MMGM: The Legend of Greyhallow by Summer Rachel Short

 

Twelve-year-old Ainsley Galloway's parents have just bought a house in a small town to turn into a bed and breakfast. The house once belonged to the famous director who created the spooky Greyhallow series, but he disappeared a long time ago and the house is in need of some love and care. While her parents are busy working on the renovations, Ainsley and her younger brother, Tobin, visit the town fair. It's filled with lots of actors dressed as characters from the movies, and there are games and food too. There they meet a strange woman who gives them a wooden box as a welcome present. She's very mysterious, but Ainsley is intrigued. After some work, Ainsley is able to get it open to discover a key to something. Tobin helps her find the answer, and they find a strange room in the attic. It has all kinds of cool movie artifacts from the Greyhallow movies, including costumes, a popcorn machine, and a projector. But even cooler, they discover that the movie screen is a portal to Greyhallow. Ainsley has always been an impulsive person. She definitely can’t resist seeing some of her favorite characters in the movie. Tobin is very reluctant, but joins her. They decide to visit a happy scene from the first movie, but the people are not as welcoming as they'd expected. Nothing in Greyhallow seems exactly as it did in the movie trilogy. Ainsley and Tobin encounter very real danger on their way back home, but they also get to meet some interesting characters. They're excited to make it home, but accidentally bring something back from the movie. What happens if Greyhallow characters come to the modern world? Will they ever find out what happened to the director who once owned the house? What will happen when they meet the villain from the movies? You’ll have to read this unique fantasy book to find out!

The Legend of Greyhallow by Summer Rachel Short is a fantastic fantasy! I loved getting to see a new world based on a scary movie. It made the story fun, especially because Ainsley and Tobin were seeing familiar things from the movies, but something was different. I would totally want to be friends with Ainsley and Tobin because they like exploring mysterious worlds and attics, just like me and Fairday! I liked learning about the rules of the movie world and seeing how the kids reacted to the chaos that gets unleashed. I appreciated the way the characters worked together to try to solve the mystery, and they even got their parents involved. I would recommend this book to anyone in fourth grade and up who enjoys fantasy and just the right amount of spooky. I look forward to reading more books by this author, and I hope there will be more in the series! 

Has anyone else read The Legend of Greyhallow? Or have you read another book by Summer Rachel Short? We'd love to hear your thoughts!

Happy Reading!
~L

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