The Monster Hunter's Manual (The Monster Hunter's Manual, 1)

Gabriel is a boy who has just lost everything. His parents have died and he's forced to move to a strange country, France, to find a new home. He dislikes his crazy aunt, who he has to live with, he doesn't want to learn French, and to make matters worse, the only real family he has left is his whiny baby brother. Despite all this, as soon as Gabriel enters his aunt's ancient castle, he realizes that all these disasters might be the beginning of a grand adventure. In the castle of Chateau Larcher, the walls groan and the attic talks. Shadows take on strange shapes and Gabriel becomes convinced the castle is haunted. But the ghosts in Chateau Larcher aren't what Gabriel expects and he soon learns that skeletons aren't always scary and ghosts can tell the most interesting stories.