Twelve-year-old Willow Ivan’s family has run the Hotel Ivan for four hundred years. Through thick and thin, they’ve held on tight to their title as the Best Haunted Hotel on Mercer Street. That is, until the Hauntery—a corporate chain of haunted hotels—moves in down the street. As the Ivan’s business fades, so do their ghostly staff. And Willow begins to worry that The Ivan’s days are numbered.
Then Willow meets Evie, a Hauntery ghost who’s forced to play the part of a Spooky Little Girl even though she longs to be a Terrifying Phantasm. So when Willow offers her a job at The Ivan, Evie accepts—but she doesn’t tell Willow that she’s still working for The Ivan’s competition, for fear of losing her new job and friend.
Together, the girls come up with a plan to save The Ivan. But with The Ivan ghosts already fading and Evie’s secret threatening to come out, will it be too late?
My Review:
I don't read a lot of middle grade books but I couldn't resist this one after I saw it on bookstagram. I only wish I would have read it during the Halloween season.
Willow's family has run the Ivan Hotel on Mercer Street for 400 years. They've held tight to their title of best haunted hotel until The Hauntery, a corporate chain of haunted hotels moves in down the street - to a Victorian mansion that Willow swears wasn't there before. On top of that, the Ivan has seen better days, Willow's dad is locked in grief after the death of Willow's mother, and some of their resident ghosts are starting to fade and move on. Willow has to think of something before the Ivan is put out of business.
Enter Evie. Evie is a Hauntery ghost stuck forever in the role of "spooky little girl" even though she dreams of being a "terrifying phantasm." When she meets Willow she sees her chance to achieve her dream and help Willow in the process. But The Hauntery has driven other family-run establishments out of business in the past and it won't play fair in the battle of the haunted hotels.
I loved everything about this book. It was interesting to see world-building where ghosts were the norm and even an essential part of big corporate industry. This book was cute, interesting, and shockingly emotional. Picture me, a 28-year-old woman tearing up over several of the ghosts Moving On. I was a blubbering mess!
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