Winterhouse

Winterhouse

Ben Guterson

Chloe Bristol (illustration)

I don't know how the book got in to the house, but there it was so when we ran out of the previous thing I started reading Winterhouse to the kids. Ostensibly we read four nights out of seven, but the screen is compelling and it's usually more like seven out of fourteen.

I won't go super in-depth, but for my money this was a solid book for kids. My favorite part is that the heroine is far from perfect, and sometimes says and does things she knows are crumby and doesn't quite know why she does. There are lots of word play and some light puzzles. The book does a great job of introducing a cose called the Viginere Cipher, which is a real thing and is a fantastic simple code that's very difficult to break.

We're currently reading the sequel, Secrets of Winterhouse. Too early to render any judgement but so far perhaps a little meh.