Kirkus Reviews (Mon Oct 07 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

After Lauren Suszek spends 102 days living inside a theme park, her cousin and a tornado show up on the same day.The 12-year-old goes by Mouse, since that's the name printed on what looks like an official employee nametag. Tall for her age, she pretends to be 16, since she'd have to be that old to be a park employee. During the day she sweeps the grounds; at night she sleeps inside the Haunted House of Horrors. She's been doing that ever since the day Mama took her to the park, put her on a ride, and walked away. Mouse has become friends with Tanner, a teenage employee who says she's a doppelgänger for his sister, a similarity that evokes a strong emotional reaction in him. When Cat, a tween girl who uses a cane, shows up claiming to be her cousin, Mouse denies it. But when a ferocious storm traps the two of them and Tanner inside the haunted house attraction, Mouse's world crumbles, walls and all. Debut author Jortner's writing is smooth and interesting; her setup is good, and the storm chapters are page-turners. However, the story treats the central trauma of Mouse's abandonment too lightly and resolves it without Mouse herself, a supposedly enterprising character, taking any action, which may disappoint readers. Main characters are cued White; there is racial diversity among the park employees.A promising story whose central premise demands deeper exploration. (Fiction. 8-12)

Publishers Weekly (Mon Oct 07 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Having been abandoned by her mother at America’s most famous amusement park, in Florida, tall-for-her-age 12-year-old Lauren “Mouse” Suszek hides in plain sight by posing as a 16-year-old park employee. She manages the deception admirably for the titular 102 days, living at the top of the Haunted House of Horrors and logging her self-imposed “Rules to Live By” and “Lies Told.” She even befriends Tanner, a park employee who’s also son to the park’s CEO, and whose sister bears a striking resemblance to Mouse. But Mouse’s luck changes quickly when Cat, a seventh grader who uses a cane, arrives and claims to be Mouse’s cousin just as a tornado forces everyone in the park to take shelter. Huddled in an unstable building, Mouse struggles to confront her grief and anger alongside a now-injured Tanner, who is navigating his own tumultuous family dynamic, and suspicious but concerned Cat. Industrious Mouse’s colloquial first-person voice layers her feelings about her circumstances with the logistics around her solo survival, resulting in a moving debut from Jortner that retains a sense of adventure while lightly exploring an experience of abandonment. Protagonists cue as white; the secondary cast is racially diverse. Ages 8–12. Agent: Rena Rossner, Deborah Harris Agency. (June)

School Library Journal (Mon Oct 07 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Gr 3–7— When she's abandoned by her mother at an amusement park, 12-year-old Mouse (also known as Lauren) spends her days pretending to be a park employee, hanging out with her friend Tanner, trying to blend in, and desperately avoiding thinking about her mother. For 102 days, it's been working: she sleeps undetected on the fourth floor of the Haunted House of Horrors, eats the cinnamon raisin bagels left out for breakfast for the park's "ghost," and follows five carefully constructed rules (the most important one is "Pretend to know more than you do"). But when she is spotted by someone who knows her real name and isn't easy to avoid, Mouse can't help but panic. This coincides with a dangerous storm at the park that leaves Tanner injured, and Mouse has to decide between outing herself or helping her friend. A lively voice and ingenuity carry this exciting story that is filled with humor and heart. Mouse discovers that people aren't always what they seem and that sometimes, breaking the rules is the best way to move forward. VERDICT Memorable, original, and engaging. Recommended for all libraries.— Rebecca Kirshenbaum