a Fun, Educational, Fantasy Adventure

Would you listen to Ghost Leopard again? Why?

Yes. It was a fun and entertaining listen. The narrator was great.

What about Bailey S. Carlson’s performance did you like?

I really enjoyed listening to this book. The narrator is great. She captures the “voices” and personalities of the characters perfectly. I highly recommend this book to all lovers of middle grade fantasy.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

a Fun, Educational, Fantasy Adventure

Any additional comments?

Three words to describe Ghost Leopard by Lars Guignard: Fun, Smart, Adventure

The main characters of this story are Zoe and Zak. Zoe is a smart and regimented eleven year old. She sticks to the rules and enjoys learning new things. Zak is the complete opposite. He is impulsive, immature, and seems to find trouble wherever he goes. I loved both of these characters. The Mom part of me cringed at some of the predicaments they got themselves into and wanted to give them a stern lecture on all the dangers of wandering a foreign country but my inner child cheered them on and gobbled up all their antics and names that they made up for the bad guys… “Rhino-Butt”…I loved that one.

The story is set in India and I’m not ashamed to admit I learned a lot from this middle-grade book. I now know what a rickshaw is and several other words that I need to look up how to spell. The book does a great job of weaving culture, fantasy, and magic into a fun and educational read/listen.

3 people found this helpful

Fun adventure

Any additional comments?

Elephant gods, a map, villains, and secrets are just a scratch in the adventure Zoe and Zak find themselves discovering in India.

Zoe and Zak are young, but not short on courage and spunk. This story is a wonderful middle grade adventure that will trap you in their world, and take you on an amazing journey.

2 people found this helpful

Ghost Leopard Review

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

While I enjoy reading a good book, I just love listening to an audiobook that has been narrated well, and that's just what I found with the audiobook of Zoe & Zak and the Ghost Leopard. Bailey Carlson does a wonderful job expressing the characters' personalities and making the words come to life. I felt like I was right there with the Zoe and Zak, sharing their adventures with them.

Zoe is a pragmatic, intelligent girl. Because of this, she can get judgmental, especially when it comes to Zak. He's a troublemaker and often gets carried away with his mischief. When the two of them and magic come together in an adventure... let's just say that isn't Zoe's ideal way to spend her time abroad in India. Nevertheless, it does make for some great humor. When I first listened to Zoe and Zak argue after he first pulls a prank on her, I laughed so much. I just can't express enough how much I love how Carlson portrays their voices.

Set in India, Zoe & Zak and the Ghost Leopard is a fun, enjoyable middle-grade fantasy read. I love how the most unrealistic, fantastical, outrageous things can come across as perfectly normal and acceptable in middle-grade fiction. It's even better to hear it aurally as opposed to reading it on the page. I recommend listening to the audiobook of this book. It's fantastic!!

1 person found this helpful

Perfect read for your next family adventure

What made the experience of listening to Ghost Leopard the most enjoyable?

Bailey Carlson's performance was fantastic. Any future books she does, I want to listen to. She energetic and entertaining.

What did you like best about this story?

I loved how the different gods of India were incorporated in the story. I've read lots of stories with Greek, Roman, and Norse gods, but never one with gods from India. It was enjoyably original.

Which character – as performed by Bailey S. Carlson – was your favorite?

Any character that was from India. Carlson added dialect and made them stand out.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Two kids, a camera, and one amazing adventure!

Any additional comments?

Guingnard did a wonderful job setting the pace of the story. It is action packed with lots of adventure. The main characters aren't in one place for long periods of time. They are constantly on the move--either escaping danger or hunting to find the ghost leopard. It will definitely hold young readers' attentions (as well as older readers!)

1 person found this helpful

Excellent Middle Grade Adventure set in India!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes if they read MG fantasy. The novel takes place in India and the author really brought the story to life with details from his time spent there. I listened to it as I was cleaning and the time flew by. I hate cleaning more than anything but I spent seven hours without even thinking about it. I half expected a leopard to jump out at me from around the corner I was so immersed in the story. The narrator was great for the story. It is told from the perspective of Zoe, an 11 yr old girl and the narrator sounds just like a young girl. But she also does the voice of Zak, from Zoe's memories, very well, as well as the Indian accents of the other characters in the book. The author really got the voice of an 11 yr old girl just right. She was annoyed by Zak, exactly how 11 yr old girls are at that age. She's uptight and follows all the rules and stays true to her character until she finally has to accept the magic before her eyes. And Zak is just like an 11 yr old boy is without a parent around to keep him in check. Life is an adventure!

I recommend the book for the story and the audio.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Ghost Leopard?

When Zoe and Zak are hiding in the tall grass and the men realize someone has tampered with the trunk. They give chase and when they are almost on Zoe and Zak, something jumps over them and chases the men sending them fleeing.

What about Bailey S. Carlson’s performance did you like?

I liked that Bailey's voice sounded like a child's voice and not an adult's voice. I was never confused about who was speaking, but mostly I liked that it sounded like the right age person was reading the novel. I hate when an older person is reading as a teenager.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Indiana Jones meets Charlie Bone? I'm not very good at this. It's high adventure meets high magic!

Any additional comments?

I can't wait to listen to the next book! I have some more cleaning to do!

1 person found this helpful

Adventure, Mystery and Fun!

I received this from the author in exchange for my honest review. This was a really fun audio book to listen to! The story was full of magic, fantasy and adventure. I think that the narrator did an excellent job with the voices, especially doing children’s voices. Lars has a gift for writing. It was neat because I was able to imagine my 11 year-old daughter Keira in the place of Zoe. Some of the things she said as well as some of her mannerisms were similar. Lars has written a special story here that can be enjoyed by children of all ages. I definitely recommend the audio book version, especially for listening together in the car with your kiddos.

1 person found this helpful

Review: Ghost Leopard: A Zoe & Zak Adventure

What did you love best about Ghost Leopard?

The setting, characters and magical, mythical creatures.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The characters were each enjoyable and showed such an innocence, I loved the differences between Zoe and Zak, Zoe thinks before acting and questions her heritage since she is adopted but she could also be quite overbearing whereas Zak is spontaneous and carefree but also true to his age with his behavior and annoying traits, he is also worried about his parents getting divorced but this pair worked seemingly well together to complete their quest and handled the obstacles thrown their way extremely well.

What about Bailey S. Carlson’s performance did you like?

It took me a while to enjoy the narration but once I did it was quite enjoyable, the accents and character transitions were done well.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

There were a number of laugh out loud funny moments.

1 person found this helpful

Great New Middle Grade Adventure Novel

If you could sum up Ghost Leopard in three words, what would they be?

Funny, Cinematic, Magical

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

I thought it was predictable with a small cliffhanger.

What about Bailey S. Carlson’s performance did you like?

Bailey Carlson's narration of Zoe & Zak and the Ghost Leopard is easily one of the best parts of the novel. It was very easy to distinguish which characters were speaking, and the various accents that she used for different characters was very well done. I loved to hear her speak Amala's parts because her Indian accent was lovely.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Zak and Zoe finally realizing that they needed each other in order to get home safely and discovering their friendship was very sweet to read.

Any additional comments?

My full review of the novel can be found on my blog - Bibliophilia, Please.

To satisfy FTC guidelines, I am disclosing that I received a copy of the novel from the publisher or author through CBB Book Promotions in exchange for an unbiased review. It has in no way affected the outcome. All expressed opinions are awesome, honest, and courtesy of me.

1 person found this helpful

The Culture of India as a MG read!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I think this would be a great read for both boys and girls in the Middle Grade range and also for their parents to listen along too. It was a lot of fun.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Ghost Leopard?

What I found most interesting is that it is a book about India and its culture and peoples. We get a lot of Egyptian, Roman and Greek themes for this grade range but this was a refreshing and new experience and I liked it very much.

Have you listened to any of Bailey S. Carlson’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not. But this was very good.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed but also wanted to shake the characters here and there for being too over the top in their personalities.

Any additional comments?

Zoe & Zak and the Ghost Leopard audiobook was an interesting listen. Zoe is telling a story much like a diary. She comes off as a mix of things: annoying, young, overprotective, overbearing, bossy, and often no fun.; whereas Zak is her opposite, he’s oblivious, troublesome, impulsive, imaginative, and outgoing. I think that this mix made for a good book. I have to admit that the reader did a very good job with her voicing of the characters including the Indian populations but sometimes I wanted to beat both the characters in the head. Zoe was too paranoid and Zak was way too impulsive to be healthy. I understand that the author wrote them as complements of one another and that made a good plot, Zoe is frustrated and wants to go back home and Zak wants to see what is around every corner.

Aside from the characters, I really enjoyed the plot as well, and think that Middle grade readers and listeners will too. It is a history lesson in the culture of India but also action packed and fun. The characters are going after the Ghost Leopard and you learn more and more about the leopard and the characters as the plot trickles forward. The audiobook narrator did a very good job of this, recounting different parts in the story as references and making those parts stand out to the reader. I found it easy to follow along with and wanted the recording to keep playing.

1 person found this helpful

A fun adventure

Would you listen to Ghost Leopard again? Why?

Yes. It was a fun and entertaining book. The narrator did a fantastic job and I liked the story.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

I thought it was a little tidy, but still good.

Which character – as performed by Bailey S. Carlson – was your favorite?

I really thought that she did Zak great. I could feel his energy almost.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Not particularly.

1 person found this helpful