The Secrets of Winterhouse (Winterhouse Series #2)

by Ben Guterson, Chloe Bristol (Illustrator)

Overview

Bookish puzzles, phantom mysteries, and evil curses await as Elizabeth returns to investigate The Secrets of Winterhouse in Book 2 of Ben Guterson and Chloe Bristol's illustrated, magical series.

Back at the Winterhouse hotel for another holiday season, Elizabeth and Freddy dig deeper into the mystery surrounding Riley S. Granger, a hotel guest who left behind odd artifacts—one being a magical book that the evil Gracella Winters once attempted to use to gain destructive power over the entire Falls lineage.

The two friends follow a trail of clues, inadvertently attracting the attention of a suspicious new hotel guest: Elana Vesper. The clock is ticking as Elizabeth and Freddy struggle to figure out whether Elana is merely a pawn or a player in the plot to revive the spirit of Gracella. If that wasn’t enough, Elizabeth suspects she is coming into her own special powers—and she’s fearful it might lead her right into Gracella’s vicious web.

Mystery, adventure, and a winning friendship combine in this much anticipated sequel.

Christy Ottaviano Books

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250233523
Publisher:	Square Fish
Publication date:	12/31/2019
Series:	Winterhouse Series , #2
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	81,597
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.60(h) x 1.10(d)
Lexile:	850L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Ben Guterson was born and raised in Seattle. Before working at Microsoft as a Program Manager, Ben spent a decade teaching public school on the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico and in rural Colorado. He has written features and book reviews for newspapers, magazines, and websites, as well as a nature-travel guide to the Southwest. Ben and his family live in the foothills of the Cascades east of Seattle. Winterhouse is his first book.

Chloe Bristol is an animation artist whose work has been featured on Disney Junior and Cartoon Network, among others. She is also the illustrator of the popular Winterhouse series, including The Secrets of Winterhouse, by Ben Guterson. She lives in Southern California.

Editorial Reviews

"Elizabeth is an appealing heroine, fond of reading and puzzles, confident in her intelligence, but she grapples with her temper and emotions and worries about fitting in at school or among people in general . . . An engaging blend of sleuthing, puzzle-solving, and magic." —Kirkus Reviews

"Guterson’s rich mystery and lively characters will keep readers turning the page to solve the puzzles within and leave them eagerly anticipating the next book in this intriguing and magical series." —Booklist

From the Publisher

2018-10-15

One year after the events of Winterhouse (2018), 12-year-old Elizabeth Somers returns to the grand Winterhouse Hotel for Christmas break.

Elizabeth's pleasure at being back with her grandfather Norbridge and her young, anagram-loving inventor friend, Freddy, and at being included in the family tree, is increased by learning that Winterhouse will now be her permanent home. The delights of living in a place with its own candy factory, a lake for skating and mountains for skiing, a large library, and movies playing nightly are appealingly detailed. But something is not quite right—two sets of unpleasant guests are behaving strangely, and Elizabeth's great-aunt, the sorceress Gracella, might not be entirely dead. The Winterhouse seal, an intriguing riddle set into the floor, suggests hidden doorways and tests Elizabeth's and Freddy's puzzle-solving skills. The book adheres to a white default: None of the characters are identified by race in the text, though Freddy and librarian Leona are illustrated with dark skin; gloomy Mr. Rajput, one of the hotel's frequent guests, is likely of South Asian descent. Elizabeth is an appealing heroine, fond of reading and puzzles, confident in her intelligence, but she grapples with her temper and emotions and worries about fitting in at school or among people in general. Though Elizabeth counts Leona among her friends, the cast is male, with the only other primary female characters fairly unlikable.

An engaging blend of sleuthing, puzzle-solving, and magic. (Mystery. 9-13)

Kirkus Reviews