Ghostlight

Lighthouses + Ghosts + Canadian History = cool!

For someone who lost his father not long ago, teenaged Gabe is doing okay.  He has good friends, a supportive-if-distracted mom, and his summer job as a tour guide at Toronto Island lighthouse is pretty good.  Gabe loves the history of the venerable structure, and he takes guilty pleasure in spooking out the tourists with ghost stories associated with the light station.  (Supposedly, the daughter of a 19th century keeper fell to her death from the tower and her restless spirit remained behind.)  Gabe, however, is skeptical.  After all, this is the 21st century.  Does anyone really believe in ghosts these days?

But when Gabe has a terrifying experience he can’t explain away, he and his friends are drawn into a world of soul-eating monsters and a secret society of lightkeepers who defend humanity against them.  There’s hi-tech weaponry designed by Gabe’s Russian immigrant friend, ghosts both bad and good (a community of friendly Indigenous spirits are particularly helpful), and a thrilling action sequence at the CN Tower.   We even meet the ghost of George Brown, a powerful 19th century Canadian politician and newspaper editor.

This is a fast-moving (and ultimately heartwarming) fantasy thriller that invites you to look at Great Lakes lighthouses in a whole new way.