The Night Tourist

           When loved ones pass away, people will miss them greatly, even if it happened a long while ago. That’s what happened to Jack Perdu, the main character of The Night Tourist by Katherine Marsh. When he was six, Jack’s mom died in the busy New York City. He was told that a scaffold had fallen on her. But is that what really happened?

           Jack’s dad is the chairman of the Archeology department at Yale University. Therefore, Jack lives in one of the college dorms, even though he is only in ninth grade. To many other people, including Jack himself, he is a book lover and a “freak”.  But when Jack gets into a car accident, his powers came.

           After the car accident, the doctors had said that Jack was alright. But then, on a rainy night, Jack sees a stranger, a man, lying on the couch of his dad’s home office. When the man sees him, the man jumps out the window and leaves a map behind. Jack looks out the window, but the man was not on the ground or anywhere in sight. On the map, in a corner, was his mom's name. Jack tells his dad about this, since him dad heard him yelling at the man. But his dad says "Oh, it's nothing."

          Very soon, though, Jack's dad sends him to a mysterious doctor in New York City. The doctor, Dr. Lyons, was a subway token collector. A token looking golden to Jack was kept in his pocket because Dr. Lyons came in when Jack was observing it. All Dr. Lyons did was ask Jack a few questions and that was it. So, Jack left and joined a tour group that he passed. The guide told them that there were two levels in New York City. They went to the Whispering Gallery, where Jack meets a girl named Euri.

          Euri gives Jack the "unofficial tour" and takes him to track 61, which was an old railroad track. She tells Jack that there are nine levels in New York City, not two. When this train suddenly comes by, Jack pushes himself against the wall to avoid being hit, while Euri just stands there. Jack thinks that Euri got ran over, but she was standing there, laughing at him. It was here that he finds out that Euri, and the man, are ghosts. 

     Euri brings Jack into the underworld. Jack gives the golden subway token, which is actually bronze, to a beggar guarding the underworld. The Golden token, which does not look gold to anyone else, was Jack's golden bough, like in the Roman myths. Once in, Jack, with Euri's help, needs to avoid the underworld guards and their three-headed dog, Cerberus. Also, he can't look at any of the unknown ghosts in the eye, or else it will tell them that he's alive.

     Jack soon finds out that all fountains in New York City are where the ghosts get to the living world during the night. But, since Jack can only stay for three days, or he'll die, he wanted to find his mom. On the journey to find his mom, Jack and Euri become close friends and he wants to bring her back to the living world. He knows it's possible because he heard in the underworld that a man once, before Jack, had entered the underworld and fell in love with a female ghost. The man then successfully brings the woman ghost back alive.

     Jack finds out that his mom actually died 33 years ago. With only a few hours left in the underworld, can Jack find his mom using the few clues and bring Euri back? You'll have to find out yourself.

     Overall, I really enjoyed this novel. My favorite part was when Jack finds out that Euri is a ghost. He gets scared and doesn't know what to say. Also, the story gets more interesting here. I would definitely recommend it to someone, especially to those who like new worlds and adventure. The Night Tourist by Katherine Marsh is a fast-paced, adventure filled novel. I hope you will end up reading it.