Secrets of the Hotel Maisonneuve

Jacob Jollimore, 13, is literally having the worst summer ever. His dad just lost his job, and now his parents decide to restore an old abandoned hotel in Montreal, The Hotel Maisonneuve. To make matters worse, Jacob has come under the radar of the biggest bully in the city, and he can’t catch a break.

One day, while trying to run away from the bully, Jacob accidentally hits and injures an old woman named Mrs. Nguyen. After Jacob breaks her arm, his parents decide that it would be a good idea for him to help Mrs. Nguyen get back on her feet by running errands and helping out any way he can. Needless to say, Mrs. Nguyen is not pleased with Jacob which makes his summer go from bad to worse.

But Jacob’s summer is not a total bust. While helping his dad restore Hotel Maisonneuve, Jacob uncovers a mysterious box that holds a letter written over a hundred years ago by a young boy named Elliot Thompson whose family previously owned the hotel. Elliot has designed a scavenger hunt that only the most cunning sleuth can decipher. It is this letter and the ensuing treasure hunt that allow Jacob to uncover various historical artifacts that give the Jollimore family the ability to reverse their fortunes.

On the surface, Secrets of the Hotel Maisonneuve seems like a cut and dried mystery, but it is so much more than that. Although readers will really enjoy helping Jacob solve the clues to Elliot’s scavenger hunt, it is the relationship between Jacob and Mrs. Nguyen that really makes this novel shine. Watching their relationship evolve from one of disdain to one of friendship was not only realistic but totally heartwarming.