(2) 4-6 After the death of her father and the subsequent loss of their house, Jerry (almost twelve) and her mom drift from small town to small town, her mom finding work in motels because they accommodate Jerry's wheelchair. The latest motel, the Slumbering Giant, should be no different, only there are stories of ghosts and of people going missing, and a radio station broadcasts strange messages in the middle of the night. All of this is fascinating to Jerry and her imaginary pocket-sized dragon, Paul, until her mom, picking up extra work duties overnight, goes missing, and then Jerry, Paul, and new friend Chapel go on a hair-raising quest in the dark, mysterious woods. Netz's debut novel is part thrilling adventure in a fight against "demons," part mystery about the secrets hidden in the woods. It's also populated by an endearing cast of characters whose close relationships help carry them through strange encounters with monsters and mythical creatures. This unusual fantasy's casual inclusion of disability makes it stand out; Jerry's identities as Jewish and as a wheelchair user are well integrated into the story. Though she recounts previous experiences of discrimination from peers, nobody significant in her life doubts her capability or heroism -- and her wheelchair refreshingly proves to be an asset in multiple parts of the tale.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2024

(2) YA Intent on saving his family farm during the Great Depression, sixteen-year-old Joe arrives in Chicago to work and send money home. Thanks to the cousin he's staying with, he has two jobs lined up. One is working in the kitchen of a hotel. The other involves taking French classes at a local church; collecting his wealthy classmates' names, addresses, and travel dates; and passing the information along to criminals who plan to rob the homes while their occupants are vacationing abroad. Despite his reservations, Joe goes along with the scheme and is drawn inexorably into a web of lies, deceit, blackmail, and murder. With elements of noir, the plot is further complicated by a love triangle: Eddie makes deliveries to the hotel, Raymond is in his French class, and Joe becomes romantically involved with both. As trouble catches up to Joe, he's forced to flee Chicago, but he's reluctant to leave the queer community he's found and finds little solace in the idea of returning home. Klise deftly manages to balance a number of elements in Joe's first-person narration: his gradual transition from wide-eyed innocence toward criminal activity, the complicated motivations of secondary characters, convincing dialogue, and an aura of danger and suspense. The historical setting and secretly queer characters may appeal to fans of Lo's Last Night at the Telegraph Club (rev. 3/21). An author's note gives brief historical background and suggestions for further reading.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2023

(2) YA In this memoir in verse, Van Heidrich recalls the time when her family, whose housing situation had always been precarious, experienced homelessness. Her mother moves thirteen-year-old Katie and her two younger siblings into a hotel, where they try to maintain a sense of normalcy while occupying a single room. Every other weekend, the children go from the hotel to their father and stepmother's house, where there is more stability but also tension. School provides a haven, though Katie doesn't share her situation with her classmates. The first-person, present-tense immediacy of the poems ("My siblings and I / are three volcanoes, / though we are not the same / in how we erupt, / let alone how often") is complemented by the emotional distance Van Heidrich as the adult author brings to the story. Though she relates the events in the voice of a young adolescent, she also widens the perspective, allowing Katie to empathize with her parents and recognize that they are fighting their own demons. The story concludes on a hopeful but clear-eyed note: "I want to be grateful, but / I am also frustrated / and angry, / though that doesn't feel right." Van Heidrich doesn't have all the answers, but she reaches an emotional inflection point that she shares with readers.

Reviewer: Sarah Rettger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2023

(1) K-3 Pinfold (The Black Dog, rev. 10/12) pre­sents another surreal picture book, this one with shades of such folktales as the Grimms' "The Six Swans" and Anndersen's "The Wild Swans." Driving through the desert to pick up their mother (from what looks like a medical care facility), four siblings leave the main road to stop in the heat to pick flowers for her. The three older brothers recite rhymes from their youth ("White roses we follow / toward Teller's Hollow"). Despite their sister's warning, the thirsty brothers enter a stark, silent building in search of a drink of water, where they fall under the spell of a giant mystical lion, the Teller, and are transformed into dolphins. Only the resistance and tenacity of the sister, the youngest, who endures a battle of wills with the Teller, allow the siblings to escape. Themes of determination, family traditions, and love are manifested in the words and images. The washout-desert palette in the hauntingly beautiful realistic mixed-media illustrations creates an eerie sense of foreboding (carried through to the ambiguous ending) that cues readers into the otherworldliness of the story. Three consecutive double-page spreads depicting a sumptuous banquet (the sister's charge is to eat or drink nothing for three days) are especially mesmerizing. Masterful use of light, spot color, and scale mark this as a significant piece of bookmaking; pair with early Van ­Allsburg titles such as The Garden of Abdul Gasazi.

Reviewer: Eric Carpenter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2022

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Jaime Zollars. In the Liberty, a part of Nagspeake (Greenglass House, rev. 9/14, and sequels) where retired rogues and smugglers find sanctuary from the long arm of the law, Marzana takes it upon herself to solve a mystery after her mother is asked to find a kidnapping victim. Hoping to help rescue the missing girl, and despite her extreme social anxiety, Marzana assembles a team (or "knot") of her own: her best friend and codebreaker Nialla; a magician named J. J.; Ciro, a "camofleur," or expert in hiding things in plain sight; and Meddy, the ghost from Greenglass House who arrives via parcel post. The team makes progress following up on several clues, but kidnapping isn't a game, and Marzana's parents are furious when they discover the knot members putting themselves in danger. This entry shows all of Milford's strengths: theme-expanding stories within stories, a thrilling genre fusion, swashbuckling technical mastery (here, lock-picking, cryptography, and sleight-of-hand magic), a vocabulary to delight the word-nerds, and an invented world real enough to live in. Delivering layers upon layers, convincing characters who succeed despite their emotional challenges, and a brain-tingling mystery that unfolds at just the right speed, this ghostly fantasy-adventure is a humdinger of a good read.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2020

(2) K-3 Translated by Cathy Hirano. An innkeeping badger, dapper in his bow tie and vest, invites the reader to admire his hotel ("small but cozy. It's my pride and joy") and to share his appreciation of the guests who have traveled from afar to stay there. But as much as the innkeeper loves his work, his dreams are full of the journey he will one day take to see the friends he's made among his visitors and explore the world for himself. Adult readers may feel a sense of melancholy, but the closing line--"I bet everyone will be surprised"--speaks directly to children who may also dream of possibilities for their own futures. Miyakoshi (The Storm, rev. 5/16; The Way Home in the Night, rev. 7/17) uses textured layers of black and white to illustrate the innkeeper's day-to-day life. Her use of light and shadow is particularly successful; on one spread sunlight streams in through the hotel's dining room windows, illuminating the innkeeper and his guests, so that the small scene is both intimate and full of wonder. When the innkeeper talks about his dreams, Miyakoshi shifts to color to illustrate his imaginings. Small anthropomorphized mammals sit around a table loaded with food, their faces lit by sunlight, surrounded by warm blue shadows. From the endpapers, which recall a sunrise or sunset seen from an airplane window, to the final view of the hotel, when the reader looks down as if flying off with a flock of birds, this is a beautiful picture book about hope for the future.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2020

(2) 4-6 In this sequel to Front Desk (rev. 7/18), eleven-year-old Chinese American Mia Tang continues helping to run her now family-and-worker-owned motel in ­California. ­Business is going well, but negative political ads demonizing undocumented immigrants occupy the media landscape. At school, Mia forms a club where she and other marginalized classmates find validation and share instances of racism in their daily lives. Mia's best friend Lupe reveals a long-kept secret, describing being undocumented as "being a pencil, when everyone else is a pen...You worry you can be erased anytime." Matters intensify when Lupe's mother struggles to return from Mexico after attending Lupe's abuelita's funeral, and then her father is threatened with deportation. Yang's writing is engaging and earnest, making issues of discrimination, class, poverty, cultural identity, and gender roles accessible to young readers. Mia is a creative and determined activist, using her voice to combat injustice while uplifting the voices of others. An author's note details extensive research on American immigration laws and their impacts on immigrant families in the 1990s.

Reviewer: Kristine Techavanich | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2020

(2) YA A change of summer plans finds seventeen-year-old narrator Emma--whose mother died of an overdose years back and whose father has just remarried--staying with her mom's large, boisterous extended family for a few weeks at the motel they run. Privileged, anxiety-prone Emma quickly acclimates to the working-class environs and bonds with her relatives, soon embracing a new, more laidback identity. Dessen's latest novel is largely about the ups and downs of family.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2019

(2) 4-6 Delsie's summer friend Brandy starts hanging out with mean-girl Tressa, while Delsie befriends newcomer Ronan. Delsie, who lives on Cape Cod with her grandmother, also begins to push for details about the mother who abandoned her. Delsie is an engaging protagonist; Hunt's depiction of class conflict is matter of fact; the writing is vivid and child-friendly; and the plot is strong, with a satisfyingly imperfect resolution.

Reviewer: Sarah Rettger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2019

(1) YA Sepetys's riveting and exemplary historical epic examines the enduring effects of the Spanish Civil War through the perspectives of four young people living under the shadow of Franco's fascist dictatorship in 1957 Madrid. Via lively characters and short, swiftly paced chapters, Sepetys thoroughly and sensitively explores the social, economic, and political issues that plagued postwar Spain, including the selling of stolen infants. An author's note and photo gallery are appended. Bib., glos.

Reviewer: Jennifer Hubert Swan | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2019

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Kevin Hawkes. Human Mr. Snore (with a cartoonishly big schnoz) is trying to get a good night's sleep at the Sharemore Hotel. But on every floor he tries, there's an issue or creature making it difficult...until he becomes the problem for a dinosaur on the thirteenth floor. The acrylic and ink illustrations have a classic look, and clever surprises in text and art will keep readers on their toes.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(3) YA Vanessa, Phoebe, and Callie--attendees of vastly different conventions (fandom, percussion, and taxidermy, respectively)--meet at a convention center and form a friendship better than many of their existing relationships with their con-companions. Well-drawn characters enhance the humor of this multiple-perspectives tale, which is light but progressive; Vanessa's blossoming romance with genderqueer Merry is a particularly heartwarming subplot.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(4) YA After her drug-addicted mother goes to jail, sixteen-year-old Elle Zoellner's long-absent, hotel-mogul Japanese father brings her to Tokyo, where she attends an elite international school. Elle struggles with cultural differences, getting to know her aloof father, and falling for decidedly uncool fellow student Ryuu. The chock-full-of-privilege-and-power plot is trendy (think Crazy Rich Asians) and entertaining in a soap-opera sense.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(1) 4-6 Louisiana Elefante's flighty, unstable grandmother abandons her at a motel, leaving behind a letter revealing that Louisiana is a foundling whom she rescued and raised. Louisiana (Raymie Nightingale) is a resilient and sympathetic character, and the juxtaposition of her down-to-earth observations with Granny's capriciousness lightens the narrative and allows for a good deal of humor. Overarching themes addressing forgiveness, love, friendship, acceptance, home, and family ring honest and true.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2018

(3) 4-6 Welcome to Wonderland series. Illustrated by Kelly Kennedy. The success of the movie filmed at the Wonderland in Beach Party Surf Monkey turned the previously failing motel into a tourist destination, even drawing royal guests in this third book. When Lady Pettybone's tiara disappears during the Sandapalooza contest, motel-owners' kid P.T. investigates with his friend Gloria. The breezy mystery includes red herrings and misdirected suspicions; black-and-white drawings capture quirky characters and the kitschy beach motel.

Reviewer: Gail Hedges

(4) 4-6 Winterhouse series. Illustrated by Chloe Bristol. Telekinetically gifted Elizabeth returns to the enchanting winter hotel owned by her grandfather. There Elizabeth and her friend Freddy find a second object of power by following anagram clues contained in a mysterious seal--but evil Great-aunt Gracella tries to steal it from beyond the grave. The plot lacks impetus and the magic-facilitated ending is somewhat incoherent, but a first-rate setting and nicely diverse cast of characters carry the novel.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Chloe Bristol. Spending Christmas away from her dour aunt and uncle at a Catskills-style grand hotel, eleven-year-old Elizabeth makes a new friend, Freddy, who is a fellow puzzle fanatic. But Elizabeth and Freddy's puzzle-solving attempts uncover a mystery that may threaten the entire hotel. Word ladders and codes abound in this magic-tinged winter holiday mind-boggler, which ends with a possible new family for Elizabeth.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) YA Seventeen-year-old Lizzie Borden is physically and emotionally abused by her cruel father and stepmother in this modern-day reimagining of the historical murder mystery. Painfully shy and suffering from a medical condition that causes blackouts during menstruation, Lizzie leads a miserable life until a charismatic new maid at her parents' bed-and-breakfast sparks hope and possibility. Spoiler alert: things don't end well in this dark, unsettling thriller.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(3) YA On twins Georgina and Mary's small island home of By-the-Sea, "you could always smell two things: salt and magic." During the girls' last summer working together in their family's inn, which caters to bird-watchers, they prepare for a future without each other and discover how their magical lineage manifests itself. A gentle family story merges with a mystery involving a rare bird in this evocative, lyrical magical-realism novel.

Reviewer: Jessica Bushore

(3) YA Illustrated by Tara O'Connor. Seventeen-year-old Denise and her family return to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina to flip an old house into a bed and breakfast. Soon Denise learns the house is haunted by two ghosts, whose deaths may be connected to a comic book Denise finds abandoned in her attic. That comic (illustrated in sharp monochromatic blue) is interspersed between chapters of this engaging, atmospheric paranormal mystery.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters