Kate Milford: Greenglass House (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2014)
Kate Milford’s book, the New York Times bestseller Greenglass House, has won the prestigious Edgar Award in the Best Juvenile Mystery category and has been featured on the Amazon Best Book of the Year list along with several nominations. A sequel to the story and several accompanying volumes have been published since then. It’s very interesting to me that other stories going on in the world of the book have also been released, especially the book that the characters are reading in the first volume. The author currently lives in Brooklyn with her family and besides writing, she also works as a journalist.
Greenglass House is a huge old manor that looked as if it had been cobbled together from dozens of different buildings. It got its name from its green glass windows. It stands on a hillside not far from an inlet of harbors. Due to its location, it is mostly visited by smugglers. Milo Pine lived here ever since he was adopted by his parents, who run the inn. Milo is already used to the extraordinary guests who showed up at the same time every year or just passed through the inn and never came again. In the 12 years of his life, the little boy had been able to predict quite well who would visit them and when. That’s why he was surprised when the bell rang at the entrance in the first week of the winter break, just before Christmas. What’s even more strange is that there are several guests arriving, all connected to the old building in some way. Milo and Meddy, the cook’s daughter, must follow the clues and try to unravel the mystery that surrounds the house.
Milo is a little Chinese boy who was adopted but has always been interested in his Chinese heritage, so he wants to find out something not only about the house but about himself throughout the story. In addition to the investigation, the book also shows the important role of playing in children’s lives and its major message is how essential it is to know ourselves.
To learn more about the world of Greenglass House, you can visit the author’s website: https://clockworkfoundry.com/.
