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Wanted: Your House
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 7, 2026
I’m not sure how much I would have enjoyed this as a child, but it’s a very sweet read as an adult
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Cyril Milligan and his mother, a high school language arts teacher, live in the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighborhood of Montreal, Canada. While they enjoy living in their apartment, especially since it means he is close to his best friend, Bohdan Kushnir, his mother has a dream of owning her own home. Cyril is a sperm donor child, so doesn't have a father in the picture, but his mother has suppoer from her best friend Lonnie and her lawyer wife, Helene. Bohdan's family has come from Ukraine, but the father has had to stay behind to serve in the army. When Cyril and Bohdan have a school project to interview elderly people about their concept of time, they head to the nearby Cafe au Lait cafe, where they talk to former journalist Joanie. Tired of going to open houses with his mother when he could instead be focusing on video games to prepare for a future career, Cyril rarely complains, but a comment by a realtor makes his mother reexamine how she is spending her time. She tells Cyril she is giving up on her dream of home ownership, and that they should just enjoy the life they have. Cyril feels bad, and comes up with a great idea. What if there are older people who would want help in exchange for their home when they die? He puts up a flyer in the Cafe au Lait restroom, and is contacted. He arranges to meet H. Hartt in the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and Mr. Hartt turns out to be a very grumpy 78 year old man Cyril has seen in the neighborhood. He has no children, and his wife is dead, so Cyril arranges for his mother to meet with Mr. Hartt. She brings a long Lonnie, and an arrangement is agreed upon. Cyril and his mother will move in for a trial period to see how things go, but keep their apartment. It's a rocky start. Mr. Hartt is very querulous, and doesn't like change. He slowly warms to Cyril, and well as the Kushnirs. He doesn't talk to his neighbor, who turns out to be Joanie, but Bohdan ends up spending time with her. Cyril proves that he is helpful, and Mr. Hartt becomes invested in having the Milligans living with him, but there are some road blocks and significant events that threaten to upend the arrangement. Will Cyril's idea be successful?
Strengths: I absolutely love the idea of pairing young families with older home owners, and think that this is an arrangement that should be explored by our society a lot more! The school project about time was an interesting way to get Cyril and Bohdan to talk to older people, and when I was in middle school I was definitely looking for a grandparent proxy. (I have 38 cousins; my grandmother was 72 when I was born, so not all that interested in me!) The inclusion of the circumstances of Ukranian refugees is timely and interesting, and the Kushnirs face a variety of realistic challenges that will be informative for young readers. Mr. Hartt deals with a variety of mobility issues, as well as health ones, but we do get information about his career as an art professor at McGill. He grows as a character. Joanie is a great neighbor. This was a short book that moved quickly, and I enjoyed it very much.
Weaknesses: If Mr. Hartt is 78, I doubt he would have complained about his wife Clarice working. There's some mention of Joanie feeding Clarice "feminist mumbo jumbo", which might have worked if he was in his 90s. I'm a little conflicted about how the story line with Clarice is handled; while I understand it and appreciated that Mr. Hartt was allowed to have his own feelings about certain issues, young readers might want more closure.
What I really think: I'm struggling to come up with comparisons for this book; most middle grade novels involving older people center around grandparents or children having to do community service at retirement facilities. I love the fact that Mr. Hartt (whose name is Henry!) and Joanie are portrayed as living alone and part of the larger community. This is a definite purchase for me. Now, if we could just work out a scheme where retirees watch the dogs of working families during the day so the dogs don't have to be alone, and the older people don't have to pay for their care!
Cyril Milligan and his mother, a high school language arts teacher, live in the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighborhood of Montreal, Canada. While they enjoy living in their apartment, especially since it means he is close to his best friend, Bohdan Kushnir, his mother has a dream of owning her own home. Cyril is a sperm donor child, so doesn't have a father in the picture, but his mother has suppoer from her best friend Lonnie and her lawyer wife, Helene. Bohdan's family has come from Ukraine, but the father has had to stay behind to serve in the army. When Cyril and Bohdan have a school project to interview elderly people about their concept of time, they head to the nearby Cafe au Lait cafe, where they talk to former journalist Joanie. Tired of going to open houses with his mother when he could instead be focusing on video games to prepare for a future career, Cyril rarely complains, but a comment by a realtor makes his mother reexamine how she is spending her time. She tells Cyril she is giving up on her dream of home ownership, and that they should just enjoy the life they have. Cyril feels bad, and comes up with a great idea. What if there are older people who would want help in exchange for their home when they die? He puts up a flyer in the Cafe au Lait restroom, and is contacted. He arranges to meet H. Hartt in the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and Mr. Hartt turns out to be a very grumpy 78 year old man Cyril has seen in the neighborhood. He has no children, and his wife is dead, so Cyril arranges for his mother to meet with Mr. Hartt. She brings a long Lonnie, and an arrangement is agreed upon. Cyril and his mother will move in for a trial period to see how things go, but keep their apartment. It's a rocky start. Mr. Hartt is very querulous, and doesn't like change. He slowly warms to Cyril, and well as the Kushnirs. He doesn't talk to his neighbor, who turns out to be Joanie, but Bohdan ends up spending time with her. Cyril proves that he is helpful, and Mr. Hartt becomes invested in having the Milligans living with him, but there are some road blocks and significant events that threaten to upend the arrangement. Will Cyril's idea be successful?
Strengths: I absolutely love the idea of pairing young families with older home owners, and think that this is an arrangement that should be explored by our society a lot more! The school project about time was an interesting way to get Cyril and Bohdan to talk to older people, and when I was in middle school I was definitely looking for a grandparent proxy. (I have 38 cousins; my grandmother was 72 when I was born, so not all that interested in me!) The inclusion of the circumstances of Ukranian refugees is timely and interesting, and the Kushnirs face a variety of realistic challenges that will be informative for young readers. Mr. Hartt deals with a variety of mobility issues, as well as health ones, but we do get information about his career as an art professor at McGill. He grows as a character. Joanie is a great neighbor. This was a short book that moved quickly, and I enjoyed it very much.
Weaknesses: If Mr. Hartt is 78, I doubt he would have complained about his wife Clarice working. There's some mention of Joanie feeding Clarice "feminist mumbo jumbo", which might have worked if he was in his 90s. I'm a little conflicted about how the story line with Clarice is handled; while I understand it and appreciated that Mr. Hartt was allowed to have his own feelings about certain issues, young readers might want more closure.
What I really think: I'm struggling to come up with comparisons for this book; most middle grade novels involving older people center around grandparents or children having to do community service at retirement facilities. I love the fact that Mr. Hartt (whose name is Henry!) and Joanie are portrayed as living alone and part of the larger community. This is a definite purchase for me. Now, if we could just work out a scheme where retirees watch the dogs of working families during the day so the dogs don't have to be alone, and the older people don't have to pay for their care!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Twelve year old Cyril is tired of going to open houses with his mother. She grew up in foster care and has always wanted a home of her own. But the family of two doesn’t have enough money for any of the houses they see. Then Cyril has an idea: why not see if there’s an older person who needs help in exchange for leaving their house to Cyril and his mother when they die? So he puts up a flyer in the bathroom of a cafe where lots of older people go. When super grumpy Mr. Hartt responds to the ad, Cyril wonders if his idea was a big mistake.
You have to love this kid’s idea, which is so idealistic and outside the box that it just might work. Cyril’s mother and Mr. Hartt agree to a one-month trial together, and the drama begins. Along with this experiment, which is cringe-worthy and hilarious, Cyril must contend with his bestie Bohdan’s growing friendship with the older lady next door to Mr. Hartt. When the two boys lived in apartments in the same building, they were on equal footing. But Bohdan now has a close relationship with Joannie, the older woman, who turns out to be Mr. Hartt’s not-dead wife’s best friend. Another side plot with real consequences is Bohdan’s memories of the war in Ukraine, which he escaped fairly recently with his mother and sister, and then there’s the news that Bohdan’s father has been injured. It’s wonderful to see Cyril become aware of himself and others and their feelings, while getting to know older people. He grows so much during the story. I think kids will appreciate Cyril’s narration and his learning curve, especially as he learns how hard it is to “turn feelings into words.” It’s a great inter-generational feel-good story with a quick pace and lots of humor, and an ending that makes us realize that it’s never too late to change.
The setting is near Montreal and all characters clue as white; Cyril’s mom’s best friend is in a same sex marriage.
You have to love this kid’s idea, which is so idealistic and outside the box that it just might work. Cyril’s mother and Mr. Hartt agree to a one-month trial together, and the drama begins. Along with this experiment, which is cringe-worthy and hilarious, Cyril must contend with his bestie Bohdan’s growing friendship with the older lady next door to Mr. Hartt. When the two boys lived in apartments in the same building, they were on equal footing. But Bohdan now has a close relationship with Joannie, the older woman, who turns out to be Mr. Hartt’s not-dead wife’s best friend. Another side plot with real consequences is Bohdan’s memories of the war in Ukraine, which he escaped fairly recently with his mother and sister, and then there’s the news that Bohdan’s father has been injured. It’s wonderful to see Cyril become aware of himself and others and their feelings, while getting to know older people. He grows so much during the story. I think kids will appreciate Cyril’s narration and his learning curve, especially as he learns how hard it is to “turn feelings into words.” It’s a great inter-generational feel-good story with a quick pace and lots of humor, and an ending that makes us realize that it’s never too late to change.
The setting is near Montreal and all characters clue as white; Cyril’s mom’s best friend is in a same sex marriage.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Wanted: Your House by Monique Polak, 263 pages. Kids Can Press, MAY 2026. $20.
Language: PG (4 swears, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content: G; Violence: G
BUYING ADVISORY: EL - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SOME
12yo Cyril’s mom is always dragging him to open houses. She dreams of owning their own home - even on her meager teacher’s salary. Cyril decided to help - his brilliant plan - offer himself and his mother as companions and caretakers for an elderly person - as long as the person deeds their house over to Cyril’s mom once they pass away. Crazy- right? But curmudgeonly Mr. Hartt takes Cyril up on the idea. They all agree to a one month trial. Cyril is not sure they will last that long.
I wanted to like this so much more, but I was not satisfied with the end, and I was not fond of Mr. Hartt at all. Great premise - middling execution.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
Language: PG (4 swears, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content: G; Violence: G
BUYING ADVISORY: EL - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SOME
12yo Cyril’s mom is always dragging him to open houses. She dreams of owning their own home - even on her meager teacher’s salary. Cyril decided to help - his brilliant plan - offer himself and his mother as companions and caretakers for an elderly person - as long as the person deeds their house over to Cyril’s mom once they pass away. Crazy- right? But curmudgeonly Mr. Hartt takes Cyril up on the idea. They all agree to a one month trial. Cyril is not sure they will last that long.
I wanted to like this so much more, but I was not satisfied with the end, and I was not fond of Mr. Hartt at all. Great premise - middling execution.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
June 9, 2026
Interesting premise and good character growth. Worth reading.
June 18, 2026
A fun read abt Cyril posting an ad: let my mom and I move into your house and we’ll cook/clean for you until you’re gone. 79 yr old man whom Cyril called grumpasaurus answers. Now what?
July 15, 2026
A really good book with lots of plot twists.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews