The Second-Best Haunted Hotel on Mercer Street

by Cory Putman Oakes, Jane Pica (Illustrator)

Overview

A family-run haunted hotel’s livelihood is threatened when a bigger haunted hotel opens nearby in this hilarious, spooky story

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?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781419740176
Publisher:	Amulet Books
Publication date:	08/18/2020
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	1,059,608
Product dimensions:	8.20(w) x 5.50(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Cory Putman Oakes is the author of Dinosaur Boy, Dinosaur Boy Saves Mars, and Witchtown. She lives, writes, and often bakes in Austin, Texas. Jane Pica is a freelance illustrator who lives in Dubai.

Editorial Reviews

"This straightforward, heartfelt narrative with engaging, well-developed characters will have readers rooting for the underdog."—Kirkus Reviews

"For any young reader who enjoys a bit of mystery, tales of unlikely friendships, and amiable ghosts, this spooky-sweet title is a first-rate choice."—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

07/24/2020

Gr 4–6—After her mom dies suddenly and her dad slips into a depression, 12-year-old Willow finds herself running the Hotel Ivan. Hotel Ivan has been in Willow's family for 400 years, a Victorian mansion that employs ghosts from all eras to help run the hotel and engage with guests. The Hauntery is the recently built chain hotel in direct competition with phony claims and new, cheap structures made to look old. Ghosts employed by hotel chain are rotated through the locations and bossed by the living with a heavy hand. One day Evie, an eternally 12-year-old ghost, runs from the chain hotel in frustration and meets Willow at the local public library, where they bond over their shared favorite book series, the "Deena Morales Mysteries." Hotel Ivan is up for an inspection from the Zagged guide and it needs a five-star, number one review to draw new guests and keep its doors open. To make an impression on the inspector, Willow and Evie hatch a plan to recreate a murder mystery from the Deena Morales books. All of the ghostly staff conspire to help, but things go awry. Sparse greyscale illustrations in this novel add a touch of charm. VERDICT For any young reader who enjoys a bit of mystery, tales of unlikely friendships, and amiable ghosts, this spooky-sweet title is a first-rate choice.—Lindsay Persohn, Univ. of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee

School Library Journal

2020-06-16
Two 12-year-olds, one overwhelmed and alive and the other underestimated and 5-years-deceased, come together to save a beloved haunted hotel.

Willow Ivan is determined to not fail the 400-year-old Hotel Ivan and its ghostly staff. After the death of her mother—and her subsequent return as a ghost—Willow and her father, who struggles with depression, have been hanging on by a thread. Even with the help of her eccentric staff, Willow is struggling to manage the hotel, making the lauded Hauntery chain’s opening of a new location nearby a devastating blow. Evie MacNeil and her family have moved between several branches of the unfeeling chain’s locations. Evie, along with her annoying cousin, has been playing the role of Spooky Little Girl but longs instead to be a Terrifying Phantasm, although no one believes that she’ll be scary enough. Willow and Evie cross paths at the local public library, where they bond over a popular mystery series. Unaware that she works at the Hauntery, Willow offers Evie a position at Hotel Ivan in her dream role, and they plot to save the family business. The author gives the familiar storyline of small businesses fighting to compete with corrupt corporations a fun, spooky twist. This straightforward, heartfelt narrative with engaging, well-developed characters will have readers rooting for the underdog. Willow and Evie are white.

A story with more heart than spook. (Fantasy. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews