker & Taylor)

Retells a Malaysian folk tale in which a lonely girl, Suraya, inherits from her grandmother a pelesit, a ghostly demon, who proves to be a good companion, bringing both danger and hope. - (Baker & Taylor)

* Chosen as a 2020 Kirkus Prize Finalist for Young Readers' Literature! *

A Malaysian folk tale comes to life in this emotionally layered, chilling middle grade debut, perfect for fans of The Book of Boy and The Jumbies.

I am a dark spirit, the ghost announced grandly. I am your inheritance, your grandmother's legacy. I am yours to command.

Suraya is delighted when her witch grandmother gifts her a pelesit. She names her ghostly companion Pink, and the two quickly become inseparable.

But Suraya doesn't know that pelesits have a dark side'and when Pink's shadows threaten to consume them both, they must find enough light to survive . . . before they are both lost to the darkness.

Fans of Holly Black's Doll Bones and Tahereh Mafi's Furthermore series will love this ghostly middle grade debut that explores jealousy, love, and the extraordinary power of friendship.

* Chosen as a 2020 Kirkus Prize Finalist for Young Readers' Literature! *

A Malaysian folk tale comes to life in this emotionally layered, chilling middle grade debut, perfect for fans of The Book of Boy and The Jumbies.

I am a dark spirit, the ghost announced grandly. I am your inheritance, your grandmother’s legacy. I am yours to command.

Suraya is delighted when her witch grandmother gifts her a pelesit. She names her ghostly companion Pink, and the two quickly become inseparable.

But Suraya doesn’t know that pelesits have a dark side—and when Pink’s shadows threaten to consume them both, they must find enough light to survive . . . before they are both lost to the darkness.

Fans of Holly Black’s Doll Bones and Tahereh Mafi’s Furthermore series will love this ghostly middle grade debut that explores jealousy, love, and the extraordinary power of friendship.

Booklist Reviews

Growing up, Suraya's best friend has always been Pink, a pelesit—a kind of parasitic demon-ghost that feeds on the blood of its host—inherited from her witch grandmother. He's her playmate, caretaker, and defender against bullies, but when Suraya makes her first human friend, Pink feels his relationship slipping away. Flaring insecurity unleashes his demonic nature, plaguing Suraya's new friend with various horrors in an attempt to push her away. As Pink and Suraya struggle to hold on to that which is dearest to them, they discover the tangled roots of a troubled family history, heal their wounds, and grow. Alkaf's (The Weight of Our Sky, 2019) middle-grade debut is unapologetically—and beautifully—Malaysian, its characters, setting, and story steeped in the culture's folklore, language, religion, and food. As a ghost story, grounded in Suraya's and Pink's alternating points of view, it sizzles with tension and safe-but-ghoulish imagery (Pink's MO is unleashing a swarm of creepy crawlers) without letting go of the heartfelt thread of love between a girl and her ghost. Grades 4-7. Copyright 2020 Booklist Reviews.

Kirkus Reviews

After the death of the village witch, her pelesit, a cricketlike trickster ghost-familiar, must seek a new master who shares the witch's bloodline. Suraya, a lonely, impoverished child who is shunned by the local children and held at an emotional distance by her mother, embraces her pelesit inheritance, lovingly naming him Pink. Pink serves as Suraya's friend and protector, but his retribution against those he believes have slighted Suraya is impulsive and malicious. Disturbed, Suraya extracts a promise from Pink not to hurt others, ever, unless she is in absolute danger. Pink soon breaks his promise when Suraya is bullied by other girls, but when she finally makes her first human friend, Jing Wei, Pink's protectiveness takes a dangerously jealous turn. As Suraya struggles with the decision to cut Pink loose, darker forces remind them that Pink is not the only malevolent being around. Alkaf's middle-grade debut immerses readers in Malaysian culture and food as well as weaving in both Islamic elements and pre-Islamic views of ghosts and death. Though aspects of the novel embrace the disturbing and grotesque (which will de light many readers), its conclusion is grippingly heart-wrenching and speaks to deeper themes of family, trauma, and friendship. Suraya and her family are Malay Muslims while Jing Wei is Chinese Malaysian. A fascinating, page-turning tale. (Supernatural adventure. 9-14) Copyright Kirkus 2020 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.