BookBright
ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSTwelve-year-old JJ Jacobson would rather hunt ghosts than open a book, so when his mother wins a weekend getaway to the Barclay Hotel, the most famously haunted spot near their home in Aspen Springs, Colorado, he convinces her to bring him along using an old favor she owes him. At the welcome party, the hotel's mustached butler announces that exactly one week earlier, someone in the room murdered the hotel's owner, Mr. Barclay, and that the guests, including JJ's mother, must spend the weekend proving who did it before the police arrive on Monday. JJ teams up with Penny, the skeptical granddaughter of a retired detective, and Emma, a girl who seems to know every secret corner of the hotel, to track down motives and clues while a blizzard traps everyone inside. Between a rigged elevator, a runaway carousel, and a butler who might not be telling the whole truth, JJ barely has time left for ghost hunting, though he is determined to get some in anyway.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Midnight at the Barclay Hotel
SPOILERSEvery one of these has the same answer, and that is the point. In a real battle the question is read aloud with a dozen other books in play, and students have a few seconds to place it. Here is what a battle might ask about Midnight at the Barclay Hotel. Use them as a quiz, a trivia round, or BOTB practice.
Where in the book they come from
- Early in the book
In what book does a cowboy dream of opening a horseback-riding stable that's also a candy store?
✓ Answer
Midnight at the Barclay Hotel by Fleur Bradley
Buck wants to call it the Lemon Drop Shop, after his horse, so people could ride horses and then pick out candy. It's a big dream for a cowboy who is hiding a secret, since he lies every day about owning the ranch.
- First half
In what book are suspected guests given leather-bound notebooks to find a killer?
✓ Answer
Midnight at the Barclay Hotel by Fleur Bradley
The butler points to five notebooks and pens, one for each invited guest, and says the only way to clear their names is to solve the case by the end of the weekend. He sends them off with a dramatic "Ladies and gentlemen, go catch a criminal."
- First half
In what book does an elevator playing retro disco music clank to a stop and go dark?
✓ Answer
Midnight at the Barclay Hotel by Fleur Bradley
JJ and Penny ride the old elevator, with its mirrors and faded copper buttons, toward the basement, where JJ hopes to find his mom and Penny hopes to find Ms. Chelsea bowling. Just before they reach the bottom, it stops with a giant CLANK and the lights go out.
- Second half
In what book does a girl reach to pet a foot-tickling black cat and catch only air?
✓ Answer
Midnight at the Barclay Hotel by Fleur Bradley
Penny wakes in room 217 to something tickling her toes and finds a small black cat at the end of her bed. When she reaches out to pet it, the cat vanishes, and skeptical Penny decides the whole thing might have been a dream.
- Second half
In what book does a girl spring up from a kitchen table, realizing the poisoned cupcake was probably eaten there?
✓ Answer
Midnight at the Barclay Hotel by Fleur Bradley
When JJ and Penny go to the kitchen to question the chef, who is angrily scraping a griddle, Penny sits down at the little table. Then it hits her that the victim most likely ate the cupcake right there, so she decides to stand for the whole interview.
- Near the end
In what book does a mom excuse her grounded son for leaving his room because he's in the library, reading?
✓ Answer
Midnight at the Barclay Hotel by Fleur Bradley
JJ is supposed to be grounded in their hotel room, but he and Penny have been poring over the giant hotel history book in the library. Since JJ usually avoids reading at all costs, his mom just smiles, says hi to Penny, and calls them both to dinner.
