Gargoyle Hall

April 1, 2015

Gr 3-6-The latest installment in the series. Araminta, self-proclaimed investigator, and her sidekick Wanda Wizzard are suddenly confronted with Araminta being sent to boarding school for girls. She can't seem to find any reason why her family would wish to send her away. Her Uncle Drac has been acting very strange indeed and her Great Aunt Emilene is suddenly hanging around for long periods of time. Even her ghost friends Fang, Sir Horace, and Edmund can't give her any insight as to why she must live elsewhere. When Araminta arrives at her new home, she finds that the school is in danger of closing down due to low enrollment. Something very strange is going on and Araminta believes that some of the students may have something to do with it. Then the head mistress goes missing. Can Araminta save her and save the school from closing down? Araminta is a charming character who will engage and captivate readers. Half-page and full-page illustrations add appeal and help further develop the characters. VERDICT This lively and mysterious novel will hold the attention of students with a passion for mystery, without being too scary for younger readers.-Katy Charles, Virgil Elementary School, Cortland, NY

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2015
Grades 4-7 What's a girl to do when mystery after mystery presents itself? If you're Araminta Spookie, the solution is simple: become a detective. But solving mysteries at home, as Minty has for the first five books in this series, is one thing. Now she's being shuttled off to Miss Gargoyle's Academy for Girls. Fortunately, there is no shortage of mysteries at the boarding school, where the halls are filled with the moans and roars of a beast said to have chased off all the other students. Will Minty be able to discover the truth? Or has she landed smack in the middle of something more dangerous? Fans of the series will welcome the return of the dauntless detective and her eccentric family: Uncle Drac, Aunt Tabby, and sidekick Wanda Wizzard, along with the resident ghosts of the Spookie Estate. In her new environs, Minty encounters an unusual academy director, a curiously manly matron, and sinister twins who are definitely hiding some secrets. Derek Landy's Skulduggery Pleasant series is a good next step.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2016
A silly caper with spooky scaffolding. Araminta (known as Minty to her uncle Drac) and her dim-witted sidekick, Wanda Wizzard, run a detective agency. Naturally, their antics lead to trouble and boarding school, where bigger mysteries are afoot. The story itself is somewhat flat; still, the Addams-Family atmosphere and screwball comedy, both reflected in frequent black-and-white illustrations, make for good giggles.

(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)