Erin Entrada Kelly will kick off a new interactive series of middle-grade novels, People magazine reports.
Scholastic will publish Kelly’s The Last Resort this summer. The book, which follows a 12-year-old girl who encounters the ghost of her late grandfather at his inn, will be the first in a planned trilogy.
Kelly, who won the Newbery Medal for her novels Hello, Universe and The First State of Being, will write the first installment; the second will be written by Jasmine Warga (Other Words for Home), with the third penned by an author to be announced later.
The novels will feature QR codes and internet links enabling readers to see “ghosts” that help them solve the books’ mysteries.
Kelly told People, “Young readers are constantly evolving. Cross-platform literacy offers so much for modern readers—it allows them the joy of traditional prose, the excitement of interacting with their devices in an active—rather than passive—way, and it honors readers whose attention spans are constantly pulled in different directions.”
Kelly shared news of the book on Instagram, writing, “This project is fire, y’all! (And I mean that literally because there is fire in the book.) I had SO MUCH FUN working with the editorial, art, and game development teams at @scholastic. One of the best parts: Scholastic gave me the opportunity to hand-pick the authors for books two and three. Imagine my glee when @jasminewargabooks said YES! I am also gleeful about the author for book three, but it’s super secret for now.”
The Last Resort is slated for publication on Sept. 2.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
