Murder at the Old Willow Boarding School

by Jessika Fleck, Brian Anderson (Illustrator), Gabhor Utomo (Illustrator)

In Murder at the Old Willow Boarding School, YOU need to solve a murder… your own! You go to breakfast with your friends and feel strangely alone. No one looks at you and no one is answering your questions. It’s not until you hear a scream and rush to the library to find the sight of your lifeless body that you realize YOU ARE DEAD. Thus begins Murder at the Old Willow Boarding School, where you must figure out which of your classmates can and can’t be trusted and who among the students at this academy for gifted children is behind such an awful crime. Now, as you investigate, you begin to suspect the killer plans to strike again. The search for your murderer turns into a quest to prevent another killing. Murder at the Old Willow Boarding School is written by noted middle-grade author Jessika Fleck and takes the reader on an adventure through the haunted halls of. You need to discover how to communicate with your fellow classmates as a ghost―but who can you trust? Choose Your Own Adventure is the bestselling gamebook series of all time. Empowering generations of children through choice, it is widely commended for its appeal to reluctant readers.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

208 pages, Paperback

Published October 3, 2023

About the author

Jessika Fleck is a writer, voracious coffee drinker, and knitter—she sincerely hopes to one day discover a way to do all three at once. Until then, she continues failing to resurrect house plants, taking care of museum collections, and slowly working toward goal of becoming a genuine 'cat lady'. Her YA fantasy, BEWARE THE NIGHT (Macmillan), received a coveted starred review from School Library Journal. Her most recent project, THE CURSE OF GREAT WINTER ACADEMY (A Choose Your Own Adventure book) releases May 6, 2025! More at www.jessikafleck.com

Reviews

[Bo📚 Griffiths · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[S S · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've not read a Choose Your Own Adventure book in years. I read them as a kid, but as an adult, I haven't really seen any that caught my interest. But I'm a sucker for a good ghost story and for some reason my kids really like getting spooked so this book was perfect! We've had great fun running--floating--around a creepy old private school trying to get the attention of other students while searching for our elusive murderer. We've only just begun to experience what this book has to offer, because out of 23 endings, we've only gotten to 4! That's what I love about these books, they're literally re-readable! One thing I've noticed that's different than the classic Choose Your Own Adventure Books is that this one is much more detailed and rich in it's characters and setting, something I always felt was lacking in the originals. Anyway, I DEFINITELY recommend this read to kids and adults, alike! Perfect for spooky season!

[Chrysa Chouliara · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a treat!

CYOA books have always been my guilty pleasure during childhood. Stumbling upon a new title at age 42 -featuring pronouns and a gender neutral character gave me the right excuse to snatch it. As a non native English speaker I suddenly I had the urge to "brush-up my grammar" and learn using the correct terms respectfully. And what better way than spending a couple of hours on a lazy evening (possibly alienating my nearly furious partner) flipping back and forth discovering EVERY possible ending inside this small but adorable book.

Call me emotionally immature if you please but I haven't got that much fun in decades. Plus the illustrations from the uber-talented Gabhor Utomo are adorable. Cute cover too! A must read for all the 80s kids.

And now back to "Crime and Punishment." Oh well!

PS: One thing that made it stand out was the fully fleshed characters. A huge upgrade for the series.

[Bexa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was interesting, but felt inconsistent with what Pearl could do as a ghost, and I disliked that they had to split the story in so many page so they didn't accidentally reveal more of the story before you chose it. The illustrations were fun and this is still a great book for a middle schooler.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed choose-your-own-adventure books as a kid, so it was a delight to read this different take on it. In this book, you are already dead and trying to solve the mystery of who killed you. Whereas most c-y-o-a in my experience were trying to find the adventure ending that didn’t end as a deadly escapade.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had fun introducing my daughter to this choose your own adventure book! She thought it was fun to be able to go back and try again if you get it wrong.

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A choose your own adventure where you are solving your own murder. Very clever tracks and stories! I enjoyed it a lot.