Release: February 2nd, 2021
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Chicken House
Source: Amazon
Find it at Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N.
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It is an unsettling, gripping middle-grade debut about searching for a sense of belonging in the wrong places and the bravery it takes to defy those who seek to control us. This is Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children meets Lord of the Flies for Neil Gaiman and Holly Black’s fans.
When Eleven-year-old Sol arrives at the Ash House, desperate for a cure for his complex pain syndrome, he finds a community of strange children long abandoned by their mysterious Headmaster.
The Ash House children want the new boy to love their home as much as they do. They give him a name like theirs. They show him the dorms and tell him about the wonderful oasis that the Headmaster has created for them. But the new boy already has a name. Doesn’t he? At least he did before he walked through those gates…
This was supposed to be a healing refuge for children like him. Something between a school and a summer camp. With kids like him. With pain like his. But no one is allowed to get sick at the Ash House. NO ONE.
And then The Doctor arrives…
Strange things are about to happen at the mysterious Ash House. And the longer Sol spends on the mysterious grounds, the more he begins to forget who he is, the more the other children begin to distrust him, and the worse his pain becomes. But can he hold onto reality long enough to find an escape? And better yet, can he convince the others?
About the Author:
Angharad Walker grew up on various military bases in the UK, Germany, and Cyprus, where stories were often being told about far-flung places, past conflicts, and friends and family. She studied English Literature & Creative Writing at the University of Warwick, which included a year at the sunny University of California Irvine. Her fiction has been published in Structo and A Million Ways, and her poetry has made it into Agenda broadsheets and Ink Sweat & Tears. She currently lives in London, and when she’s not writing, she works as a communications consultant for charities and not-for-profits.
The Ash House Review:
Is this book meant for middle-graders? Because “The Ash House” terrified me as an adult, and I could not put it down!
Firstly, the story has quite a lot of elements that genuinely creep me out. A disturbing, creepy house that sets the tone? Check! Eerie children, that remind me of “Children of the Corn?” Check! Dangerous surgeries illegally performed? Check. Ravenous animals that prevent you from escaping? Check. The plot is fantastic and glues on to you. You cannot put the book down once you start reading. The author does a brilliant job in narrating the tale and maintaining suspense and horror. The concept is ingenious and unbelievable, yet it works so well!
Sol is terrific in the lead as he tries to find Ash House’s secrets and escape from the nightmare. One of the terrifying scenes is when the Doctor does the surgery on him and the post effects. Dom is adorable, and I could relate to his mindset. I also loved how the author wrote Concord because my feelings for him changed from hate to admiration.
However, my only concern is if the theme might be too scary for middle-graders. There is quite a lot of gore and violence towards the climax, which might scare the target audience. Also, I thought some minor things were unexplained. Don’t get me wrong. While I loved how the story ended, there were still some parts that I could not understand. For instance, how did Sol lose his memory of what his name was? Were the lake and ash magical? The story leaves you wanting more, and I hope there is a sequel to the book.
Overall, “The Ash House” is an AMAZING middle-grade horror novel, and I loved it!
