The Ghost in Apartment 2R

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. [em](Nov.) [/em]