Arnold, Louise

PERSONAL: Female. Education: University of Kent, graduated, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Margaret K. McElderry Books, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

CAREER: Writer.

WRITINGS:

Golden and Grey (An Unremarkable Boy and a Rather Remarkable Ghost) (children's novel), Margaret K. McElderry Books (New York, NY), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS: Louise Arnold did not win a school competition at age nine with her story "Boo the Ghost," but more than fifteen years later she reworked the story and won a contest sponsored by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) designed to find the next J.K. Rowling, bestselling author of the "Harry Potter" books. After she won the BBC competition, which received thousands of entries from all over the world, Arnold's story was published in book form as Golden and Grey (An Unremarkable Boy and a Rather Remarkable Ghost). The children's novel relates the story of eleven-year old Tom Golden and his friend, Grey Arthur, who happens to be a ghost.

In Golden and Grey (An Unremarkable Boy and a Rather Remarkable Ghost) Tom Golden's friendship with Grey Arthur helps the boy overcome his feelings of alienation, but it also makes him the target of a kidnapping attempt. The story's mixture of the charming friendship and suspenseful kidnapping received generally positive reviews. Steven Engelfried, writing in School Library Journal, praised Arnold's "inventive world of spirits," but found the plot "inconsistent" and the characters "undeveloped." On the other hand, a Publishers Weekly critic called Golden and Grey (An Unremarkable Boy and a Rather Remarkable Ghost) a "sparkling, crisply written first novel." Considering the novel "fast-paced," a Kirkus Reviews contributor concluded that Golden and Grey (An Unremarkable Boy and a Rather Remarkable Ghost) "will have readers wishing they, too, had such remarkable friends."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Kirkus Reviews, June 15, 2005, review of Golden and Grey (An Unremarkable Boy and a Rather Remarkable Ghost), p. 677.

Publishers Weekly, August 1, 2005, review of Golden and Grey (An Unremarkable Boy and a Rather Remarkable Ghost), p. 65.

School Library Journal, July, 2005, review of Golden and Grey (An Unremarkable Boy and a Rather Remarkable Ghost), p. 95.

ONLINE

Blast, http://www.bbc.co.uk/blast/ (October 20, 2005), author interview.

Louise Arnold Home Page, http://www.greyarthur.com (January 6, 2006).