Middle Grade Monday: The Last Resort by Erin Entrada Kelly

Image: Scholastic Inc.

The Last Resort by Erin Entrada Kelly. 240 p. Scholastic Press/ Scholastic Inc. September 16, 2025. 9781546132431. Review of arc courtesy of the publisher. 

Middle Grade Monday features a review of an arc I finally got around to reading, The Last Resort by Erin Entrada Kelly. I'm sorry it took so long. 

This was fun, even if horror is my least favorite genre. It's also multi-platform, where readers can scan a QR code and speak to three ghosts from the many haunting the inn where twelve-year-old Lila has to spend part of her summer after her Grandpa Clem dies. 

She doesn't want to leave her Arizona home at the start of summer before seventh grade. Her friendship with Lexi and Ava is on the skids and she has to repair it before school starts. To make matters worse, they are driving from Arizona to Ohio because her dad is afraid to fly. Lila has a "near death" experience along the way and when the family arrives at the inn, she discovers she can see ghosts, of which there seems to be many inhabiting the inn, including her grandfather's. She has never met him, but she recognizes him from photos. He claims that he was murdered before flickering out. It's up to Lila and her neighbor Teddy to get to the bottom of this mystery.

This fast-paced tale has plenty of suspense and features a relatable tween dealing with realistic friendship issues along with surprising grief over the grandfather she never met. 

The QR code in the arc brought me to the site for the book and a demo. If you click on the link to the image, you can check out the demo. The actual book will feature more. The Last Resort is a series starter and sure to be a hit with your tween lovers of horror. It strikes just the right note of scary. 

The second book in the series, The Claiming, was written by Jasmine Warga and was released in late January. I'm ordering it now, because, you know, I don't like horror. 

He's Ba-ack! Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy

Image: HarperCollins Publishers

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy. 384 p. HarperCollins Publishers, May, 2018. 9780008248789. (Review of finished ppb courtesy of Harper360.)

Twelve-year-old Stephanie Edgley is standing at her uncle's graveside when she notices a figure wearing a trench coat, hat and scarf standing under a tree away from the crowd. This was curious on such a hot day. It got even curiouser when, later, she escapes to the study at her uncle's huge home to avoid all the disingenuous "mourners" to find herself face-to-face with the gentleman. It seems Stephanie's uncle spoke of her often to him. And, after a brief exchange of pleasantries, he disappears abruptly. 

Days later, she has to accompany her parents to the reading of her uncle's will where she learns that she has inherited the bulk of her uncle's fortune as well as his home. The strange man was also named in the will and Stephenie learns his name—Skulduggery Pleasant. Soon after, Skulduggery rescues Stephanie from an intruder. It is then she discovers that the trench coat, hat and scarf were disguising the fact that he is a skeleton!

It seems that the horror stories Stephanie's uncle wrote were inspired by true events. He and Skulduggery often worked together to solve mysteries and now, Skulduggery was going to find her uncle's killer. Stephanie does not intend to be left on the sidelines. She is in for one heck of a ride!

The voice captivates from page one. Stephanie is just a terrific main character— smart, brave, not easily rattled and quite, quite stubborn as Skulduggery quickly learns. She's also dryly hilarious. The banter between her and Skulduggery had me laughing out loud often. The action is fast, furious and quite violent as the bad guys here are called The Faceless and their leader, Serpine are after a scepter with which he will rule the world. So stakes are high.

It was so much fun to revisit Skulduggery Pleasant! I cannot recall when or how I came upon it. The book was originally published in 2007. I probably read a review. I was neither blogging or on Goodreads then; but the book stuck with me. I am pretty sure I read it with my ears, but might not have, though I did read books 2 - 5 with my ears. I had to send to the U.K. for books 3 - 5 as I couldn't find them here. The audiobooks, narrated by Rupert Degas, are spectacular. Degas' deadpan delivery and distinct character voices compliment this intense tale. 

Skulduggery Pleasant was Landy's debut and he followed it up with eight additional sequels followed by a second series. I have a bit of catching up to do! Readers who love horror and fantasy will gobble this up and be back for more, so make sure you have the rest of the series on standby.

Middle Grade Monday: Hoodoo by Ronald L. Smith

Hoodoo by Ronald L. Smith. 208 p. Clarion Books/ Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, September, 2015. 9780544445253. (Own) 

Middle Grade Monday features Hoodoo by Ronald L. Smith. This atmospheric, tale of the supernatural is set in rural Alabama in the 1930s and narrated by twelve-year-old Hoodoo Hatcher. He's the only member of his Hoodoo-practicing family who has no magic. And he needs it the most. There's a mysterious stranger stalking Hoodoo. It seems he has something this stranger wants and his family cannot protect him, try as they might. Hoodoo was published in 2015. Smith's debut was so impressive, he was award the 2016 John Steptoe Award for New Talent by the Coretta Scott King Committee. If you're in the mood for scary, check out Hoodoo.

Review: I am not a fan of horror but I do try to read a few a year to recommend to my students who are. I'd been meaning to get to this since it pubbed and finally did when I purchased the audiobook for my school's collection.

Hoodoo by Ronald L. Smith. Unabridged recording on 5 compact discs. 5 hours, 32 minutes. Read by Ron Butler Jr. Dreamscape Media, December, 2016. (Own.)

New to me narrator Ron Butler paced his performance perfectly. His voices were varied and distinct. He conveyed Hoodoo's earnest innocence well and ratcheted up the suspense effectively. I highly recommend reading this southern gothic horror with your ears or eyes. Just, read it.