Ghosts of Greenglass House

4.5 Takes a tad longer to build up and doesn't reach quite as satisfying ending as the first volume, but still a really good middle-grader / young-adult mystery. The second-to-last twist is quite nice especially. And I really like the use of roleplaying characters to help someone overcome their hang-ups. Might not be the most realistic thing, but it feels good. The setting gets a little less vague now too and that's always nice. Also the hobby horse and the Liberty of Gammerbund are pretty cool additions. Only thing I would wish for is that the next volume set in this time period should maybe not take place at Christmas again.

More like 3.5 stars. I loved the story, and the characters. Smugglers, orphans, treasure, ghosts-there's not a lot to dislike about this book. However, the descriptions of Milo trying to "contain his emotions" (and that's a direct quote) do tend to get a bit heavy-handed. Overall, this was a fun adventure book.