The Ghosts Behind the Door

Wilde, Jen. The Ghosts Behind the Door
February 3, 2026 by Scholastic Press
E ARC Provided by Edelweiss Plus

When Maggie's mother and her nongendered partner, Morgan, move to Oak Grove to help out with grandmother Betty, there is a lot of tension. Maggie's mom has lost her job as a librarian in New York City, but Morgan has kept their job and commutes back to the city. Maggie is happy to be with Nana Betty, but feels like there is something very creepy in the house. Not only that, but everyone at school gives her a hard time for being a Havercroft, calling her grandmother "Batty Betty" and her mother a pyromaniac! This is tough on Maggie, who already suffers from anxiety and has an emotional support cat, Bear. At least neighbor Ivy is nice, having suffered at the hands of mean girls like Hailey and Olivia because she is the only transgender student at the school. The school librarian, Shanice, is a friend of Betty's and supportive as well. Maggie starts to investigate her family history and finds some alarming information; Charles Havercroft apparently threw his wife Abigail off the cliff near the family graveyard, and another foremother was drowned in the bathtub by her husband! Maggie occasionally has visions of these past lives, and even sees her own mother struggle with people in town who don't like that she is a lesbian. When Nana has a stroke and has to go to the hospital, the house becomes even more active and angry, and Maggie knows she needs to try to break the family curse before it it too late. With Ivy's help, she finds a spell book in the attic and tries a banishment spell, causing several of her classmates to disappear for a few days. Eventually, she figures out that she needs to banish the ghost of Charles Havercroft and finish the job her mother started when she set fire to the local history museum, trying to burn his portrait. When Nana dies, things escalate further, but help comes from Nana's "book club" ladies, including Shanice, and eventually from Maggie's mother. 
Strengths: Even though I am more of a "cottagecore" grandmother myself, I loved the representation of Nana as a "hardcore" grandmother, and her house was interesting. It's a sadly accurate representation of having to clean out a house and deal with an elderly relatives decline. The family history was unusual, and it was good that Ivy was willing to overlook it to help Maggie out. The ghosts were fairly scary, so I can see why this book is compared to the work of India Hill Brown, which also has murderous ghosts and family history. 
Weaknesses: It was a little hard to believe that there was so much bad treatment of the women in the family over such a long period, but mental health challenges can be hereditary. Since I had a relative who was subjected to a lobotomy, I can't doubt the use of "water cures" back in the day. Young Readers might need a little more explanation about the historical treatment of mental illness. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed this author's Paige Not Found, Averling's The Ghosts of Bitterfly Bay,  Van Otterloo's Cattywampus, or Talbot's Sixteen Souls.