The Claiming (The Last Resort #2)

Warga, Jasmine. The Claiming (The Last Resort #2)
January 6, 2026 by Scholastic Press
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Teddy and his Castle Hill, Ohio neighbors Lila and Caleb defeated the Fire Maiden in The Last Resort... or did they. Teddy is excited to be starting seventh grade with an actual friend, since no one at school has really talked to him after the tragic drowning death of his friend Ethan, for which he blames himself. Lila seems to make friends with popular girls Mackenzie and Aubrey easily, although she admits that people at her previous school considered her prediliction for drama "a lot". After picking out a JAWS themed t shirt (rather than a creepy one with Jack Nicholson in The Shining), Teddy has a decent first day, but notices to his alarm that Lila is flickering. She becomes briefly invisible, and is drawn into the Land of the Dead, which is certainly alarming. Doing more research, the trio find that the ghosts they have been seeing in the hotel that Lila and Caleb's parents now own were all somehow related to the devastating circus fire that occurred nearby. Teddy reaches out to a trusted source on the online horror forum, Rosteen, and arranged to meet in person. Rosteen confirms that it is likely that the Fire Maiden is trying to pull Lila back in to the Land of the Dead. When Mackenzie and Aubrey decide that it would be a good idea to have a séance at the hotel, Lila agrees, even though Teddy thinks it is a horrible idea. It is, of course, and the group summons the Fire Maiden. This is particularly horrible, since Mackenzie is also a descendant of a performer incolved in the circus fire. Rosteen suggests getting herbs from a nearby lady, Debra, and putting them on the Fire Maidens grave, but visiting the cemetery reveals shocking information about Rosteen. At a big Halloween Party, things get very dicey, but most everyone survives. Teddy doesn't think the Fire Maiden has been laid to rest, and he's probably right! 

Strengths: Creepy, four story houses are always a great setting for a middle grade novel, and it's a bit rare to have a horror series. Readers will enjoy catching up with Teddy, Caleb, and Lila and learning more about the circus fire and the long term effects this had on people associated with that event. Starting back to school is a good call, since this brings in more characters. The Halloween party was just about as epic as the the one in Russell's new Down Came the Spiders. I loved that they passed it off as a publicity stunt!
Weaknesses: I'm still not sure that readers will access the interactive features; mine didn't for the Thirty Nine Clues series back in 2008. Since this series is by multiple authors, I'll shelve it under F LAS. The writing was oddly choppy; maybe Warga had trouble transitioning back from novels in verse. I also got a little tired of hearing how Teddy struggled to make friends. 
What I really think: Spooky books always do well, and the Fire Maiden is a good murderous ghost. Fans of Monahan's Mary: The Summoning  or Richardson's The Devil's Footsteps will be tempted to have a séance of their own, but they absolutely SHOULD NOT!