Great story. I wasn't able to rate this a year ago, but reread it and it's just as good.as the first time.

Superb ghost story set in Brooklyn with just the right amount of creepiness for middle graders. Once Danny's older brother goes to college, it appears a ghost has moved in and it's up to Danny and his friends plus a few wiser family members to unravel the truth. Interesting historical content. Difficult to put down. Highly recommend!

This was a nice little adventure story with a touch of magic. Danny has been waiting to move into his much older brother's bedroom after he leaves for college. But things don't happen according to Danny's plan. This is a lighthearted tale with family love, the power of friendships and adapting to change told through a magical setting. Despite the presence of a "presence", this book is not too scary for the targeted age group of middle grades. My fourth graders will love this! Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What more could a boy want when his brother moves out and goes to college than his room? I would be so excited, but then his dreams were crushed when the room was turn into a rental while his brother was away. The boy, Danny, believes there is a ghost in that room and has decided to do a little detective work. His parents are skeptical to believe him or not. He finds the truth to what lies behind the 4 walls of the building. Fun, young read.

I was given an ARC from Netgalley in return for my honest review.

I enjoyed the development of the story and the relationship of the characters. I recommend this read to anyone that enjoys a good mystery book. I also recommend The Game Masters of Garden Place by Denis Markell.

I'm always going to recommend NYC based stories to the kids at my library, but this one isn't especially good. I do think a reluctant reader who is aging out of early chapter books will enjoy it though.

I was expecting more of a funny misadventure - a kid who discovers his room is occupied by a kid ghost and hilarity ensues. But this one is meant to be taken seriously. We've got a true haunting, an angry spirit. But it's also more than a scary story. It is, in fact, more of a drama than horror. There's no murder, not even really a mystery. Just a guild-ridden spirit that can't move no. No vengeance, just tragedy. Ultimately, it's not even a book about a ghost but rather about how we're shaped by people and places.Interesting but not especially relevant to most readers.

The Ghost in Apartment 2R was a very quick read. It follows Danny and his friends as he tries to determine who are what may be haunting his apartment. After Danny's brother goes off to college his parents rent his room out using Airhotel. Through this, Danny discovers that his apartment is haunted but his parents don't believe him. Danny and his friends are determined to figure out what is going on. This is a great ghost story for middle grade readers.

A cute kid-friendly ghost story with just enough to make you a tad bit on edge. Danny’s older brother has left for college and instead of getting to move into the big room, his parents decide to rent it out. Only the room is haunted, but his parents don’t believe it. Danny and his friend set out to prove there is a ghost and have one heck of an adventure. I enjoyed this one and would recommend to middle school age. 4⭐️

Thank you to #NetGalley and Random House for the Advance readers copy of The Ghost in Apartment 2R by Denis Markell.


This is a well written middle grade book that is about Danny and his friends lives in Brooklyn. Written almost like a love letter to Brooklyn with a ghost to boot. A delightful and entertaining read, well developed setting, characters, themes, and suspense. Great story. Hope you all give it a try, especially if you are looking for a light hearten ghost story.

Danny has always lived in the shadows of his big brother, or just the closet. But when Jake is off to his big expensive college experience, it's finally time for Danny to be the center of attention. Until his parents break their big promise of allowing Danny to move out of the closet. TO help pay for college they rent out the guest room on Airhotel to earn some more money. There is something in the guest room that doesn't seem to want it rented. Danny and his friends work on uncovering the history and reason the ghost won't leave.

Some of the strengths of this book: I loved the history of Brooklyn and descriptions of the area. The diversity of characters and cultures are wonderful. I though the writing was fast paced and the wit was super age appropriate. The family dynamics through the eyes of a tween. The ghost story was not too terribly scary.

The fact that neither parent listens to Danny was extremely disheartening but I do understand if that was the purpose of the author because it helped understand his angst and emotion with the broken promise. I do think if the book is geared towards older 10 and up the ghost could have been scarier.

Danny was so excited when his older brother went away to college. He finally was going to move out of the closet and into a bedroom. This his parents informed him that they were going to rent out the room to make money. What Danny didn't know was that when his brother moved out, he left behind a very angry ghost. Danny and his friends begin interviewing people from the neighborhood to find out about this ghost. Will they be able to uncover the mystery of the ghost in apartment 2R?

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher Random House for an advance copy of The Ghost in Apartment 2R by Denis Markell.

Danny is excited to finally have an actual bedroom now that his older brother is going away to college. That is until his parents inform him that his older brother's room is going to be rented out to help pay for his brother's school and that he will have to stay in his "room" below the stairs. After Jake, his brother, leaves for college, Danny starts to experience some strange and paranormal things. He begins to believe that Jake's room is haunted and sets out to figure out who the ghost is and why it's haunting his apartment.

I love the wit and voice that Markell's books possess. The conflict and plot are easy to get into. This book is part ghost story, part mystery, and part Brooklyn history. The characters are vibrant, unique, and likeable. The story itself is unique and unlike any I've ever read before. There is a certain level of spookiness, but I wouldn't classify this book as scary. One of my favorite things is how Markell tied The Ghost in Apartment 2R back to his previous book, Click Here to Start. The small nod to Ted and the mystery he solved was brilliantly done. I found this book very engaging and I think my students will really enjoy it, especially those who have read Click Here to Start.

Description
What if there was a ghost in your brother's room?

This kid-friendly mystery about three friends who try to help a restless spirit find peace is perfect for fans of Under the Egg and The Book Scavenger. It stinks that Danny's older brother moved out and went to college. But you know what's worse? He left behind an angry ghost in his room! With the help of his friends Nat and Gus, Danny interviews everyone his Brooklyn neighborhood to find out about spirits. Is it an Arabian ghoul? A Korean gwishin? A Polish haunting? Maybe the answer lies with Danny's own bubbe and her tales of a dybbuk, a Jewish mythological ghost. Regardless of its origins, what does the spirit truly want? And can Danny manage to bring the phantom to rest?

My Review:
As far as children's books go, The Ghost in Apartment 2R is a great book. It is delightful, fun and easy to read. Overall, the story is about Danny and his friends trying to help a resident ghost move on.and find peace.

I received this book free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion. Highly recommend.

This book makes me want to visit Brooklyn. That said, I've never been so if the author wasn't geographically accurate, I'd never know. I'm shoving this into the hands of all the ghost hunting kids in my world the minute I get a real copy. It's scary and suspenseful all the while being age-appropriate. I think grade school kids will love this book.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing with a copy of The Ghost in Apartment 2R by Denis Markell for an honest review.

You have no idea how on edge I was with this book through it all.And not in a right way, sadly. I was bored from the start. Not even sure now I can't take away how bored I was, I'm genuinely sorry. Anyway, even when it was slow and tedious, I enjoyed some parts of the book. But I simply couldn't get through some of the jokes enough to give it more stars.

Danny's family lives in a two bedroom apartment in Brooklyn. The family has struggled financially, with his filmmaker father doing contract work, and in order for Jake and Danny to have their own space, Danny ends up with a closet bedroom. When Jake heads off to Cornell on a scholarship, Danny hopes to get his own room, but the parents decide to rent it out as an Air Hotel room. Danny's not happy about this, but there isn't much he can do. Odd things start to happen as his mother works to set up their new business, though-- the web site won't take the listing, customers have to call support to book, and the bed keeps falling apart. Even stranger are the sightings of ghostly faces in pictures and in the window. Danny consults his friend Gus, whose family runs a butcher shop, and his friend Nat, whose family has had a deli for over a hundred years. They agree with Danny that the room seems haunted, but aren't quite sure what to do. Suggestions come from Danny's grandmother, who thinks there is a dybbuk who needs to be understood to be dispatched. The kids do some research and find that a tragedy occurred in the apartment. After some parental dissent, Nat is able to stay overnight and help talk to the ghost, find out what is tying her to the room, and figure out a way to help her move on.

Strengths: This is more of a love letter to Brooklyn than a scary ghost story, but it is quite fun nonetheless. The details of Danny's every day life will seem super exotic to my students, most of whom can't walk to stores, schools, or anything else! For some reason, the various Air Hotel guests were funny and fascinating, and reading about Nat's family deli was also enjoyable. The family's financial struggles were realistic; there are a lot of odd expenses associated with college, and I can't think of a single middle grade novel to address families hosting hotel guests! (In their own home. There are books about actual hotels and motels.) The ghost story is well constructed, and i thought the reason for the dybbuk to hang around was very sweet. Like this author's The Game Masters of Garden Place or Click Here to Start, this is a fun novel with just a little bit of the supernatural.
Weaknesses: I wish the ghost mystery had been scarier. When she possessed the hotel guests, it was more humorous than frightening. I liked the book a lot despite this, but I do have a LOT of students who want scary books, and struggle to find enough.
What I really think: Definitely purchasing; fans of Mary Downing Hahn and Betty Ren Wright will like the slight ghost mystery, and readers who want humorous books or books set in New York City will enjoy this one.

Nicely done mild ghost story, mystery.

The mystery is why is Danny's brother's room haunted after he goes away to college, and what does the ghost want?

With the help of his friends, and the historic society, and the people of the brooklyn neighborhood where he lives, the three friends discover what is going on, even though Danny's parents are a bit oblivious to the whole ghost thing, and keep coming up with other reasons for the things that happen.

Nice diversity of the cast of characters.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this one! It has a great diverse caste of characters and a believable mostly likable protagonist.
It was totally understandable that Danny was upset about the broken promise.

I really liked the houseguests and the ghost story.

This was a fast read. I loved the diversity of the characters and the ghost story. There were parts that were pretty creepy. Overall, I think this will go over with the Mary Downing Hahn crowd.