ezra

godsend of a book. ily the book makes you think about life a bit and paints it in a different light. it’s simple and not overwhelming with detail or anything. it’s an easy read with not a lot of analyzing to do and good character development. (spoilers kinda?) if im being honest i was overjoyed at the ending where gilda actually starts taking care of herself unlike the other parts of the book. it was so refreshing and i love her :3

the book lacks an actual story. It's just 225 pages of 4 people running about in a supposely haunted house. I really don't get the hype, there is nothing scary or horrfic and the summary on the back has nothing to do with the book. In my opinion this book is trash

plot twists, character development, and a funny story all in one. i loved this book so much. gordon korman’s style of writing is so “smooth” and entertaining. im a pretty picky reader, if it doesn’t grab my attention within ~20 pages im probably going to drop it. but gordon korman’s books are so attention grabbing so that never happens!

A friend of mine wanted me to read this and I did. I liked the first book and bought the 2nd and 3rd book. Lost interest in the second book and here's why: 1. Sophie is VERY unrelatable. She's kinda like the author's persona. Overpowering, lots of guys that want to date her, trauma, and pretty. 2. Too many "magical items". I can't remember all of them and remember what they do. 3. The "male leads" are sterotypes. Fitz - the perfect know-it-all, Keefe- the popular flirty guy and Dex - the "best friend". Does the author have a crush on all of them or what? 4. WAY TOO MANY SUBPLOTS. The books don't even have a plot at this point. It's just a bunch of subplots smashed together, I can't remember anything from the books because of it. 5. Just a rip-off of Harry Potter. Sophie (Harry), gets taken into the magical elf world (world of magic) and she doesn't know her parents (Harry never really knew James and Lily). She goes to Firefox (Hogwarts), makes some friends like Fitz and Dex (Ron and Hermione) and makes enemies like Stina (Draco). 6. No POC, I mean for me, it's not really a big deal but whatever, I'll talk about it. There's a couple black and asian people throughout the whole series but everyone else is white. 7. Racism? Still kinda on the edge about this one. The gnomes are seen as slaves and are told that "they like doing work". The same exact ezcuse used for black slaves (if my memory doesn't fail me).

Loved this book. I like all mystery books but this book definitely wins the top spot. There is really good detail I can almost feel how the characters feel!