Ghosts of Greenglass House by Kate Milford

yalitreader

Oct 4

Summary: One year after solving the mysterious theft that took place at his family's inn, Milo finds himself solving yet another mystery! This time, he's trying to find the long lost haul of a world-famous smuggler, but in order to do so, he'll have to face dangers like never before.

Review: Unfortunately, this book was nowhere near as engaging or entertaining as the first. For some reason, I just could not get invested in the story! That wasn't a problem for me at all in the first book, but this one was just different. I tried and tried and kept pushing myself and willing myself to like it, but I just couldn't get excited about the mystery.

It was especially weird because I found the story to be intriguing, but I also regularly felt like I was only understanding a portion of it all. I enjoyed it generally speaking, but I also kind of got lost in a lot of the technicalities and the background information.

Just like in the first book, I really loved the setting. Unlike the first book, though, I was disappointed by the lack of focus on it. It was so sparse that I was unable to really immerse myself in it as I had before. Also, the characters in the first book were more engaging, too. I felt more invested in them in book one, and in this book, I was hardly able to keep the different secondary characters separate in my head. Disappointing all around on that front. On that topic, all of the roleplay character creation stuff was so dull. I really, really disliked it. It bored me so much. I mean, I read it, but I retained next to nothing.

The clues were also quite difficult. I found some of them to be so minuscule that they were almost pointless to include at all. For example, Mrs. Kirkegrim made Mr. Hakelbrand a cup of coffee, so Milo OBVIOUSLY knew they were married. That was so dumb! Also nonsensical. Why make a mystery where the clues are so inconsequential that readers can't possibly deduce the truth from them?!

My final piece of this review: I am done with the series. I shan't continue forth from here.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Recommended reader: Anyone who likes:

Mystery
Elements of fantasy
Role-playing games
Ghosts
Beautiful settings
Winter
Secret societies
Chinese-American characters
Racism

Reviews of Previous Books:

Greenglass House

Discussion Questions:

Think about what Milo experienced with his teacher. What harm can stereotyping and racial bias have on individuals? How did this event impact Milo? What theme night the author be trying to reveal?
How does Milo exhibit the qualities of both a solitaire and an ecstatic? In your opinion, which does he best exemplify? Why?
Summarize Mr. Hakelbarend's story of Whit Liberty. What does this story reveal about the Liberty? How so? What do the wings symbolize? Explain.
What clues were there to Mrs. Harkegrim's true identity throughout the story? How does Milford use red herrings (or misdirection) to place suspicion on characters for stealing part of Violet Cross's stash of seemingly unrelated items?
How does Milo's conversation with Owen about his well meaning but insensitive social studies teacher, as well as Milo's subsequent response to Marzana's emotional reaction to his tale "The Flight of Maps" demonstrate his grow- ing maturity and empathy?

Specifics of the book: