The Last Resort
Sale price
$1697
Chapter Book · Ages 8–12 · 2025 · Est. 6 hour read

The Last Resort

By Erin Entrada Kelly

Book #1 in the The Last Resort series

A girl must solve her grandfather's murder in a haunted inn bridging the living and the dead.

3.8/5 Goodreads · 1,523 ratings
240 pages· 43,374 words· Est. 6 hour read
$17.99Save 6%

In stock. Also at Amazon or Bookshop.

Bookroo's summary

Twelve-year-old Lila's summer plans are upended when her estranged Grandpa Clem dies, leaving her at his eerie Victorian inn. As strange occurrences unfold, Lila discovers the inn is a portal for ghosts. With her brother Caleb and neighbor Teddy, she must solve her grandfather's murder and prevent malevolent spirits from crossing into the living world. Can Lila, determined to be less dramatic, uncover the truth and save both realms?

From the publisher

The next evolution in storytelling from New York Times bestselling, Newbery Medal Winning author Erin Entrada Kelly!Twelve-year-old Lila has two goals for the summer: 1. Win back the friends who ditched her for being “too dramatic”2. Stop being so dramaticBut then Lila’s estranged Grandpa Clem dies, throwing a wrench in her plans. Now she’ll have to spend the summer in Ohio while her parents decide what to do with Grandpa Clem’s creepy Victorian Inn. It’s supremely unfair. How can she show off the “new and improved” Lila from so far away?Even worse, strange things keep happening. En route to Ohio, the family gets into a scary car accident. No one’s hurt, but the remainder of the trip is… odd. At every rest stop, Lila sees people in weird old-fashioned clothes. People no one else can see or hear…Lila convinces herself it’s just her overactive imagination until the day of the funeral when she spots an old man sitting in her grandfather’s favorite chair. She does a double take – it’s him, Grandpa Clem. He tells Lila that he didn’t die of a heart attack: he was murdered. Possibly by someone who wants to control the inn. Because it’s not a normal bed & breakfast: it’s a portal between the land of the living and the realm of the dead. A hotel for ghosts passing onto the afterlife.With the help of her skeptical brother, Caleb, and their new ghost-obsessed neighbor, Teddy, Lila – the girl who’s vowed to be less dramatic – must uncover her grandfather’s killer AND stop the evil spirits desperate to make their way back into the human world.Enter the world of The Last Resort! Ghosts from the story will emerge from the pages of the book, allowing readers to talk to spirits from the past and help solve the mystery!

At a glance
Format
Pages
240
Words
43,374
Reading age
8–12
Audience
Middle Grade
Lexile
~669L
Themes & topics
Books about familyBooks about friendshipBooks about solving mysteriesBooks about summer tripsBooks about growing up
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The fine print

Book details

Reading levels
ATOS
4.3
F&P level
~P
AR points
6
AR interest level
MG
AR quiz
556154
Publication
Published
September 2, 2025
Edition
Language
English
Type
Chapter Book
Identifiers
ISBN
9781546132431

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