Pram Books in Order

Pram is one of the quieter corners of Lauren DeStefano's work, but it may also be one of the most distinctive. The story centers on Pram, a bright, unusual girl who has been able to speak with ghosts since birth. That gift is not treated like a flashy superpower. It feels stranger, sadder, and more intimate than that. Spirits drift through her world as part of daily life, and Pram has grown up with one foot in the ordinary world and one foot somewhere just past it.

It is a ghost story, but a gentle one.

The setting matters a lot here. Pram lives with two aunts who run a retirement home, so she is surrounded by elderly residents, old rooms, quiet routines, and the steady awareness of mortality. It gives the book an old-fashioned, almost storybook mood without making it feel distant. DeStefano uses that atmosphere well. The world is not loud or action-heavy. It is full of whispers, unanswered questions, and the sense that grief can settle into a house just as surely as a haunting can.

At the center of A Curious Tale of the In-Between is Pram's need to understand her own past. She knows very little about her mother, who died before Pram could know her, and her father is a sailor who may not even realize she exists. When Pram meets Clarence, a boy carrying losses of his own, the book finds its emotional engine. Their friendship gives the story warmth, and together they move from curiosity into a real search, not just for people, but for truth. Pram is also protected, and sometimes pushed along, by Felix, a ghostly companion whose presence reminds you that help from the dead can still come with complications.

That is where the tension grows. The more Pram and Clarence reach toward answers, the more they brush against adults who may not be trustworthy, especially the spiritualist Lady Savant. The story becomes less about whether ghosts are real, because they plainly are, and more about what people will do with the boundary between life and death once they know it can be crossed, bent, or exploited.

What readers should expect from Pram is mood first, then mystery. The book is spooky, but not in a jump-scare way. It is more interested in loneliness, memory, and the ache of wanting to ask one impossible question. DeStefano trusts younger readers with sadness, which gives the story weight, but she balances that with friendship, curiosity, and a real sense of wonder.

If you are coming to this page looking for a big, plot-heavy fantasy series, Pram may surprise you. It is smaller in scale and more character-led. But if you want middle grade with ghosts, heart, and a lingering autumn feel, this is a very good place to go.