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Kazu knows something odd is going on when he sees a girl in a white kimono sneak out of his house in the middle of the night–was he dreaming? Did he see a ghost? Things get even stranger when he shows up to school the next day to see the very same figure sitting in his classroom. No one else thinks it’s weird, and, even though Kazu doesn’t remember ever seeing her before, they all seem convinced that the ghost-girl Akari has been their friend for years!

When Kazu’s summer project to learn about Kimyo Temple draws the meddling attention of his mysterious neighbor Ms. Minakami and his secretive new classmate Akari, Kazu soon learns that not everything is as it seems in his hometown. Kazu discovers that Kimyo Temple is linked to a long forgotten legend about bringing the dead to life, which could explain Akari’s sudden appearance–is she a zombie or a ghost? Kazu and Akari join forces to find and protect the source of the temple’s power. An unfinished story in a magazine from Akari’s youth might just hold the key to keeping Akari in the world of the living, and it’s up to them to find the story’s ending and solve the mystery as the adults around them conspire to stop them from finding the truth.

Sachiko Kashiwabais a prolific writer of children’s and young adult fantasy whose career spans more than four decades. Her works have garnered the prestigious Sankei, Shogakukan, and Noma children’s literature awards, and her novelThe Village Beyond the Mistinspired Hayao Miyazaki’s filmSpirited Away. Her works have recently been animated as the filmsThe WonderlandandThe House of the Lost on the Cape, and her novelTemple Alley Summer, illustrated by Miho Satake and translated by Avery Fischer Udagawa, won the American Library Association’s 2022 Mildred L. Batchelder Award. She lives in Morioka, Iwate.

Avery Fischer Udagawagrew up in Kansas and studied English and Asian Studies at St. Olaf College in Minnesota. She holds an MA in advanced Japanese studies from the University of Sheffield. She has studied at Nanzan University, Nagoya, on a Fulbright fellowship, and at the Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies, Yokohama. She writes, translates and works in international education near Bangkok, where she lives with her bicultural family.

Miho Satakeis a Japanese artist and illustrator. She is best known for illustrating the Japanese editions of several classic children’s books includingHowl’s Moving Castleby Diana Wynne Jones, three books in theKiki’s Delivery Serviceseries by Eiko Kadono, and the twentieth-anniversary edition of theHarry Potterseries. In addition to illustrating classic children’s literature, her work spans a wide range of genres, including fantasy and realism.

• Publisher: Yonder
• Publish Date: May 28, 2024
• Pages: 240
• Language: English
• Type: Paperback
• EAN/UPC: 9781632063052
• Dimensions: 8.1 X 5.5 X 0.9 inches | 0.7 pounds
• BISAC Categories: Kids