Liars’ Room by Dan Poblocki - HIGH

 Liars’ Room by Dan Poblocki, 240 pages. Scholastic Press, 2021. $18

Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content PG; Violence: PG

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Blended families are never easy, but when Stella and Alex move to a creepy old house with their new stepbrother, it seems his lies become increasingly unbelievable. Wildwyck isn’t just any old house either, it was a former schoolhouse for misbehaved boys and it has a dark past that seems to be resurfacing. As events in the home escalate and danger builds, it becomes harder to know who to trust and who is lying and where the real danger lies.

Standard Dan Poblocki. If you like ghost stories with an element of danger, this is your book. It’s a fast read and the combination of super creepy house, hidden rooms where children were put to punish them, a graveyard out back, death, and mysterious journal entries make this a great ghost story. Elements of blended families, and trust make it relevant, though the ending left me with more questions than answers.

Michelle in the Middle