A spooky-sweet middle-grade novel about remembering the past in order to brave the future, for fans of Neil Gaiman and Anne Ursu.

 

Twelve-year-old Emily Nero’s best friend is a ghost.

 

For as long as Nero can remember, she’s been “haunted” by Arlo. He’s always had her back, especially as Nero navigates her never-impressed parents, and being the "weird girl" at school. When Nero earns the chance to start Grade 7 at a prestigious private school, she's hopeful that things will change for the better.

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But on Nero’s first day at her new school, something’s up with Arlo, something very wrong: her best friend has suddenly turned on her. Glitching electronics, flickering lights, bad smells, and cold drafts are only the beginning. Arlo is
changing into something scary. It's up to Nero to find out why, and how to help him, even as the answers bring her hauntingly close to home.

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Spooky and sweet in turns, Matteo's debut middle grade Something's Up with Arlo combines Italian witchcraft, fraught families, and friendships old and new to explore the stories we tell ourselves, and the courage it takes to make our truths heard.