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This plot-twisting ghost story is everything you want it to be without rehashing the too-familiar. Orson Scott Card and his innovative story-telling draw you in and hold you until the last possible second. From a care-worn protagonist who won't give up to an old magician living next door, the characters are complex, emotion-worthy, and real.
Don Lark buys a house in desperate need of repair, planning to fix it up and turn it for profit. Because he would otherwise be living out of his truck, he puts up a cot in the house. To his surprise, he finds a squatter, a girl named Sylvie who's been living in the house for years because her college plans fell through. And to his annoyance, the old women next door tell him he shouldn't fix up the house and that he should tear it down right away.
Of course, he doesn't want to tear it down. This was how he made his living. But the more he does to the house, the weirder his life gets. Things happen that force him to confront his past; a lost daughter and ex-wife. His past intertwine's with Sylvie's past, both of them having lost things. And while he's repairing the house, things go missing, and the house gets stronger...
Okay, I'm not going to give much more away.
What I liked: Mostly, that this was a scary story without all the gore, blood, or sex. Instead, it ran on strong characters, plot, and setting. Everything about this book was strong. After only a few pages I liked Don Lark, and I knew he was a good person with a horrific past. I like that the humans are human, that no one of them is perfect or expected to be perfect. Even Don has a mean streak. The house made a beautiful and interesting setting, and the plot kept moving forward, kept me involved. The main plot and the subplots wove together and made everything relevant.
What I didn't like: I didn't love Cindy's character, but I felt sympathy for her. Other than that, I can't remember if anything really bothered me.
Favorite quote: "We're not a family. We're the opposite of a family. We're people so lonely that when we're together we make a black hole of loneliness and everything else gets sucked down into it and is never seen again." (Don Lark)
Would I recommend? Definitely! 4 out of 5.
Don Lark buys a house in desperate need of repair, planning to fix it up and turn it for profit. Because he would otherwise be living out of his truck, he puts up a cot in the house. To his surprise, he finds a squatter, a girl named Sylvie who's been living in the house for years because her college plans fell through. And to his annoyance, the old women next door tell him he shouldn't fix up the house and that he should tear it down right away.
Of course, he doesn't want to tear it down. This was how he made his living. But the more he does to the house, the weirder his life gets. Things happen that force him to confront his past; a lost daughter and ex-wife. His past intertwine's with Sylvie's past, both of them having lost things. And while he's repairing the house, things go missing, and the house gets stronger...
Okay, I'm not going to give much more away.
What I liked: Mostly, that this was a scary story without all the gore, blood, or sex. Instead, it ran on strong characters, plot, and setting. Everything about this book was strong. After only a few pages I liked Don Lark, and I knew he was a good person with a horrific past. I like that the humans are human, that no one of them is perfect or expected to be perfect. Even Don has a mean streak. The house made a beautiful and interesting setting, and the plot kept moving forward, kept me involved. The main plot and the subplots wove together and made everything relevant.
What I didn't like: I didn't love Cindy's character, but I felt sympathy for her. Other than that, I can't remember if anything really bothered me.
Favorite quote: "We're not a family. We're the opposite of a family. We're people so lonely that when we're together we make a black hole of loneliness and everything else gets sucked down into it and is never seen again." (Don Lark)
Would I recommend? Definitely! 4 out of 5.
