A Castle in the Clouds

December 1, 2019
Winter has arrived at Castle in the Clouds, bringing with it a group of distinguished guests who have come to spend the winter holidays at the historic hotel located in the Swiss mountains. It's all very exciting for 17-year-old Sophie Spark, who decided to spend the year as the hotel intern rather than repeating a year of school. Sophie's festive mood is dampened, however, when she overhears the hotel owners discussing whether to sell the hotel to a wealthy businessman with plans to thoroughly modernize the property. Misfortune strikes soon after when a guest's engagement ring goes missing. Gier's (Just Dreaming, 2017, etc.) latest offering treads a familiar path and holds few surprises for veteran mystery fans. Lengthy exposition and the introduction of a large cast make for a slow start, but the pace eventually picks up, albeit unevenly. Sophie's frank and witty narration provides a boost of entertainment, and her earnestness is compelling--perhaps more so than the plot. Between new friendships, a potential romance, and various hotel duties, it's easy for Sophie (and readers) to forget about the hotel's uncertain fate. Characters follow a white default; handsome British secondary character Tristan Brown is described as Asian. Like a white Christmas in the Alps--charming, atmospheric, and predictable. (Mystery. 12-16)

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December 13, 2019

Gr 7 Up-Sophie Sparks is interning at a grand European hotel. Not only does she have her hands full dealing with hard-to-please guests and mischievous children, but she soon discovers that there are secrets in the hotel. Among stolen jewels, kidnapping, and murder, Sophie realizes that many people there are not as they seem. Right away Sophie meets Ben, son of one of the hotel owners. But then there's Tristan, who just might be a hotel thief, but is astonishingly attractive and entertaining to boot. With plenty of red herrings laying around, readers will be kept glued to the page as they try to figure out who is telling the truth and who is not. As the New Year's Eve ball comes closer, the mysteries become more dangerous, and so does the weather, with a movie-worthy storm that makes all the hotel guests even more anxious than usual. Sophie might lose her heart, her job, or even her life. This is a translation of a previous edition in German and the dialogue can be stiff. Language arts teachers will welcome this as an example of a mystery with lots of twists. VERDICT Fans of old-fashioned mysteries such as Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None and Ellen Raskin's The Westing Game will enjoy this updated mystery about an intern alone in an aging European hotel. Recommended for general purchase.-Deanna McDaniel, Genoa Middle School, OH

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