The Legend of Greyhallow

by Summer Rachel Short

Twelve-year-old Ainsley Galloway and her ten-year-old brother, Tobin, have just moved to the small picturesque mountain town of Lowry. The town is famously the setting for the blockbuster Legend of Greyhallow trilogy, and there are traces of the films wherever they go. Ainsley’s parents even bought the film director’s former home, which they dream of turning into an inn that caters to fans eager to check out the local Greyhallow Movie Festival.

But when Ainsley and Tobin are fooling around in the attic of their new home, Ainsley unleashes something—something she doesn’t quite understand—and suddenly, purple mist is flooding the town, she’s receiving cryptic messages from strangers in medieval garb, and, oddest of all, the enigmatic director of the Greyhallow movies, who’s been missing for years, has a message for them.

Ainsley and Tobin have opened a passage between the very real magical world of the movies and their own. In a swirl of shifting loyalties, capricious creatures, and movie trivia, they have to figure out what to do—and who to trust—in order to save them all.

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Adventure, Magic, Urban Fantasy, Audiobook, Family

Audible Audio

Published July 18, 2023

About the author

Summer lives in North Texas with her husband, three kids, and a Maine coon cat named Emme. Before spinning tales for young readers, she once worked as a science reporter for her university’s newspaper, where she wrote on topics like nanotech tweezers, poultry farm pollution, and the nighttime habits of spiders and snakes.

She enjoys exploring new places with the family, playing tennis, and dreaming up ideas for her next book.

Her debut novel, THE MUTANT MUSHROOM TAKEOVER released from Simon & Schuster in 2020. A sequel, ATTACK OF THE KILLER KOMODOS, followed on Sept. 14, 2021.

Summer's next middle grade novel, THE LEGEND OF GREYHALLOW, releases July 18, 2023 from Simon & Schuster.

Reviews

[Erin Varley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantasy fans will love this book! Perfect fun for kids!

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great adventure story, I loved the premise of traveling into a movie, and the portal of an attic filled with old movie props is perfect. It's fast-paced with lots of tension and surprises along the way, and the relationship of siblings Ainsley (12) and Tobin (10) gives it depth. It's a wake up call to the imagination and will fuel all sorts of great discussions (what movie would you like to travel into?).

[DeAnna Witzenburger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a fun adventure! The two main characters were developed really well and it was fun to watch them grow and change. The ideas behind the adventure were really intriguing and kept me guessing at what might happen next. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

[Loren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable middle grade adventure. Summer Short has a creative take in this portal fantasy, and her characters are engaging and fun. I particularly liked her protagonist, 12-year-old Ainsley, who tends to jump into things without thinking them through and then has to deal with the consequences. I've met kids like her! While the kids go on a wild adventure, Mom and Dad aren't completely out of the picture, either--something I appreciate.

(I received an ARC copy, but no strings attached to give this review :) )

[Alana Puskarich · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really run book to read. We have two really interesting settings: a small town that was once the film set for a famous epic fantasy series, and then the real actual place that the film series was based on. It was mind-bending in a good way as brother and sister, Ainsley and Tobin, navigated traveling between the two worlds through an unusual portal. Then things got a little out of hand after someone from the real Greyhallow follows them back home. Lots of adventure and the ending was a good surprise with some fun laughs.
My 11 year old son took this book from my desk before I finished and zoomed through it in just a few days before he gave back. He also loved it!!

[Nicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't read a middle grade book this good in a long time! It had every element in kids fantasy I could have possibly asked for - A protagonist who looks before they leap, a portal to another world, madcap adventure, villains, monsters, mythical creatures, heroes, and lots of mayhem. The story is fast paced and easy to read. It was very easy to get lost in the world of Lowry and Greyhallow.

If you mashed up all of the fantasy stories and family movies I grew up with in the 80's and 90's and threw in all of the nostalgia, that's what you get when you read this. It reminded me of The Page Master, The Never Ending Story, and Enchanted.

I know my children will thoroughly enjoy it, boys and girls alike.

Thank you so much to Summer Rachel Short for sending me and ARC of her book for review!

[Summer]

I just finished reading The Legend of Greyhallow to my nine-year-old and his exact words were, "The book is awesome!" So, there you have it. ;)

My son's glowing review aside, I had so much fun creating the world and characters of Greyhallow. I hope you'll enjoy the story as much as we did!

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Ainsley Galloway has moved to Lowry with their parents, who grew up there. She's had to leave her friend Charlotte behind, but since the two parted on less than pleasant terms, a fresh start in an intersting community isn't all bad. The parents have bought the abandoned house of the director of the very popular Legend of Greyhallow film trilogy, and home to renovate it and turn it in to a bed and breakfast. Since the town has a summer long festival celebrating the films, this seems like a great idea, and Lowry is a very picturesque town. No one really knows what happened to Ambrose Ripley, who disappeared in the mid 1990s, but while Ainsley and her brother Tobin are at the festival, one of the vendors (who is dressed as a witch), gives her a box that holds a key. Ainsley has been investigating the house, hoping for a secret room or other interesting nook, but it is Tobin who suggests checking out the attic. There, the two find a room set up with an old fashioned film projector and a closet full of Greyhallow costumes. When they play the movie that is in the projector, they find that they can step into the projection on the wall and actually enter the scene of the movie! Tobin wants to tell their parents, but Ainsley wants to investigate further. Armed with a full backpack, having left a note for their parents, the two go into Greyhallow only to find that things are badly wrong. It's exciting to meet characters they know from the movies, but alarming to know that the villain, Lord Mourdro, is waging an unpleasant war that has destroyed any of the pleasant aspects of the fantasy world. Even worse, he manages to make his way into Lowry with his evil minions, and wreaks havoc there. It is up to Ainsley and her brother, along with the visiting Charlotte, to figure out what is going on, and to work with the fictional characters to try to keep the world safe.
Strengths: This is a fascinating premise, and I found it interesting that the Greyhallow trilogy was filmed and not a book! Combining a cool old house with a fantasy world was inspired, and readers who like Lord of the Rings type tales will wish that they, too, could meet characters like Quaglim, a brilliant gnome inventor, Zander, the shepherd boy, or the enchantress Kalandra. Heck, even I think it sounds fun to fight the Shadow Army of Lord Mourdro. Ambrose Ripley was worked into the plot in a particularly interesting way, and this might be a stand alone, which would be fantastic. I have a lot of readers who would like to read fantasy, but don't want to commit to a huge series.
Weaknesses: If Ainsley and Tobin had been able to spend more time in the town, and more time in a pleasant version of Greyhallow, I would have been more invested in their attempts to save the world.
What I really think: This is a great choice for readers who like to think that they, too, might travel from our world into a fantasy one, just like the characters in Perry's Thieving Collectors of Fine Children's Books, Benko's The Unicorn Quest, West's Long Lost, Durst's Even and Odd, or McKay's Last Dragon Charmer series.

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ainsley, her younger brother Tobin, and their parents have just moved to the town of Lowry. Well, their parents are moving back as they grew up in the town. Lowry is famous for being the home of the director and creator of the super popular Greyhallow fantasy movies, Ambrose Ripley. There's a festival in town celebrating Greyhallow, and they've moved into the director's old house to make it into a bed and breakfast. Ambrose Ripley disappeared years ago, and there's still lots of his stuff in the house. As go-getter Ainsley, and her studious brother Tobin explore the town and the house, they come across a magical projector in the attic. One that lets them travel into Greyhallow...and accidentally releases some of the characters out. It was ok when it was just a baby gargoyle, Grumley's kind of cute (even if he wreaks havoc on the koi pond their dad just set up). But when the big bad guy from Greyhallow, Mourdro, escapes they're in big trouble. Now they need to figure out how to stop Mourdro from taking over Lowry...and the rest of the real world.

I've definitely read stories before when characters can jump in and out of books, but movies I haven't seen as much. The idea of a magical projector and other director equipment is a unique new twist on the concept. Ainsley and Tobin are good balances for each other. Ainsley is the act before thinking type and Tobin is the analytical researcher who wants to spend a week thinking before starting to plan the action. Having a Greyhallow festival in town helps make the worlds blend together more seamlessly (there's already a set that looks like the fantasy world and people dressed as characters), and makes it more realistic that few people other than the kids know what's really going on. Overall, a fun fantasy stand alone that is perfect for those readers who think they want to visit their favorite fantasy epic movie worlds.

Notes on content:
Language issues: None
Sexual content: None
Violence: There are battles, and some very perilous situations. It is clear that people in the Greyhallow world have been disappearing (presumed dead).
Ethnic diversity: Based on the cover it appears Ainsley and Tobin are White, Ainsley's best friend from their old town visits and she's Korean American
GBLTQ+ content: None
Other: The kids keep some things a secret from their parents for a while, but eventually try to be honest but they aren't believed. There's quite a bit of destruction from the battle. Grumley devours a bunch of koi and spits out their bones.

[Melanie Dulaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summer Short’s middle grade fantasy has all the exciting creatures that the age group loves and expects (sorcerers, gargoyles, ogres, gnomes and the like) but has an unique way of travel between worlds-the use of a film reels and a movie clapboard! Siblings Ainsley and Tobin find a dusty old projector and screen in the attic of their new fixer-upper home and then accidentally discover that snapping the clapboard and calling out “Lights, camera, action” will whisk them into the world of a fantasy movies series that they love. Short creates a quaint town that is bent on staying as true to the movies that were filmed there as well as the parallel set/world of the the movie. There are shades of Lord of the Rings as well as tropes from every fantasy movie or book but they all mix together to be interesting and new. The resolution is satisfying and could be the end of a stand alone book but there are plenty of ways that this could be the opening of a new series. There are bits of friend drama mixed in and I found it refreshing that the family at the center of the book doesn’t have any major disfunction and the brother-sister duo genuinely seem to like one another and respect each other’s individual talents and gifts. Text is free of profanity, sexual content and the good vs evil battles are fairly tame. Would make a great addition to libraries serving grades 4-7.

Thanks for sending our arc-sharing group a print arc, Summer Rachel Short!

[Jamie Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ainsley (12) and Tobin (10) Galloway move to Lowry, the small town that was the filming location for the Legend of Greyhallow trilogy. Their parents purchased the director's, Ambrose Ripley, abandoned estate and plan to turn it into a movie themed bed and breakfast. At the movie festival, a mysterious woman gives Ainsley and Tobin a puzzle box containg a key to the attic. Film reels, costumes, cameras, and a clapboard are found in the attic, and when used, they take Ainsley and Tobin into the fantasy realm of Greyhallow where a war is devestating the movies they remember. Jumping back and forth from reality to the fantasy realm stirs up problems affecting both realms, and Ainsley and Tobin must find a way to set things right before both worlds are destroyed by the evil sorcerer. It's an action packed fantasy with Ainsley and Tobin shining as unique, intersting characters, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Family and friend dynamics are layered through the action and magic to bring real-world problems into the narrative. Fans of Enchanted and The Lord of the Rings are good matches for this book.

[Brooke Glazener · Rating 4 out of 5]

Media (i.e. books, television, movies) has the power to take us to other worlds or distant lands where we can live vicariously through fictional characters…but what if you could actually go into those made-up places and have your own adventure? To most book and film nerds, this would be a dream come true! But what if you aren’t just inserted into an existing script? What if the story changes and you no longer know what is going to happen? Would you risk the unknown or stay where it’s safe?
Much like Ainsley, I would jump at the chance and see where the magic took me! She and her brother are given an amazing opportunity to not only discover how real their favorite fantasy world is, but also how heroic they can be in the face of danger. This is an dream-come-true story not to be missed for kids (even if it’s just your inner kid).

[Yapha · Rating 4 out of 5]

What if you could actually step into the world of your favorite fantasy adventure movie series? How amazing would that be? For siblings Ainsley and Tobin that becomes a reality as their parents have bought the abandoned home of the famed movie director of the Greyhallow series. The small town around it has turned into a park celebrating the movies. What they find in their attic is even more astonishing. The original movie reels act as a portal to the world of Greyhallow. There are rules about visiting that they must learn and stick to, making a variety of mistakes along the way. When they accidentally allow some of the evil forces back into our world, they need to figure out how to defeat them before it is too late. An exciting adventure for grades 4 & up.

eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being close to a 'tween' family member, I decided to read a book in that age category. This one caught my eye. Those who like other-world discoveries will enjoy this book. The characters have to deal with every day challenges, such as moving and all its adjustments. In addition, they find a trail set by the former house resident, and while their well-meaning parents don't always take them seriously, he does. Without giving too much away, the two protagonists come up with some pretty smart solutions to apparently hopeless situations, partly because of their determination. Many intelligent adults I know would not do as well.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun YA novel that brings characters from a story into the “real world”. I find that this genre has become more and more common, but the melding of reality with fantasy is hard to articulate well. While Short does a good job providing plenty of lore and sets a fast pace, the story progresses rather abruptly. Instead of having the protagonist discover a new world, having the world enter into their home adds another element that suspends the reader in a bit of disbelief. Add in the fact that Ainsley and Tobin (the MC’s) don’t really give us any idea of the town, I wasn’t that invested in the story.

Kudos to the fun names like Ambrose, Quaglim, Zander, and Kalandra.

[Megan Farve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book at a library convention. I was immediately drawn in by the “strangers in medieval garb” on the back cover and I was not disappointed. This is an adorable story about siblings who discover that the fantasy world they love is real. It’s filled with adventure, friendship, and villains that will keep you reading until the end. I would recommend this to any middle grader who enjoys fantasy.

[Angela Sandoval · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars rounded up. Half way through this one I had to put it down and go to bed. At the time, I was thinking this is an enthralling read, even if perhaps a bit predictable. Picked it up the next day and was immediately hit with a plot twist! This is a fun action/adventure-filled portal fantasy with endearing characters and a learned lesson or two along the way. Can't wait to recommend this one to our middle school readers.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Ainsley and Tobin's family buy the house of a long-missing movie maker, they discover his uber-popular fantasy series is more interactive than they ever imagined. Much more interactive. They find themselves traveling into the world of the films--and followed back out of it. It makes for an exciting adventure story.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fantasy, magical creatures, movie magic, traveling to fantasy worlds

Ainsley and Tobin's parents buy the estate of the creator of the Greyhallow films to turn it into a Bed and Breakfast, and they discover a magical portal into the Greyhallow realm! Unfortunately, they don't know the rules and accidentally unleash mayhem in their town. Cute for a fantasy story.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is such a fun adventure! As soon as the action starts, it doesn’t stop. I enjoyed adventuring through Greyhallow with Ainsley and Tobin and watching them grow as they overcome exciting challenges. Ainsley’s character arc was very relatable, and I love Short’s pithy, clear, and imaginative prose.

[Shelby Bernadette · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reminded me of Jumangi… unfortunately I had a hard time with this one. The story itself felt complicated and the characters felt one dimensional. I think there were just too many fantasy elements for me.

[Deborah Zeman · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF… just couldn’t get into the story

[Erica Schimmel · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Carolyn Leiloglou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Packed with adventure, relatable characters, and lots of heart!

[Jennifer Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kids who like fantasy-adventure that is not too heavy, long, or serious will like this. Entertaining, reasonably enjoyable, quick read, but nothing special.

[Teddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute but a big juvenile.

[Glenna Coleman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the idea behind the book--entering another world through a movie. Unfortunately, the characters and a great deal of the action failed to hold my interest consistently.

[Gem · Rating 2 out of 5]

not a fan

[Ashlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read! I really enjoyed my time getting to know these characters.

[Nalieaventura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good book