The Ghost in Apartment 2R

August 15, 2019
Everything changes for 13-year-old Danny when older brother Jake leaves for college. Danny sleeps in a converted closet in a two-bedroom apartment in an old brownstone in Brooklyn. He has long been promised Jake's room, but the promise is broken when his parents decide to host tourists to supplement their limited income. There are computer problems and disappearing digital photos, easily accepted as odd glitches by his parents. Danny experiences cold drafts, strange voices, faces at the window, mirror writing, humming, and glowing lights. Visitors appear to be possessed by a grieving young woman who demands to know the whereabouts of her little boy. His parents don't believe him, assuming he's dreaming. When Danny tells his best friends, Gus and Nat, they treat it all lightly at first. But his bubbe Ruth and his friends' grandfathers are more willing to listen, telling him of dybbuks, ghouls, local ghosts, and more. The friends get to work researching ghosts and the history of Danny's building, finally finding some answers. Danny speaks directly to readers, always with a light touch, making his fearsome experiences even eerier. He intersperses the narration with admiring, insightful descriptions of his robustly diverse Brooklyn community, amusing translations of his Bubbe's Yiddish expressions, and hilarious chapter headings. Danny and his family are Jewish, Nat is Arab Christian, and Gus is white. The tale is gently scary with plenty of fun and a sweet conclusion, and its protagonist is absolutely delightful. (Fiction. 9-13)

COPYRIGHT(2019) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 16, 2019
When his wunderkind older brother goes off to college, 13-year-old Danny, the loquacious narrator of this snappy mystery, can’t wait to move into his bedroom. It will be a welcome change from his converted-closet sleeping quarters in the family’s small Brooklyn apartment (“Please do not make any Harry Potter jokes, because I’ve heard them all”), but his financially strapped parents announce their plan to list the room for rent on AirHotel. Danny witnesses creepy goings-on after the space is spruced up: a glowing light emanates from the room at night, the walls begin to whisper, he sees a girl by the window, and a guest becomes possessed by a spirit shrieking, “Where is my little boy?” In a deftly measured narrative, Markell (Click Here to Start) divulges the textured backstory of a tenacious apparition while paying affectionate tribute to a richly diverse, close-knit Brooklyn neighborhood and its multigenerational residents. Danny’s feisty, insightful grandmother, Bubbe Ruth, and her tales of a legendary dybbuk provide a key piece of this neatly crafted puzzle connecting Brooklynites present and past. Ages 10–up.

January 1, 2020

Gr 5 Up-Promised his older brother Jake's bedroom when his sibling leaves for college, 13-year-old Danny is bummed when his parents decide to rent out Jake's room to AirHotel to recoup some of those college costs. Danny has to continue sleeping in a closet, but even worse...it appears that although Jake has departed, something creepy has been left behind. Helped by his friends Natalie and Gus, and even (unwillingly) by their AirHotel guests, Danny learns about the various types of ghosts "known" to have been seen in their Brooklyn neighborhood-and the best way to get his family's spectre to go. Although there's a ghost in the tale, this is more a mystery story that includes a loving homage to Markell's hometown of Brooklyn and all its diversity. Without fanfare, Danny and Gus (both Jewish) do the sleuthing with Natalie (of Arab descent), and the old folks in their lives have plenty to contribute as well. The only downside is the cartoonish cover, which makes the children look younger and might make it harder to sell to its intended audience. VERDICT Recommended for most libraries serving tweens.-Elizabeth Friend, Wester Middle School, TX

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.