Through The Black Gate by Alfredo Cáceres. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2026. 9781664941839. 264pp. including an afterword, early concept art, and sheet music for a song that’s played in the book, “Requiem for Lost Souls.”
Irene lost her parents in a fire, but in their house’s ashes she found a cat, Moses, who then helped her find a book there, too. A Comprehensive Guide to the Graylands is about ghosts and what happens after death. Irene thinks her father’s spirit lives on in Moses, which explains why he keeps trying to escape the hostel where she lives with her guardian, Ruth, to return to the site of the fire.
Ruth’s ghost-obsessed nephew, Francis, comes for a visit, bringing his guitar. When Francis sings the song his mentor taught him, Moses glows. Moses escapes soon after, and Francis and Ruth head out to find him. They talk about ghosts and such, and then Francis’s music opens a portal to the Graylands. There they end up on a quest of sorts to help Ruth’s father’s spirit pass through the Black Gate.
Worth noting: the Graylands are just a bit spooky, and Cáceres populates them with compelling characters, mythical and human. (His drawings are beautiful, as are the colors by Diego Mora.) Francis can hear music everywhere there. Many of the spirits he and Ruth encounter recognize Moses, and seem to want to help the kids. But the Keeper of the Forest is not as kind as they hoped, and the Ferryman, who guides spirits through the Black Gate, has selfish desires of his own.
