Winterhouse

Winterhouse by Ben Guterson, 2018.

Eleven-year-old Elizabeth Somers lives with her aunt and uncle in a shabby house until her aunt and uncle leave on a trip over the Christmas holidays without her. They pack her luggage and leave her a note with a bus ticket. The note tells her to go to the hotel called Winterhouse and stay there until after the New Year, when she will receive a ticket to return home to them. Elizabeth doesn’t like living with her aunt and uncle, and she is upset to be abandoned by them over Christmas with only a little luggage and not much money. Her aunt and uncle don’t really like having her live with them, either. Elizabeth has lived with them since her parents died when she was four years old. She was there when her parents died, and although her memories are only vague, she has the feeling that the story her aunt told her about how they died isn’t quite right.

Her aunt and uncle are poor, and Elizabeth doesn’t even understand how they could afford to send her to a hotel for Christmas, much less go on a trip themselves. Her only clue is a conversation that she overheard between her aunt and uncle earlier, which made it sound like someone else was paying for both Elizabeth’s stay at Winterhouse and for them to go on a trip themselves. It also sounded like Elizabeth’s aunt and uncle didn’t even know who was paying for all this or why. They were just eager to take advantage of it. Even though Elizabeth doesn’t really understand the situation, she has no choice but to use the bus ticket and go to Winterhouse. Sometimes, Elizabeth gets strange feelings when something is about to happen, and she has another one of those strange feelings about going to Winterhouse. She has the sense that something important is about to happen.

Elizabeth is a lonely girl with no friends. She likes to read and solve puzzles, particularly word puzzles, and she likes to write lists of things in her notebook. (Each of the chapters in the book starts with a little word game, word ladders where one word is changed into another word, one letter at a time.) She has some books with her from her school library, and she plays little word games and works a crossword puzzle on the trip to Winterhouse. She chats a little with a woman next to her, and she notices that a couple dressed in black keep looking at her and whispering. The man comments that she looks like someone they know, but they don’t seem to like her. It makes Elizabeth uneasy.

When Elizabeth arrives at Winterhouse, the hotel is large, grand, and beautiful, all decorated for Christmas. It’s a snowy place in the mountains with a ski lift. The man and woman in black also get off the bus at Winterhouse. The man in black has a large crate with him that he says is full of books, although someone else notices that it’s shaped more like a coffin. The woman in black makes a cryptic comment about how this is the beginning, and she also addresses Elizabeth by her name, saying that she made it to Winterhouse and asks her if she’s glad.

The bellhop assures Elizabeth that she is expected at Winterhouse as a guest, although he is unable to tell her who paid for her visit there or why. The eccentric owner and proprietor of the hotel, Norbridge Falls, introduces himself to Elizabeth and escorts her to her room. Norbridge tells her about the upcoming Christmas celebration, the educational lectures about interesting topics, and movies shown in the theater at the hotel, and he invites her to enjoy all of the entertainment. There are also unusual objects on display around the hotel, including a pair of pants belonging to Shackleton and a chess set that was apparently used by Lewis and Clark, although Norbridge sometimes gets historical details mixed up. Elizabeth tries to ask Norbridge who paid for her to be at Winterhouse, but he can’t answer that question, either. When Norbridge gives her a special candy made and served at Winterhouse, Elizabeth has the strange sensation that she’s eaten this kind of candy before, although she can’t remember when.

The man and woman in black keep making trouble for the hotel staff. First, they complain about their room and the way the bellhops handle their large box of books. Then, they argue with a bellhop about not being allowed to enter the hotel’s library after hours. Elizabeth wonders why they would need to find a book so urgently when they supposedly brought so many with them.

At breakfast, Elizabeth meets a boy about her age, Freddy, who is also at Winterhouse alone. Freddy says that his parents always send him there alone for Christmas. He doesn’t mind it because he really likes Winterhouse. Elizabeth is pleased to discover that Freddie also likes word games and anagrams. Freddy says that Norbridge has recruited him to help him do some research for a special project, figuring out how to use the nut shells from the hotel’s candy kitchen as a useful feul source. He says that Norbridge gives him a different project to work on every year.

Elizabeth also makes friends with Ms. Leona Springer, the Winterhouse librarian. Although she is an older adult, Leona also likes reading good kids’ books and is familiar with Elizabeth’s favorites. The library is charmingly old-fashioned and still uses card catalogues instead of computer catalogues. While exploring the library, Elizabeth finds an old book, over 100 years old, with activities for children. Some of them are typical children’s activities, like how to plan a scavenger hunt, and others are more unusual, like how to make people think you’re from another country and how to tell a story even the mayor of your town would believe. Elizabeth is charmed and intrigued by this book, and even though it’s in the reference section and not available to check out, she smuggles it out of the library so she can read it more, whenever she wants.

Elizabeth enjoys all the winter activities at Winterhouse with Freddy, but she begins to notice some odd things about the Falls family. They have their secrets, and the activity book that Elizabeth smuggled out of the library helps to her understand that one of the family portraits contains a secret code. There is a connection between the author of that children’s book and the members of the Falls family, and this unassuming book may be what the man and woman in black are searching for at the hotel. As Elizabeth begins to unravel the mysterious secrets of the Falls family, she comes to understand some of the secrets of her own past and the real reason why she was summoned to this hotel.

This is the first book in a trilogy, where Elizabeth and Freddy continue to explore the mysteries and puzzles of Winterhouse!

My Reaction

I read this book because I heard that it was great for people looking for an atmospheric read for Christmas, and it’s true! The hotel is a magical place with all sorts of fun and amusing things to do for every taste. The hotel is beautiful with all kinds of good food and comfortable rooms and interesting things to see around every corner. I don’t think I’ve ever stayed in a hotel that had its own library, although I’ve also never stayed at an expensive resort or a ski resort. It almost seemed like a cruise ship in terms of the range of activities, like the educational lectures, concerts, movies, and swimming, but it’s also land-bound and snowy. During the Christmas holidays, Elizabeth and Freddy go swimming and sledding, and they spend time reading and working on their own projects. They use the children’s activity book to set up elaborate scavenger hunts for each other. The puzzles in the story are fun. I love word games, and I liked the codes and clues in the story. The scavenger hunt is something I would have wanted to do as a kid! Or maybe even right now. Not only would kids love to spend their winter vacation in such a charming place, left to their own devices to enjoy whatever they wanted, I think most adults would also love it!

The magic is in the story is also literal as well as atmospheric. The members of the Falls family have had magical abilities for generations, and Elizabeth learns the origins of their magic and the blessing/curse that has hung over them ever since. Everyone has the ability to use their powers for good or evil, and there is something that will hang over the Falls family until one of them, the right one, makes a definite choice. Elizabeth realizes that she has become a pawn in a very old game of good and evil, and she has choices of her own to make. I enjoy books that are both mystery and fantasy! Elizabeth gets answers to many of the mysteries in this book, but there are some things that are left open-ended for the next books in the series.

As someone who enjoys nostalgic children’s literature, I also like books that reference other books. Elizabeth likes to read, and she references various books throughout the story, both classic and modern, including Anne of Green Gables, Mary Poppins, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Westing Game, The Golden Compass, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, Inkheart, and The Mysterious Benedict Society.