Technological innovation and a multi-platform approach tagged The Last Resort as a work of boundary-stretching storytelling last September, when Scholastic Press published this debut volume of a series of the same title. Written by two-time Newbery Medalist and Newbery Honor author Erin Entrada Kelly, that novel is followed this month by The Claiming by Jasmine Warga, also a Newbery Honoree. The new book has a 75,000-copy announced first printing, bringing the series total to almost 160,000 copies in print.
The series has an eerie premise: heroine Lila discovers that her recently deceased grandfather didn’t die of a heart attack, as assumed, but was murdered, possibly by someone who wants to control his creepy Victorian inn, which is actually a hotel for ghosts passing onto the afterlife. Augmenting the drama—and creating an interactive component to the novel—is the addition of a digital experience that enables readers to use their smart phones or other mobile devices to scan a QR code or type in a URL to summon ghosts that appear from the pages of the book. The interactive aspect of the story is further intensified by kids’ ability to ask the ghosts questions to obtain information to help solve the book’s mystery.
This innovative reading experience was the brainchild of a dedicated team at Scholastic, among them Scholastic Press executive editor Mallory Kass, who was hired by the publisher 18 years ago as an editorial assistant to work on The 39 Clues series, which launched with Rick Riordan’s The Maze of Bones in 2008. “From the beginning I’ve been interested in innovative forms of storytelling,” Kass explained. “The 39 Clues combined books, puzzle cards, and an online game. Kids loved solving the mystery via the interactive elements, but the real magic was the books themselves.” (And that magic translated into a North American in-print tally for the series of 16 million copies.)
While initially brainstorming the concept, Kass recalled, “We knew we needed a very special author to bring the world to life and create nuanced, loveable characters. And who better for that than Erin Entrada Kelly?” She added, “Reading her first draft was one of the best moments of my career. I knew she’d do a fantastic job, but even I wasn’t prepared for the laugh-out-loud humor and spine-chilling spookiness that elevated the concept to a whole new level. Once in a while, I did have to ask Erin to make a tweak to fit something in the game. I’ll admit, part of me was like, ‘Am I really going to ask a double Newbery winner to adjust something because I want my talking ghost to have gone down on the Titanic?’ But Erin couldn’t have been more accommodating and gracious.”
Kelly told PW she was impressed by the collaborative nature of the project and the team’s creativity. “I was inspired by the ghost stories I loved when I was a kid and was thrilled to work on a book that featured a proper villain, and people had lots of thoughts and input on how it would all unfold. The collaboration was my favorite part of the process—brainstorming together, coming up with villainous ideas, working on game design details. I especially loved conjuring all the ghosts in the book, so to speak.”
Issuing in the Specters
Implementing the series’ digital paranormal effects involved the efforts and skills of numerous individuals at Scholastic and beyond. “Our digital product director, Gavin Brown, has also been working on interactive series since the 39 Clues days,” Kass said. “He had the idea of using augmented reality so that kids who want to solve the mystery alongside the characters can use their devices to summon the ghosts that literally rise from the pages—and have full conversations with them. While I worked with our associate art director, Stephanie Yang, who commissioned the ghost portraits from [illustrator and comic book artist] Naomi Franquiz, Gavin partnered with the game developer Petricore, who brought his vision to life. It is truly incredible technology.”
The Last Resort’s collaborative nature extended to the series’ authorship as well. A crucial part of Kelly’s assignment on The Last Resort was assembling what Kass called “a dream team” of authors for the series, and Kelly’s first choice for the next installment was Warga, whom she described as “one of the most gifted and versatile children’s authors working today.” Warga signed on quickly; “since I am the self-appointed president of the Erin Entrada Kelly fan club, I, of course, said yes!” she said. “The project sounded so fun and different from anything I had previously done, and I was excited about the creative challenge of working in a new genre and getting to collaborate with a team. Of course, it was a different process than my other books in that I was given the characters. But that made it extra fun. I got to deepen and expand the narrative and character arcs.”
Upon hearing that Warga had agreed to author The Claiming, Kass recalled, “I let out a very unprofessional yelp of excitement. I’d been dying to work with Jasmine, and the experience was even more wonderful than I had imagined. She made Teddy, Lila’s neighbor, as her POV character, imbuing him with so much humor, sweetness, and vulnerability that I cried every time I read a new draft.”
Ghost Light, the third Last Resort novel, which is scheduled for fall release, will be penned by Lambda Literary Award winner Sara Farizan. Kelly expressed hope that additional installments will follow. “I’ve received lots of emails from eager fans, so I’m optimistic,” she said. “I have other book projects on the horizon, too, including nonfiction and more spooky tales. But the eerie otherworld was a lot of fun to visit as an author, so I’ll definitely be back in some form or fashion.”
The Last Resort: The Claiming by Jasmine Warga. Scholastic Press, $17.99 Jan. 6 ISBN 978-1-5461-6284-1.
