Greenglass House (Greenglass House, 1)

Greenglass House by Kate Milford is set during the winter vacation at a beautiful inn with many stained glass windows. We also have a bunch of guests popping up all over the place.Will the Pines keep all the guests happy this winter?The Pine FamilyThe Pine family consists of Nora, Ben, and Milo Pine. Nora has lived in Greenglass House since she was twelve when her parents bought it. Her family decided to turn the house into an Inn that many people have used. Let them be law-abiding citizens who just need a place to stay or smugglers. The smugglers who use the house only come during a particular season, and that's the way it has always been. While Nora was living there, she met Ben, and the two, as some would say, lived happily ever after. They are married and end up with the Inn when Nora's parents hand it off to them to be run by a young couple.Nora and Ben decided to adopt a child out of the goodness of their hearts. That child is Milo, and he has been with them since he was a baby. The happy couple is happy to have a child run around the house and keep their guests on their toes. Milo is now twelve years old and does whatever his parents need him to do on their on-season but not off-season. Winter is usually their off-season since not many people would dare go to them as there aren't many different ways to get to the Inn. The fact that they ended up with five people this winter vacation didn't bode well for poor Milo.The way that Ms. Milford wrote this family dynamic between the three of them was well executed. I loved how the three of them were intuned to what the other one of them needed. For example, Milo knows he must talk and be present with Nora. I love the little competition that the two of them do with their guests. Except when Milo was with Ben, Milo knew that Ben liked the silence, and just a head nod was all the acknowledgment that Milo needed to give at the time.The MysteryMilo is just starting his winter vacation right after finishing his homework when the guest bell rings throughout the night. They had an empty house with just the three of them, and then out of nowhere, five guests showed up, all wanting to stay during the holiday. Almost all of them had something to do with the house somehow, and Milo had no clue how or why they had to show up. Not only that, but why now, and what is the connection? Milo met a girl named Meddy, the Inn's chef's daughter, and they decided to figure it out while playing a game. I had difficulty keeping track of some things, but I did guess who the odd person was. Except I didn't figure out why that person was there.Four StarsMs. Milford has written an excellent book, and I wouldn't mind diving back into the series at another date. Mostly to figure out what other types of trouble Milo and Meddy get themselves into. I am giving Greenglass House by Kate Milford four stars and recommending it. It's a good book for people who like roleplaying games like dungeons and dragons.Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Greenglass House by Kate Milford.Until the next time,Karen the Baroness

This book has definitely been one of my favourite reads of the year so far, and the funny thing is, I didn't think it would be.It is a middle grade book revolving around our main character Milo, who is the adopted son of the Pines'. He was looking forward to his Christmas break and some much needed downtime with his family, who happen to own and run an inn - The Greenglass House, that is known to welcome all kinds of visitors, including smugglers. However, just as Milo had finished all his schoolwork early to really enjoy the rest of his break, several guests show up at the doorstep of the inn, each with a stranger reason for the visit than the next. Milo, a lover of mysteries, and mainly just bored, begins an adventure, in which he tries to find out the real reason behind their stay, and how they might be connected to one another.In doing so, he meets a young girl his age, Meddy, who encourages him to role play and use his imagination. Something that proves to be quite difficult for Milo at first, as he is grounded in reality, but he soon learns to enjoy the role playing as it gives him a chance to pretend to be someone he is not. This is important for Milo's character development, as he struggles with his identity and the many unanswered questions regarding his background and birth parents, and seems to deal with a lot of guilt for wanting to know, given that his parents are great and loving and have never done anything for him to wish otherwise.At first, I was a little put off by the "game", maybe because it's way above my age group and so I couldn't help but think how childish these kids are being. Meddy, especially, came off as very annoying and clingy and her insistence on sticking to character could become quite irritating - Milo sure did get frustrated with her a few times, however, as they get closer and closer to solving the mystery the game begins to make more sense until it reaches a climax, which honestly left me sitting with my jaw on the floor and gave me goosebumps all over.I really enjoyed getting to know each of the guests separately, and trying to figure out who was up to what. They all act quite suspicious, and they all have bizarre backgrounds that sometimes don't add up. Suddenly, things start disappearing - guests belongings are being stolen, and everyone is a suspect. Milo makes it his mission to find these missing belongings, but more importantly to find out who is behind all this thievery - and why. When Milo suggests that they all begin sharing stories after dinner, as a way to pass the time and get to know each other a little better, you start seeing glimpses of each one's true intentions and Milo uses that time to try and assess the details for any clues and piece things together, with the help of Meddy.It all reminded me a little bit of Agatha Christie's, And Then There Were None. Obviously, a more innocent, child-friendly version, just in the way that these strangers are all stuck in a house and telling stories and hiding things and so on. Then again, I probably made that connection because I had recently read it.A great mystery, with some great characters that are all well developed and rounded. Milo is a great protagonist to have and root for, and his sidekick Meddy is a wonderful companion to him. The twist in the story took me completely off-guard, and I honestly didn't see it coming. I don't know if it's just me, or if Kate Milford played it well, but I was blindsided and found it one of the most unpredictable twists that I had read in a while. Very well done. That twist and ending alone quickly made this book one of my favorites, otherwise, it would have been just another regular old mystery.

I recently decided to revisit the Greenglass House series, reading it this time aloud to my younger kids. It took all of us a while to get drawn into the story. Once we were, however, we started really enjoying it. The ending was so good we didn't want to put it down the last few nights.We did have a couple things that we didn't enjoy about the book. The game Milo was playing was strange and it was annoying when the characters were called by their "game personas." Just call them by their actual names!Within the story, there are the stories the other characters tell and those Milo reads in a book. One of these, we really didn't care for as cat lovers and I tried to skip over as much of it as I could. Unfortunately, one of my sons caught on a little quicker and was grossed out as well. That one story and the annoying game are what holds this back from a higher rating.

I almost gave up on this book because I wasn’t into the RPG theme running through it, but I’m so glad I didn’t. It really came together for me when I tried not to get too bogged down in ‘the game’ and just enjoyed the story. There were surprises and adventure and a whole mess of emotions.Recommend for those who love RPG, and those who enjoy unravelling a good mystery.

I really enjoyed this, I think the 'twist' was quite well done. There were some things that weren't quite wrapped up by the end of the book, but I think it worked quite nicely and added to the mystery rather than feeling unfinished.

This is a wonderful read. Not just for kids, also a fun read for adults.A very cool & imaginative blend of detective type stories cut through with fantasy.The writing is great and the story pulls you in.A welcome respite during COVID trials.

Bene imballato. Un pò impanato. Veloce la spedizione. Eh grazie, ha preso il piccione. Libro interessante, a volte inquietante. Tanto da farsela nelle mutande. Cmunque lo consiglio a chi la notte vuole fare un sbadiglio. Prezzo OK

I really liked this book. It's a fun mystery. However the twist was very contrived. I think the book would have been better without it.