August 15, 2024
A middle schooler gets trapped with classmates in a haunted manor where they must reckon with a vengeful ghost. After quiet loner Barret Eloise's teacher groups her with Helena, Wayne, and Ridge for a project on local history, the unlikely foursome settles on Raithfield Manor as their topic. As part of their research, they interview a woman at the realty office that's trying to sell the old house. She fills them in on the history of the Raithfields, who moved out during the Great Depression after four of their children died. When the kids sneak into the long-abandoned mansion around which rumors whirl (after all, their teacher wanted them to "experience history"), they end up imprisoned. The house transforms into a series of terrifying challenges--for example, the library floor becomes waves of lava--run by a tortured, power-hungry ghost. The only way to survive, the kids reason, is to triumph over every obstacle. Experienced genre fans may guess the ultimate reveals; however, the scares are safe for newbies, and the book will appeal to readers who enjoy ghost stories. Barret Eloise is a sympathetically struggling protagonist, someone who stumbles over her words, is focused on school almost to her own detriment, and sometimes misses social cues. Her relationship with Helena offers meaningful representation of fraught tween friendships, and the connections among the four classmates are special in their own right. Helena is cued Black; other major characters present white. Well-drawn characters encounter tame spooks. (blueprints)(Horror. 9-12)
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September 1, 2024
Gr 4-8-Raithfield Manor has long stood abandoned and stories of its being haunted have lasted just as long, but Barret Eloise doesn't believe in ghosts. That is, until she decides to research it for a group project on town history. Barret Eloise and her three classmates end up trapped inside the manor by a ghost intent on playing children's games, and if they lose, they disappear. Most frightening of all: the children may not be alone in the house. This is a fun horror novel with just the right amount of spooky for kids wanting to dip their toes into the genre. The stakes are low for the protagonists, making this a relatively safe ghost story for even the most apprehensive readers. It also contains messaging that one doesn't need to be perfect to be happy, and that, in fact, perfection can be lonely. Most characters read white; one of Barret Eloise's group mates is Black. VERDICT Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library, but make it horror; this title is sure to be a hit with middle grade readers.-Mariah Smitala
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