Greenglass House (Greenglass House #1)

by Kate Milford (Author) Jaime Zollars (Illustrator)

Reading Level: 6th − 7th Grade

New York Times Bestseller
National Book Award Nominee
Winner of the Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery


It's wintertime at Greenglass House. The creaky smuggler's inn is always quiet during this season, and twelve-year-old Milo, the innkeepers' adopted son, plans to spend his holidays relaxing. But on the first icy night of vacation, out of nowhere, the guest bell rings. Then rings again. And again. Soon Milo's home is bursting with odd, secretive guests, each one bearing a strange story that is somehow connected to the rambling old house.

As objects go missing and tempers flare, Milo and Meddy, the cook's daughter, must decipher clues and untangle the web of deepening mysteries to discover the truth about Greenglass House--and themselves.

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Publishers Weekly

Twelve-year-old Milo's Christmas looks ruined when five eccentric guests arrive at his parents' inn on the first day of vacation. But his new friend Meddy has other ideas, and soon the pair is investigating a series of thefts and creating alter egos based on the role-playing game Odd Trails. Milo's new persona allows him to imagine his Chinese birth family without the guilt he usually feels toward his loving adoptive parents when he does so. The mysteries surrounding the guests and their connections to the inn unravel slowly, but Milo--with his resentment of the unexpected, his growing empathy, and his quick powers of deduction--is a well-drawn protagonist. Likewise, the fictional port of Nagspeake, whose daring smugglers face off against ruthless customs agents, makes for a unique and cozy setting, where Milo's parents' inn provides a refuge for "runners," as the smugglers call themselves. The legends and folktales Milford (The Broken Lands) creates add to Nagspeake's charm and gently prepare the ground for a fantasy twist. Ages 10-14. Author's agent: Barry Goldblatt, Barry Goldblatt Literary. (Aug.)

Copyright 2014 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

School Library Journal

Gr 4-6—The Greenglass House is the kind of ancient, creaky home in which a gothic horror story might be set, and the plot in Milford's latest seems to be headed that way, at least at first. Milo has just finished his homework and is looking forward to the quiet time over Christmas break, when the inn for smugglers his adopted parents run is usually deserted. But in the midst of a howling blizzard, an odd assortment of visitors with secretive purposes seemingly related to the history of the building shows up at the inn. When the power goes out and items begin to go missing from the strange new guests' rooms, Milo decides to team up with the cook's daughter, Meddy, to figure out which, if any, of the guests arrived with nefarious purposes. Meddy's interest in Role Playing Games (RPGs) and her insistence that she and Milo adopt new names and personalities for their quest can make certain passages confusing, as Milo often refers to and thinks of himself as his game character, Negret. A twist near the end of the story helps fold the RPG plotline into the overarching narrative, while the icy, atmospheric setting and nuanced character development propel the story forward, in spite of lingering questions about the world the characters live in. Give this one to fans of Trenton Lee Stewart's "The Mysterious Benedict Society" (Little, Brown).—Elisabeth Gattullo Marrocolla, Darien Library, CT

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

A National Book Award Nominee
Winner of the Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery
Nebula/Andre Norton Award Nominee
New York Times Bestseller


* "An enchanting, empowering, and cozy read."
—Booklist, starred review

* "An abundantly diverting mystery."
—Kirkus, starred review

"The intricately woven connections, large cast of memorable characters, and beautifully detailed writing come together to make this exceptionally engaging story leap off the page."
—VOYA

"Milford employs a Westing Game level of cunning in setting up clues, revealing their importance, and immediately pivoting to a higher level of mystery, gratifying readers as she pulls them into the story."
—Horn Book Magazine

Interesting and unexpected

Kate Milford

Kate Milford is the author of the novels The Broken Lands and The Boneshaker, as well as the crowdfunded novella The Kairos Mechanism. She lives in Brooklyn, New York. Visit the tourism website of fictional Nagspeake (where Greenglass House is located) at www.nagspeake.com and Kate's personal website at www.clockworkfoundry.com.

Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780544052703
Lexile Measure
800
Guided Reading Level
U
Publisher
Clarion Books
Publication date
August 26, 2014
Series
Greenglass House
BISAC categories
JUV039060 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Friendship
JUV037000 - Juvenile Fiction | Fantasy & Magic
JUV028000 - Juvenile Fiction | Mysteries, Espionage, & Detective Stories
JUV013010 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Adoption
JUV058000 - Juvenile Fiction | Paranormal, Occult & Supernatural
Library of Congress categories
Magic
Mystery and detective stories
Detective and mystery stories
Young adult fiction
Mystery fiction
Adoption
Hotels, motels, etc
Hotels
National Book Awards
Nominee 2014 - 2014
Cybils
Finalist 2014 - 2014
Agatha Awards
Nominee 2014 - 2014
Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award
Nominee 2016 - 2016
Edgar Allan Poe Awards
Winner 2015 - 2015
Black-Eyed Susan Award
Nominee 2015 - 2016
Capitol Choices: Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens
Recommended 2015 - 2015
Flicker Tale Children's Book Award
Nominee 2016 - 2016
Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award
Nominee 2016 - 2016

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