House of Ash and Bone

Gr 7-10–A week-long vacation to the house her family inherited from an unknown great-aunt turns into a nightmarish fight for survival for Josephine, 16. As soon as the Jagger family steps into the mansion, they are enamored with its enormity and furnishings. Their love of the house becomes almost obsessive and, after only a few days, her parents are ready to move in permanently. There is no reason to leave the house. Ever. But Josephine can see what her family cannot. The house does not want them to go. She has seen glimpses of the ghost that haunts its rooms, a witch who has cursed the family and plans to keep them there for her own needs. As the witch’s magic causes her family to forget nearly everything that happens, Josephine finds herself battling the witch alone knowing failure could mean a fate worse than death for everyone she loves. Sutherland lets readers know from the start that something is wrong with the house and its inhabitants. A feeling of being unmoored permeates the book as Josephine tries to understand what is real and what is delusion. Readers learn a little about her family, but Josephine and Dorcas, the witch, are the only characters with backstories. A brief interlude with a local girl has Josephine questioning her sexuality, but it feels like an afterthought. Some gruesome scenes are scattered throughout the book. The Jaggers are white.