Changes

|title=The Positively Last Performance

|sort=Positively Last Performance, The

|publisher=Oxford

|date=February 2013

|summary=Gracie has come to Seashaw with her parents who hope to restore the old theatre there to its former glory. But many dangers threaten the Royal Theatre: can Gracie and her new, formerly alive friends save it?

}}

Gracie absolutely loves Seashaw. She has many happy memories of holidays in the faded resort (which bears more than a passing resemblance to Margate) and she is delighted when her parents, who are actors, decide to move there for good. Their plan is to take over the old theatre, which has been abandoned for years, and do it up—as long as they can get a grant or two to fund the work. They are understandably busy with surveyors and town officials, and it's no surprise to Gracie that she's left pretty much to her own devices. Besides, she's just discovered something extraordinary: she can see ghosts.

Geraldine McCaughrean is rightly known as one of our best authors, and this book does not disappoint. It is funny and touching, true-to-life and whimsical, sad and warm-hearted. It is beautifully written, managing to combine tragedy and comedy in one satisfying whole, and it deserves to become a classic.

{{commenthead}}