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Horn Book
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Milo is anticipating a quiet winter-holiday week at home--home being Greenglass House, a "smugglers' hotel"--with his adoptive parents, when the bell rings and a parade of strangers begins to arrive. Milford employs a Westing Game level of cunning in setting up clues (smugglers, folktales, stolen objects, adopted children, and ghosts all play a part) and revealing their importance. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.


Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

When his parents' hotel fills up with a variety of unexpected guests just days before Christmas, Milo is caught up in mysterious goings-on.The inn, hospitable to smugglers and named for its colored glass windows, sits on cliffs above the river Skidwrack. With the holiday interrupted by the demands of guests iced in by wintry weather, Milo finds both purpose and distraction in a role-playing game introduced by his new young friend, Meddy, and in a book of folklore given to him by a guest. A ghost story, a love story, a story of fabled relics and the tale of a legendary smuggler intertwine while Milo, in his game persona, finds longed-for skills and strengths. Each guest seeks a secret treasure in the old house, while Milo, out of loyalty to his adoptive parents, hardly dares name his own secret quest: to know more about his Chinese heritage. Milford's storytelling is splendid. Stories within the story are rich and layered; clues are generously offered; even the badly behaved visitors seem fairly good-humored until the worst reveals true perfidy at the last; the many threads of the tale all tie up. Milo's world seems comfortably contemporary; the current history of his parallel world is mostly background that's revealed at the close.An abundantly diverting mystery seasoned with mild fantasy and just a little steampunk. (Mystery/fantasy. 10-14) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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