Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by keysmashhh
The Ash House by Angharad Walker
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Plot: 4.5/5
Character: 4/5
Relationships: 3.5/5
World-Building: 4/5
Genre: 4.5/5
I honestly didn't expect to end the year with a middle-grade horror book but hey ho. my little sister recommended this to me and honestly I'm impressed! this book was actually pretty creepy, with a good amount of suspense and the middle-grade target audience made reading it a breeze. then again that's kind of worrying to me - the amount of deeply messed up stuff that happens (crazy medical experiments on kids and a Jekyll and Hyde-style villain) seemed almost too dark for a middle-grade book. I was weirdly engrossed in coming up with theories to explain the existence of the ash house (my main guess being either this was all happening inside of Sol's head, or that he had died and this was some sort of creepy afterlife) but none of this got explained in the finale. I'm assuming by the cliffhanger ending and the lack of explanation for the existence of the Ash House that this must be getting a sequel - maybe if my sister enjoys the sequel, I'll read it too.
Character: 4/5
Relationships: 3.5/5
World-Building: 4/5
Genre: 4.5/5
I honestly didn't expect to end the year with a middle-grade horror book but hey ho. my little sister recommended this to me and honestly I'm impressed! this book was actually pretty creepy, with a good amount of suspense and the middle-grade target audience made reading it a breeze. then again that's kind of worrying to me - the amount of deeply messed up stuff that happens (crazy medical experiments on kids and a Jekyll and Hyde-style villain) seemed almost too dark for a middle-grade book. I was weirdly engrossed in coming up with theories to explain the existence of the ash house (my main guess being either this was all happening inside of Sol's head, or that he had died and this was some sort of creepy afterlife) but none of this got explained in the finale. I'm assuming by the cliffhanger ending and the lack of explanation for the existence of the Ash House that this must be getting a sequel - maybe if my sister enjoys the sequel, I'll read it too.