THE GHOST OF WRECKERS COVE

A summer in a haunted Maine lighthouse brings two young sisters together in Del Campo’s graphic novel for children.

When siblings Cristina and Martha arrive with their father at a quiet coastal village for the summer, they’re not expecting much excitement. Cristina especially misses the city; upon discovering a lack of Wi-Fi, she shouts, “How do people even live here? Urrggg….” But their new home, next to an old lighthouse, has a lot to offer. It’s like “living inside a real live mystery,” as Dad puts it; there’s a famous local legend about its vanished keeper, a missing lens, and a violent storm long ago. The girls soon encounter Ida, a strange, soft-spoken girl who appears and disappears without warning and seems to know a lot about the lighthouse’s troubled past. Encouraged by their father’s tales of fictional girl detectives, Cristina and Martha form their own secret sleuthing society and set out to solve the mystery. Their search takes them to the village library, a forgotten museum, and even a crumbling cliffside cave, uncovering clues that tie together ghostly sightings, legendary land pirates called “wreckers,” and a priceless jewel lost at sea. The pair begin to suspect that they may need to help Ida accept the truth of what happened so many years ago—a fitting task for two girls who are also quietly processing the recent loss of their mother. Despite its ghostly apparitions and dark themes, Del Campo’s story is more sweet than spooky, and Liniers’ illustrations employ a muted palette and watercolor texture that matches the quietly emotional story. “I will always believe in fairies and magic,” Martha announces to dismissive Cristina at one point, and this tale of sisterly bonding does indeed feel like a fairy tale, at times. As such, slightly older readers may wish that there were more swashbuckling, ghostly adventure, Still, its quiet pace and subtle tone will resonate with younger, reflective readers who are drawn to atmosphere over action.

A tender mystery that explores loss, sisterhood, and childhood magic.