Greenglass House: A National Book Award Nominee

Reading middle-grade books as an adult is always interesting. This one was a really good time, so cozy, and I can wholeheartedly say that past me would have loved it just as much as present day me did!

This book is a "love letter" (author's words) as she waited to receive her adopted child from China into their white family. The main character Milo was created based on the amount of time she spent wondering about what her new child would need to know and hear. This said, this first book moves slowly through a Christmas mystery with a true crime feel and the added twists of a ghostly sort reminiscent of Charles Dickins' "A Christmas Carol". If you get impatient with slow burn mysteries full of delightful characters and a secret love triangle, it may help listening to this book as an audiobook via Hoopla so you can finish it at double time like I did so you can then enjoy the second book (Ghosts of Greenglass House) which is truly spectacular sequel that's complete with the lore of the hobby horse. Characters from the first book are very important for the following books and are a joy to reunite with in all this beautiful storytelling.

this is a good book if you aren't looking for a light, easy to read one. the story is intricate and you have to pay attention. There are many interesting characters and as the book progresses you see how their stories interweave with each other and the house itself.