The Doll's Eye by Marina Cohen

Hadley doesn't like the house they've moved to, doesn't like the fact that her mother has remarried and doesn't like her new little brother or father.  There's nothing wrong with them.  She just liked her friends at home and having her mother all to herself.  She wishes it could go back to that.

Roaring Brook Press and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published February 28th.

What Hadley doesn't know is that her house has a kobold.  The housekeeper tells her the story of such a house demon and says if you catch it, you can ask for a wish.  The problem is that you will have to pay for it in an undetermined way.  There's also the catch that you have to wish in just the right way or you might get what you wished for but not what you wanted.  If you don't believe that, just read this story.

When she wishes half of the family away, she wants them back.  But she doesn't know how to get them back.

With a mix of fantasy and legend, the author taunts you with horror.  I wished for many things when I was young and I'm glad I didn't get them.  This poor girl got her wish and couldn't unwish it.  You won't forget this one easily if you read it.  Don't let a child who has nightmares read it.  It'll make it worse.

The Inn Between by Marina Cohen

She's traveling with Kara and her family to their new home, which is miles away from hers.  Quinn doesn't want her to move, but she has to accept what she cannot change.  They are traveling through the Mohave Desert and it's desolate and strange.  They stop to eat and head for the nearest inn to spend the night.  They see a big bright light coming at them and then things get odd...

Macmillan Children's Publishing and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published March 22nd.

This story is not what I expected.  I imagined ghosts, strange portals and other odd things would pop up at the inn but while that happened, it wasn't in the manner I expected.  This is more of a horror novel than anything.  I'd also recommend that the young reader be mostly adult or this story might bother them.  It's certainly making me think.

Kara and Quinn and Josh and Kara's parents check in at the inn.  It's opulent, they can get adjoining rooms and they can order room service.  After the first night, Kara's parents are missing.  So is the van.  The help tells them the vehicle had problems and they took it in for repair.  They're not sure that's true because they took their overnight bag, too.

The story gets stranger and stranger.  They aren't supposed to use the elevator without the attendant.  The pool seems to have a deep end that is much deeper than it appears.  Quinn can see things Kara can't.  And then Josh goes missing.  Quinn decides they need to get out of the inn and head back to the diner they stopped at on the way there.

There's an analogy to heaven and hell, the hotel customers are hovering after death, and Quinn has a dreadful discovery to make about herself and Kara.  She also finds her missing sister in the hotel.  

Even after you close this book, you'll keep thinking about it.  It's very interesting presentation and was handled well.  Maybe young readers won't be concerned about it but it bothered me a bit.  I think it was supposed to.