This book is a delightfully spooky ghost story with two very relatable main characters. Reuniting after three years at a very creepy rental home in Vermont in the middle of winter, Iris is excited to see long distance friend Violet again. But Violet is now just Vee and she has gone full goth and angry. The girls soon realize they have more problems than each other and their families when things start moving on their own and sounds come in the dark of night. Perfect for middle graders looking for a fright, this is a very fun book for that ghost loving tween!

This is such a cute middle grade horror! Two girls whose moms are best friends vacation together and always set up a haunted house for their parents. This year, they accidentally booked a real haunted house. I enjoyed the mystery and the wintery Vermont setting.

What a fantastic middle grade ghost story!! With bestie moms, Iris and Vee have spent vacations together even though they live states apart. A love of all things spooky binds them so much that they turn their vacation rentals into decorated haunted houses! Until they end up at a ski cottage that is actually haunted. Eek!! This is a thrilling story full of creepy taxidermy animals, creepier dolls, the creepiest wall scrawl and restless spirits that just broke my heart. It will keep young readers guessing at every turn. It is also very much a story of fractured friendships at an age when relationships change with distance and time, and we're sometimes confronted with the fact that we're not as caring as we could have been. I absolutely loved Laura Parnum's debut PERIL AT PRICE MANOR (Scream Queen Scream!!!) and think that fans will find all the same spooky, comedic vibes in this book too. Highly recommend!!!

Iris and Violet live far away from each other, but they have enjoyed going on joint family vacations for years. They both love all things spooky, and they have had lots of fun in the past creating epic haunted houses at their various vacation rentals. But a lot of time has gone by since their last trip, and things have changed. Iris is excited to see her old friend, but Violet, who now goes by Vee, is sullen and withdrawn. Iris wants to try to fix things between them, but Vee doesn't seem interested. Then the house begins to have a mind of its own when furniture and other objects rearrange themselves, a swing in the yard mysteriously bangs against a tree over and over, doors slam, and there's a sound of footsteps with no one there. The girls begin to work together to solve the mystery. With the help of an intriguing old diary from a previous inhabitant of the house, they realize that they can not only mend their friendship, but also help the victim of a tragic accident from long ago. This exceptionally well-written book is a true page-turner. It is the perfect mix of eerie and poignant, with relatable friendship challenges and just the right touch of spookiness. Sure to be a hit!

Fans of Are You Afraid of the Dark will enjoy this middle grades horror book. Two friends who haven't seen each other in years reunite with their families for a ski vacation at a vacation rental home. What the families don't realize is that this is a historic home with a dark history of a family in pain and a child who died.

There are plenty of creepy, spooky moments, but nothing gory, and the girls work together to solve the supernatural problems. This is also a good reflection on friendship, honesty, and communication that isn't told in a preachy way.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a ghost story set at a haunted house that won't give them nightmares.

Iris loves spooky things--as long as they're pretend. When she and her friend Vee suspect their vacation rental might actually be haunted by a real ghost, that changes everything! This suspenseful story will have you on the edge of your seat right up to the very end. In addition to being a tingling ghost story, it's also about friendship, family, and forgiveness. Highly recommended!

4 1/2 stars

Many thanks to Harper Collins Children's Books for the e-ARC on Netgalley.

Main characters Iris and Violet's families are embarking on ski vacation. The girls last vacation together saw them turn their rental property into an epic haunted house. Iris typically brings her stash of spooky props and Violet supplies all the spooky sounds and some added props. It's been years since the girls have been together but Iris knows when they get together they will be able to recreate the scary fun from their last trip.
As fate would have it, a lot has changed over the years. Violet, now known as Vee, is both sullen and short-tempered leaving Iris to figure out if their friendship as survived both distance and time. Vee's simmering anger seems to have permeated the whole cottage because strange things such as doors slamming on their own, furniture rearranging, and late night footsteps soon become daily occurences. The girls determine that the house has a secret to tell and it is up to them to figure out what it is and who exactly is sending them messages. A secret diary guides them on their journey.

I very much enjoyed this book and look forward to sharing it with my students who lean towards spooky mysteries. It has a spooky yet cozy vibe. I liked how the author wove together the evolution of the haunting with the girl's changing friendship and growth as characters. The writing style is engaging and will hold the interest of readers between the ages of 8 and 12. I look forward to reading more from Laura Parnum.

🕯️┊ “ some sunny day with a smile on my face, i'll go back to that place far away. ”

The Haunting of Bellington Cottage is a short, middle-grade novel (around 150 pages) about two middle schoolers and their respective families going on vacation and renting an eerie house in the middle of the woods. As their stay progresses, more and more bizarre events unfold. The girls discover a diary from one of the daughters of the house’s original owners, filled with cryptic entries that hint at a tragic accident. Their fracturing relationship needs to hold together enough for them to work together to solve the mystery within the house's shadowy walls.

I thought the story was the perfect amount of chilling and heartwarming, and I adored the relationship between Vee and Iris. It starts out very strained but grows into a healthy friendship by the end of the novel. The warm moments between them were definitely my favorite parts of the book, though the mystery of the ghost haunting the house was a close second!

The only aspect of the story I didn't like was the parents. While I thought Stewart, Vee's stepdad, was swee, the mothers felt like they were only really there to scold the girls. Other than that, though, I thought this was an amazing book and recommend it (especially to readers on the younger side).

This was a fantastic horror novel, it had that element that I was looking for and enjoyed the feel of this book. It had that element that I was looking for and was wanting to figure out what was going on. I thought the haunted element worked with the story being told and was glad I read this, as Laura Parnum wrote this perfectly.

This is a short middle grade title about two girls staying in a haunted rental home. There’s a bit of a slow start but the paranormal aspects are actually pretty creepy. I just wish the characters had been fleshed out more. I still feel like I know barely anything about Iris; Vee was, unfortunately, incredibly bland. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

The Haunting of Bellington Cottage was a sweet and spooky tale about two friends who find themselves at a haunted cottage amidst trying to restore their friendship and help a ghost of a 4 year old girl from 100 years ago. It was the perfect mix of sweet with some spooky elements and I really enjoyed it. Iris and Vee navigate through their friendship troubles while helping the ghost Anna while also trying to recreate their haunted Rent-A-Bode. I enjoyed that this was a winter setting but still had all the spooky elements including your classic spooky sounds, hidden spaces and a gramophone!