She loves keeping her nose in a book while they enjoy keeping their faces glued to a TV screen. She wears glasses and doesn’t quite fit in with the family that she has to live with. She always keeps a bag with her that holds her notorious notebook off lists and a book or few that she’s reading. Sometimes, while reading this I was comparing it to Matilda and there were two characters that reminded me of Morticia and Gomez Addams, based upon description and their illustration.Įlizabeth Somers is an orphan girl that is under the care of her Aunt Purdy and Uncle Burlap, whom I despise. These characters were fun and some were mysterious. Mystery, adventure, and beautiful writing combine in this exciting debut richly set in a hotel full of secrets. But will it be at the cost of losing the people she has come to care for, and even Winterhouse itself? As fate would have it, Elizabeth is the only person who can break the hotel’s curse and solve the mystery. But the deeper she delves into the hotel’s secrets, the more Elizabeth starts to realize that she is somehow connected to Winterhouse. It’s not long before she locates a magical book of puzzles that will unlock a mystery involving Norbridge and his sinister family.

Upon arrival, Elizabeth quickly discovers that Winterhouse has many charms―most notably its massive library. Orphan Elizabeth Somers’s malevolent aunt and uncle ship her off to the ominous Winterhouse Hotel, owned by the peculiar Norbridge Falls. An enchanting urban fantasy middle-grade debut―the first book in a trilogy―set in a magical hotel full of secrets.

Ben guterson winterhaus