The Phantom Tower

by Keir Graff (Author)

Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade

Twin brothers discover their new home is also a portal--for an hour a day--to a parallel dimension in this spine-chilling middle-grade adventure, perfect for fans of The Mysterious Benedict Society.

Twelve-year-old twins Colm and Mal might look identical, but they're different in just about every other way. The one thing they can agree on is that neither brother wants to move to Chicago for a fresh start with their mom two years after their dad's death. The boys soon discover that their new apartment building, Brunhild Tower, is full of strange quirks: a mysterious Princess who warns them not to wander the building at midday, eerie sounds coming from the walls, and an elevator that's missing a button for the thirteenth floor. Then one afternoon, that button appears, catapulting the brothers and their inquisitive new neighbor, Tamika, into a parallel dimension and a twin building stuck in time, where the spirits of all the former residents of Brunhild Tower live on, trapped by an ancient curse. Now, Colm, Mal, and Tamika must race against time to solve the mystery of the phantom tower--or risk spending an eternity as ghosts themselves.

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Kirkus Reviews

Colm, his brother, and their friend are believable middle graders, and the mystery unfolds into a solid adventure that offers just enough chills to keep the pages flipping. Colm and Mal are white, and Tamika is black. Goose bump–inducing fun. (Fantasy. 8-13).

Copyright 2018 Kirkus Reviews, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

"Exciting action, a creepy curse and well-drawn characters make for supremely cozy reading on a cold winter's night." —Chicago Tribune

"For boys and girls alike, this story sings."—Blue Balliett, award-winning author of Chasing Vermeer

"A towering tale filled with astonishing action, amazing characters, and two very daring adventurers."—David Lubar, author of the Monsterrific Tales series, the Weenies series, and Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie
Keir Graff
Keir Graff is the author of funny and fantastical middle-grade adventure novels, including The Phantom Tower (a Chicago Tribune Best Children's Book of the Year) and The Matchstick Castle (an official Illinois Reads selection). He also writes books for grown-ups--some of them under made-up names! A longtime resident of Chicago, he lives near the shore of Lake Michigan with his wife, Marya, their sons, Felix and Cosmo, and their cats, Toothless and Totoro.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781524739546
Lexile Measure
820
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Publication date
September 20, 2021
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV037000 - Juvenile Fiction | Fantasy & Magic
JUV023000 - Juvenile Fiction | Lifestyles | City & Town Life
JUV013070 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Siblings
JUV069000 - Juvenile Fiction | Ghost Stories
Library of Congress categories
Adventure and adventurers
Adventure stories
Dwellings
Brothers
Apartment houses
Twins
Blessing and cursing
Supernatural
Paranormal fiction
Single-parent families
JUVENILE FICTION / Family / Siblings
JUVENILE FICTION / Lifestyles / City & Town L
School Library Connection, 11/01/18

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