Ophie’s Ghosts by Justina Ireland

Abstract

Reviewed by: Ophie’s Ghosts by Justina Ireland Kate Quealy-Gainer, Assistant Editor Ireland, Justina Ophie’s Ghosts. Balzer + Bray, 2021 [336p] Trade ed. ISBN 9780062915894 $16.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9780062915856 $9.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R* Gr. 4-7 The first ghost twelve-year-old Ophie sees is her father’s: after his murder, his spirit warns her and her mother to flee their Georgia home before the white men who killed him burn their house down. Ophie and her mother travel to Pittsburgh, which is only slightly more welcoming to Black people in 1922, and they find work as maids at Daffodil Manor. Although the mistress is an ornery racist old white woman, she’s too weak to be a physical threat; although the place is filled with ghosts, they mostly ignore Ophie, with the exception of Clara, a beautiful girl who mysteriously died in the house. Ophie is determined to figure out what happened to Clara, but as she gets closer to the truth, she discovers that the residents—corporeal or otherwise—of the manor are anything but harmless. Ireland provides an immersive experience of the shifting race dynamics in 1920s America by focusing on Ophie’s inner dialogue and her experiences as a young Black girl, and by interspersing chapters from the perspective of various objects and places; the viewpoint of the manor, which has been witness to some truly tragic things over the years, is particularly effective. The mystery of Clara’s death offers all the tension and intrigue of a good whodunnit, and the revelation of the heartbreaking truth underscores the brutal threat of racism, wherein violent actions tend to follow violent words, and Ophie knows that any step out of line could lead her to her father’s or Clara’s end. As the author notes in her foreword, that threat is far from vanquished, and this could spark a timely discussion on the threads of oppression that run though now and then. Copyright © 2021 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois