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The Ash House
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 fans of Neil Gaiman and Holly Black.
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 children at the Ash House 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?
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 children at the Ash House 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?
348 pages, Paperback
First published February 2, 2021
23 people are currently reading
865 people want to read
About the author
Angharad Walker
3 books36 followersAngharad 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 and University of California Irvine. She now lives in London.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 223 reviews
March 6, 2022
I was excited for a middle grade horror as the "spookier" kind of middle grade is usually my jam. But I wasn't prepared for how much I would love to read this one. It was definitely creepy even if I'm a grown adult. Definitely would pick up more by Angharad Walker in the future. Highly recommend this if your in for a horror middle grade story
October 1, 2021
4 what-the-hell-did-I-just-read-stars. This is a strange little children’s story- part horror- part-dystopia- part fantasy- part delusional. A very strange house made of ash, an absent headmaster, children who live in a greenhouse, children named after Nicenesses trying to avoid Nastinesses… strange creatures imprisoned in the cellar, a very unpleasant Doctor with a bizarre link to the headmaster….can anyone get out alive?! Read it and see..
January 27, 2021
There are so many mysteries in this book: Who is Sol? Who made the decision to send him to the Ash House? Who are the other kids? Why did the Headmaster leave? Why and how does the Ash House exist? Sadly, none of these questions are answered. So you end up reading a mystery with no conclusion. It’s a cross between Never Let Me Go and Miss Peregrine, but without closure. Scholastic is marketing this for kids 8-12, but I’d say the themes are too scary. It’s better suited for 12+.
February 28, 2021
C'était original et l'ambiance était bien construite, l'intrigue intéressante ... mais c'était trop flou pour moi et je n'ai pas réussi à bien accrocher...
March 15, 2022
This completes prompt 2 for MG March! What a darkly fascinating, & creepy read! Loved it! This is definitely darker upper MG horror type fantasy. There’s a cult type vibe to the story as well, & definitely gives off those “brainwashed” vibes you get with that. I think kids can be creepier than anything in scary movies lol so the image of these ash covered kids talking about nicenesses’ was creepy alone lol. Then the Shucks, the mystery of so many things at this house, the headmaster, the doctor..so many thrilling, intriguing, & a lot of the time-terrifying aspects. Dom has my heart. That sweet child. I just want to give him the biggest hug & tell him he is cared about, & nothing is his fault. This is another read I wasn’t fully satisfied with the ending. Just the ending for a couple characters in particular. I loved the last line of the book, & hope from there it went where I would want, but idk. If I knew there would be a sequel, then I wouldn’t have have as much of an an issue with it, because I would know there was hope for it to be changed in the next book. But I haven’t heard, & I can’t find anything. So I’m guessing stand alone. This might just be a me thing, & everyone else may love the end. Regardless, I would still recommend this. I loved it, & can’t wait for more from the author in the future. Absolutely STUNNING cover front, back, & even end pages by Olia Muza as well!💜
August 26, 2021
this has to be one of the stupidest, most unsatisfying books I have ever read. why is it so highly rated? abused, tortured, abandoned children, with no resolution! how did Sol end up there? what was the ash house? who was the headmaster/doctor and why does no one do anything? do they rescue the others? why the hell would you write such a terrible story and not give it any resolution? is the place real or magic? why can't Sol remember his name? why do you think I want to read about a sick man who experiments on children, killing one, paralyzing another, sicking dogs on them, then the kids probably kill him and the authorities think the two who escaped made the whole damn thing up! why did the author write this trash? and why do people like it?
like hunger games without explanations and resolution. stupid horrid depressing waste of time.
like hunger games without explanations and resolution. stupid horrid depressing waste of time.
February 1, 2022
This book is creepy and sometimes violent with unexpected twists and turns. It kept me guessing even through the end. I'm still not sure what really happened and I love it! I think it might be a bit complicated for some middle schoolers, but it works. Those who get it will be mystified and those who don't will enjoy the menacing atmosphere and complicated characters.
December 5, 2021
If there's one good thing I can say about this book it's that it didn't manage to lose my attention for a second, which is why I finished it in just a day. The book introduces many different mysteries, questions and twists which essentially propelled me through it and kept me interested until the last page, as I was fueled by the desire to find out the answers to the many questions that had been established. However -
[MINOR SPOILER AHEAD]
the end was an unsatisfying disappointment, which tied up maybe one or two loose ends in neat bows and neglected all the rest. There was not even an attempt at an explanation to fix everything together - it was as if the author realized they had made their own story so complicated that they decided not to bother trying to make it make sense. We are left with a frankly meaningless ending, no real closure, no core message, just a plethora of unanswered questions; what exactly do you gain from reading this novel, other than just being utterly confused?
I should mention that the writing is fine, but this is a middle-grade novel, so it is nothing spectacular for an older reader. There are some suspenseful scenes that when regarded as stand-alone extracts are interesting and enjoyable to read, but the big problem with this novel is the big picture, and how everything ties in together - or rather, with this book, doesn't tie in together. A lot of aspects of the plot felt like they were simply made up to make it seem more mysterious and complex, not because they contributed meaningfully to the story, and considering the author could not even conjure up a half-assed way to fix it all together in the end makes me think this is true.
[MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD]
There are so many examples of loose ends and plot holes, too many to list in full, but I think the characters are an important place to start. Writing-wise, the characters felt underdeveloped and I did not feel I could really connect with them. For starters, with the main character (the new boy, Sol), it was very hard to connect with him because we basically knew nothing about him. For some reason when he gets to the Ash House he cannot remember his own name, and most of his other memories are hazy and faint. Of course there is no explanation for why this happened. Again it just felt like something added in for convenience to add more mystery to the story. We find out a few things, which is that his parents died in a house fire when he was little, and shortly after this he developed some strange problem where he gets random episodes of excruciating pain in his back. None of the doctors he visits is able to give him a diagnosis, which is why he is sent to the Ash House, because it is apparently meant to help him get better. Though this pain seems an important part of the story we never find out what it was. For some reason it disappears when the children at the Ash House do some weird ritual where he jumps into a lake? But then the Doctor comes and apparently it's not actually gone? It didn't really make any sense.
At the Ash House there are lots of children but only three of them are particularly prominent in the story, who are Freedom, Concord and Liberty. They are all named after things called 'Nicenesses'. Again don't expect an explanation for what the hell those are. Also don't expect an explanation for how these children ever ended up in the Ash House. As for the characters themselves, they feel fairly boring. There is a lot of telling about the relationships between them, such as the fact that Concord and Freedom are best friends, and that Liberty and Freedom used to be good friends, and whatnot, but there is little exploration into these friendships so it all feels very surface level. Personally it felt like the story was not long enough to really develop the characters and their relationships.
The biggest mystery is the Ash House itself. We don't know what it is. We don't know why it exists. We know it is run by someone called the 'Headmaster' but he has been away for three years. Also for some reason there are these dangerous creatures called 'Shucks' there. Oh, and there are these drones in the sky called 'birds' which are always watching them. Funnily enough, the story is so ridiculous that at the end, when Sol and Freedom escape, the psychiatrists think they are making up the story. It is quite ironic how the author essentially dissed their own plot. Clearly the author is aware of how senseless their story is. And no, we never find out the truth about the Ash House.
Honestly, I don't expect stories to always have resolutions. I don't expect stories to always have a clear and unambiguous explanation for everything. There are many stories in which leaving it up to the reader's own imagination works well for the book. This is not one of them. All that the lackluster ending really showed me was simple laziness.
TL;DR: A seemingly interesting concept full of questions wanting to be answered, except the questions are never answered, leaving you entirely unsatisfied, and making the story seem more like a senseless amalgamation of various twists and turns which exist to make a boring narrative seem like something new and interesting, rather than a unique and carefully thought out novel that it seems to desperately pretend to be.
[MINOR SPOILER AHEAD]
the end was an unsatisfying disappointment, which tied up maybe one or two loose ends in neat bows and neglected all the rest. There was not even an attempt at an explanation to fix everything together - it was as if the author realized they had made their own story so complicated that they decided not to bother trying to make it make sense. We are left with a frankly meaningless ending, no real closure, no core message, just a plethora of unanswered questions; what exactly do you gain from reading this novel, other than just being utterly confused?
I should mention that the writing is fine, but this is a middle-grade novel, so it is nothing spectacular for an older reader. There are some suspenseful scenes that when regarded as stand-alone extracts are interesting and enjoyable to read, but the big problem with this novel is the big picture, and how everything ties in together - or rather, with this book, doesn't tie in together. A lot of aspects of the plot felt like they were simply made up to make it seem more mysterious and complex, not because they contributed meaningfully to the story, and considering the author could not even conjure up a half-assed way to fix it all together in the end makes me think this is true.
[MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD]
There are so many examples of loose ends and plot holes, too many to list in full, but I think the characters are an important place to start. Writing-wise, the characters felt underdeveloped and I did not feel I could really connect with them. For starters, with the main character (the new boy, Sol), it was very hard to connect with him because we basically knew nothing about him. For some reason when he gets to the Ash House he cannot remember his own name, and most of his other memories are hazy and faint. Of course there is no explanation for why this happened. Again it just felt like something added in for convenience to add more mystery to the story. We find out a few things, which is that his parents died in a house fire when he was little, and shortly after this he developed some strange problem where he gets random episodes of excruciating pain in his back. None of the doctors he visits is able to give him a diagnosis, which is why he is sent to the Ash House, because it is apparently meant to help him get better. Though this pain seems an important part of the story we never find out what it was. For some reason it disappears when the children at the Ash House do some weird ritual where he jumps into a lake? But then the Doctor comes and apparently it's not actually gone? It didn't really make any sense.
At the Ash House there are lots of children but only three of them are particularly prominent in the story, who are Freedom, Concord and Liberty. They are all named after things called 'Nicenesses'. Again don't expect an explanation for what the hell those are. Also don't expect an explanation for how these children ever ended up in the Ash House. As for the characters themselves, they feel fairly boring. There is a lot of telling about the relationships between them, such as the fact that Concord and Freedom are best friends, and that Liberty and Freedom used to be good friends, and whatnot, but there is little exploration into these friendships so it all feels very surface level. Personally it felt like the story was not long enough to really develop the characters and their relationships.
The biggest mystery is the Ash House itself. We don't know what it is. We don't know why it exists. We know it is run by someone called the 'Headmaster' but he has been away for three years. Also for some reason there are these dangerous creatures called 'Shucks' there. Oh, and there are these drones in the sky called 'birds' which are always watching them. Funnily enough, the story is so ridiculous that at the end, when Sol and Freedom escape, the psychiatrists think they are making up the story. It is quite ironic how the author essentially dissed their own plot. Clearly the author is aware of how senseless their story is. And no, we never find out the truth about the Ash House.
Honestly, I don't expect stories to always have resolutions. I don't expect stories to always have a clear and unambiguous explanation for everything. There are many stories in which leaving it up to the reader's own imagination works well for the book. This is not one of them. All that the lackluster ending really showed me was simple laziness.
TL;DR: A seemingly interesting concept full of questions wanting to be answered, except the questions are never answered, leaving you entirely unsatisfied, and making the story seem more like a senseless amalgamation of various twists and turns which exist to make a boring narrative seem like something new and interesting, rather than a unique and carefully thought out novel that it seems to desperately pretend to be.
May 9, 2022
Suffering from debilitating back pain, an 11-year-old boy arrives at the Ash House, a school whose building is made from ash. Quickly renamed Solitude, the new boy is shocked to find no adult on the premises and the other children operating under a strict culture of "nicenesses" -- happiness, temperance, liberty, freedom, etc. In addition, each child is named after one of the nicenesses. The children wait anxiously for the return of the Headmaster -- it's been 3 years. The appearance of the Doctor (set to cure Solitude) seems to elicit fear in the children and soon in Solitude himself. What begins as a strange, mysterious story soon graduates into a full-blown story of terror as Solitude struggles to find a way out of the school before he too becomes another of the doctor's victims.
A sophisticated tale whose ending will leave the reader unsure as to what really happened at the school.
- Reviewed by Shelley F.
A sophisticated tale whose ending will leave the reader unsure as to what really happened at the school.
- Reviewed by Shelley F.
June 7, 2021
The best book I've read all year.
March 11, 2021
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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!
February 4, 2024
Just reread this one with my little sister! This is seriously such an incredible book---definitely a favorite! It is so thought-provoking!
-----Spooktober 2022 Read #2 ------
They had rules.
They had order.
They had hope.
And then the Doctor arrives...
~
Wow.
This book totally exceeded my expectations. This isn't your typical MG horror book, not at all. This book is powerful, deeply unsettling, and unforgettable.
This book is unlike anything I've ever read, though it reminded me vaguely of classics like "Lord of the Flies" and "Something Wicked This Way Comes", perhaps because of the high-quality prose and the total oddness about this book.
This book was darker and more brutal than I expected from a children's book, but it was not without light... this book had such powerful themes of hope and community. I honestly love all the kids so much. :)
This was very hard to put down despite not having a lot of cliffhanger chapter endings or plot twists... overall, it was in many ways a simple -- and very odd -- story, but it was also extremely complex and intriguing.
I'm having a super hard putting my thoughts about this book into words, so maybe I shouldn't try. XD
Point of the matter is, this is a book that I expect will haunt me for a long, long time to come.
A very unsettling yet satisfying read. :)
~
"He had been expecting a healing refuge for children like him. Something between a school and a summer camp. But this wasn't it. The Ash House was like the end of a world that had been left to decay, forgotten by everyone who had ever cared about it."
-----Spooktober 2022 Read #2 ------
They had rules.
They had order.
They had hope.
And then the Doctor arrives...
~
Wow.
This book totally exceeded my expectations. This isn't your typical MG horror book, not at all. This book is powerful, deeply unsettling, and unforgettable.
This book is unlike anything I've ever read, though it reminded me vaguely of classics like "Lord of the Flies" and "Something Wicked This Way Comes", perhaps because of the high-quality prose and the total oddness about this book.
This book was darker and more brutal than I expected from a children's book, but it was not without light... this book had such powerful themes of hope and community. I honestly love all the kids so much. :)
This was very hard to put down despite not having a lot of cliffhanger chapter endings or plot twists... overall, it was in many ways a simple -- and very odd -- story, but it was also extremely complex and intriguing.
I'm having a super hard putting my thoughts about this book into words, so maybe I shouldn't try. XD
Point of the matter is, this is a book that I expect will haunt me for a long, long time to come.
A very unsettling yet satisfying read. :)
~
"He had been expecting a healing refuge for children like him. Something between a school and a summer camp. But this wasn't it. The Ash House was like the end of a world that had been left to decay, forgotten by everyone who had ever cared about it."
June 28, 2022
This is just screaming for a sequel.
November 29, 2021
Non c’è da meravigliarsi nello scrivere che a questo romanzo mi sono approcciata con una certa diffidenza. Quella del dubitare di ogni romanzo che leggo, perlomeno di primo acchito, è una delle forme insite nel mio carattere che non credo estirperò tanto facilmente. È quasi una condanna, per certi aspetti. Ma per altri mi tiene in agguato dagli assalti esterni della vita. È un segno che dietro certe esperienze c’è sempre un pizzico di verità. E di esperienze brutte, sorprese inaspettatamente fastidiose, in passato, ne ho vissute a bizzeffe.
Tutto questo inutile pippone solo per dire, che alla fine ho risieduto fra le mura di questa gigantesca ma inavvicinabile casa per molto più tempo di quel che credevo. Alla fine è stato davvero piacevole starci, risiedervi comodamente seduta sulla mia poltrona preferita, nel bel mezzo al silenzio, della follia, mi sentivo addosso come un veleno che decisi che dovevo curare. In mezzo, una serie di dettagli che compongono un quadro prettamente realistico nonostante la loro aura misteriosa e magica, gruppi di anime che sono così ben costruiti da prevalere su ogni cosa.
Dopo aver compreso la sua struttura, di cenere e polvere perché si gonfia e confonde mentre il vento la investe in cui la solitudine permeava le sue mura dall’estremità di un mondo che è lasciato a marcire, dimenticato da tutti coloro che hanno temuto. La stessa autrice, in una recente intervista, confessò di aver riscontrato non poche difficoltà a scandagliare le personalità di chi lo popolerà. Non ci sono spiegazioni vere e proprie. Ma in un certo senso tale luogo avrebbe messo a posto qualunque cosa, qualunque malanno. Ogni cosa funziona grazie alla solidarietà, al lavoro unanime che costituita da questa polvere avrebbe costruito una sorta di cura. Metafora di benessere interiore. Specializzando, decretando l’essere umano come parte integrante di un mondo, trasformando perfetti estranei in persone che trasudano bontà.
Scrivo questa recensione consapevole che l’idea di inquietudine, definizione di romanzo horror sia solo una parvenza. Un illusione a ciò che effettivamente è questa lettura. Vista dall’alto, dall’altura di anni e anni di letture di svariato tipo, La casa di cenere sembra quasi inutile, insignificante. Eppure, nel momento in cui vi misi piede, il mondo reale riecheggiò nelle mie orecchie, quasi stessi osservando una visione distorta e nebulosa, distante che ha a che fare con la potenza dei ricordi che non ci appartengono davvero. In un certo senso ha decretato il mio starci lì, fra le sue pagine. Il guardarsi attorno, e comprendere cosa distingue la realtà dalla finzione se affidandoci alla nostra coscienza o ai nostri sensi. Comprendere tale dicotomia mi ha indotta a guardarmi dentro, perché se questi ragazzi erano rinchiusi in questa particolarissima casa è perché certamente desiderosi di sfuggire dal mondo circostante, scacciando i brutti sogni e pensieri, strisciando in mezzo a ombre che si tengono per mano risucchiando ogni rimasuglio di felicità in un buco nero di oppressione e nostalgia.
Tornado nella mia stanza, fra libri e libri che chiedono solo di essere vissuti, mi chiedo se a volte il peso del mondo appare così insopportabile come l’autrice esplica in queste pagine. La letteratura, da questo punto di vista, vanta un bellissimo corredo di opere in cui ci si identifica in forme apparentemente umane che vanno alla ricerca di se stessi. La Walker però mediante una narrazione corale che si muove mediante l’introspezione dei personaggi, simbolo di enigmi, paradigmi che ti inducono a scrutare ogni parte del tuo essere, dubitare se chi sei e cosa ti circonda sia frutto della tua immaginazione poiché fagocita figure dilaniate dalla paura, dai tremori. La determinazione, il coraggio, elementi che scrutano l’identità umana, le mancate spiegazioni del perché una determinata cosa accade, sono tutti aspetti che compongono un quadro semplice ma raffinato, coscienzioso ma disordinato che tiene su un meccanismo imprecisato e grafico dai richiami jacksoniani attraverso il quale è possibile riconoscersi. Ci si affaccia a questo mondo non avendo niente di preciso da definire ma attraverso cui i protagonisti osservano ogni cosa col desiderio insopprimibile di comprenderlo.
Questa lettura è un romanzo che innegabilmente ha a che fare con questioni relative alle azioni individuali, al concetto di forte o barbarico, alla supremazia, al potere che si esercita sul prossimo. E, come lo spazio freddo e lontano nel quale ho fatto perdere le mie tracce, La casa di cenere mi ha stupita. Non entusiasmata o infervorato il mio spirito ma consapevole di aver scelto di leggere questa lettura come se animata da qualche forza sconosciuta, che mi ha indirizzato lungo una strada indifferente dal solito, con un netto miscuglio di buono e cattivo.
La mia anima ne è stata consapevole sin dall'inizio; un lento ma entusiasmante peregrinare, che mi ha scaraventato in un luogo deserto, il cui tema principale è il perenne contrasto tra Bene e Male. ll predominio degli istinti più irrazionali sull'intelligenza, del senso di colpa e del peccato.
Romanzo scaraventato nell'abisso scuro e angosciante della lontananza. Storia di rinascita interiore per il semplice fatto che si crede a qualcosa quando non si aveva la certezza di poter sperare; navigatori che presto o tardi troveranno la pace. Storia d'avventura che ha allietato il mio animo come non credevo, densa di trovate ed episodi vivaci, che si alternano a uno stile visionario e brutalmente espressivo.
Tutto questo inutile pippone solo per dire, che alla fine ho risieduto fra le mura di questa gigantesca ma inavvicinabile casa per molto più tempo di quel che credevo. Alla fine è stato davvero piacevole starci, risiedervi comodamente seduta sulla mia poltrona preferita, nel bel mezzo al silenzio, della follia, mi sentivo addosso come un veleno che decisi che dovevo curare. In mezzo, una serie di dettagli che compongono un quadro prettamente realistico nonostante la loro aura misteriosa e magica, gruppi di anime che sono così ben costruiti da prevalere su ogni cosa.
Dopo aver compreso la sua struttura, di cenere e polvere perché si gonfia e confonde mentre il vento la investe in cui la solitudine permeava le sue mura dall’estremità di un mondo che è lasciato a marcire, dimenticato da tutti coloro che hanno temuto. La stessa autrice, in una recente intervista, confessò di aver riscontrato non poche difficoltà a scandagliare le personalità di chi lo popolerà. Non ci sono spiegazioni vere e proprie. Ma in un certo senso tale luogo avrebbe messo a posto qualunque cosa, qualunque malanno. Ogni cosa funziona grazie alla solidarietà, al lavoro unanime che costituita da questa polvere avrebbe costruito una sorta di cura. Metafora di benessere interiore. Specializzando, decretando l’essere umano come parte integrante di un mondo, trasformando perfetti estranei in persone che trasudano bontà.
Scrivo questa recensione consapevole che l’idea di inquietudine, definizione di romanzo horror sia solo una parvenza. Un illusione a ciò che effettivamente è questa lettura. Vista dall’alto, dall’altura di anni e anni di letture di svariato tipo, La casa di cenere sembra quasi inutile, insignificante. Eppure, nel momento in cui vi misi piede, il mondo reale riecheggiò nelle mie orecchie, quasi stessi osservando una visione distorta e nebulosa, distante che ha a che fare con la potenza dei ricordi che non ci appartengono davvero. In un certo senso ha decretato il mio starci lì, fra le sue pagine. Il guardarsi attorno, e comprendere cosa distingue la realtà dalla finzione se affidandoci alla nostra coscienza o ai nostri sensi. Comprendere tale dicotomia mi ha indotta a guardarmi dentro, perché se questi ragazzi erano rinchiusi in questa particolarissima casa è perché certamente desiderosi di sfuggire dal mondo circostante, scacciando i brutti sogni e pensieri, strisciando in mezzo a ombre che si tengono per mano risucchiando ogni rimasuglio di felicità in un buco nero di oppressione e nostalgia.
Tornado nella mia stanza, fra libri e libri che chiedono solo di essere vissuti, mi chiedo se a volte il peso del mondo appare così insopportabile come l’autrice esplica in queste pagine. La letteratura, da questo punto di vista, vanta un bellissimo corredo di opere in cui ci si identifica in forme apparentemente umane che vanno alla ricerca di se stessi. La Walker però mediante una narrazione corale che si muove mediante l’introspezione dei personaggi, simbolo di enigmi, paradigmi che ti inducono a scrutare ogni parte del tuo essere, dubitare se chi sei e cosa ti circonda sia frutto della tua immaginazione poiché fagocita figure dilaniate dalla paura, dai tremori. La determinazione, il coraggio, elementi che scrutano l’identità umana, le mancate spiegazioni del perché una determinata cosa accade, sono tutti aspetti che compongono un quadro semplice ma raffinato, coscienzioso ma disordinato che tiene su un meccanismo imprecisato e grafico dai richiami jacksoniani attraverso il quale è possibile riconoscersi. Ci si affaccia a questo mondo non avendo niente di preciso da definire ma attraverso cui i protagonisti osservano ogni cosa col desiderio insopprimibile di comprenderlo.
Questa lettura è un romanzo che innegabilmente ha a che fare con questioni relative alle azioni individuali, al concetto di forte o barbarico, alla supremazia, al potere che si esercita sul prossimo. E, come lo spazio freddo e lontano nel quale ho fatto perdere le mie tracce, La casa di cenere mi ha stupita. Non entusiasmata o infervorato il mio spirito ma consapevole di aver scelto di leggere questa lettura come se animata da qualche forza sconosciuta, che mi ha indirizzato lungo una strada indifferente dal solito, con un netto miscuglio di buono e cattivo.
La mia anima ne è stata consapevole sin dall'inizio; un lento ma entusiasmante peregrinare, che mi ha scaraventato in un luogo deserto, il cui tema principale è il perenne contrasto tra Bene e Male. ll predominio degli istinti più irrazionali sull'intelligenza, del senso di colpa e del peccato.
Romanzo scaraventato nell'abisso scuro e angosciante della lontananza. Storia di rinascita interiore per il semplice fatto che si crede a qualcosa quando non si aveva la certezza di poter sperare; navigatori che presto o tardi troveranno la pace. Storia d'avventura che ha allietato il mio animo come non credevo, densa di trovate ed episodi vivaci, che si alternano a uno stile visionario e brutalmente espressivo.
August 27, 2022
C'était trop trop bizarre mais vraiment bien, je l'ai lu un peu de façon entrecoupée mais j'ai adoré et j'aurais bien aimé en savoir plus à la fin mais ça fait partie du fait que le livre est bien frjellflf
September 27, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5. Very excellent spookiness for middle school. Sol, whose name is given to him when he arrives with complex pain syndrome to the Ash House, is swept into a strange little ecosystem within a very strange home. The kids in the house haven’t heard from their Headmaster since Sol arrived, but are determined to make him one of their own. Then a doctor appears, but brings more pain than healing, leaving Sol to wonder if he can find a way out. Hand to fans of The Thief of Always, Small Spaces, and The Clackity. I am still puzzling over the ending and will be recommending this to students tomorrow! The audio is excellent - it includes sound effects. Recommended for grades 5-8.
July 28, 2021
Trigger warnings:
An atmospheric and legitimately spooky middle-grade, this book might not be for younger readers who are faint of heart. With a similar feel to Roux's House of Furies, this is a book full of mystery, curious characters and gut-wrenching circumstances.
If you are a reader that wants solid answers and explanations - perhaps steer clear of The Ash House. But in the same sense, this is a fantastic book to read alongside your youth and discuss what may or may not be happening within.
This book is perfect for young readers wanting to pick up their first 'horror' novel, or older readers who really want to dive into a truly fascinating and atmospheric story.
An atmospheric and legitimately spooky middle-grade, this book might not be for younger readers who are faint of heart. With a similar feel to Roux's House of Furies, this is a book full of mystery, curious characters and gut-wrenching circumstances.
If you are a reader that wants solid answers and explanations - perhaps steer clear of The Ash House. But in the same sense, this is a fantastic book to read alongside your youth and discuss what may or may not be happening within.
This book is perfect for young readers wanting to pick up their first 'horror' novel, or older readers who really want to dive into a truly fascinating and atmospheric story.
Note: Review copy received from NetGalley. This does not impact opinions within this review.
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Happy reading! ❤
December 16, 2021
The Ash House did not work for me.
We are thrown into this story in this ash house with a bunch of boys who don't remember their names and go by weird given names that represent "nicenesses". Don't ask me why about any of this because I couldn't tell you.
The Ash House was not fun to read. The horror of the book focused on sickness and doctor horror without a point to it all.
I don't know what to say about the setting and the world building because I don't know what any of it meant. What was that house and why was it there? Why were the kids there? I was confused while reading it, and I'm left with no answers after finishing it.
There were times the wording felt like it was not written for a middle grade audience. "The children moved like clockwork." "The children stared back." Kids are reading about "the children"? The writing was super repetitive which is a pet peeve of mine.
I will say it's a beautifully made book. The cover got my attention right away, and I loved the interior chapter designs.
The Ash House is a debut middle grade, and I had high hopes for it. It's one of the best middle grade covers I've seen this year. Unfortunately, it's not one that I will pass on to my kids.
We are thrown into this story in this ash house with a bunch of boys who don't remember their names and go by weird given names that represent "nicenesses". Don't ask me why about any of this because I couldn't tell you.
The Ash House was not fun to read. The horror of the book focused on sickness and doctor horror without a point to it all.
I don't know what to say about the setting and the world building because I don't know what any of it meant. What was that house and why was it there? Why were the kids there? I was confused while reading it, and I'm left with no answers after finishing it.
There were times the wording felt like it was not written for a middle grade audience. "The children moved like clockwork." "The children stared back." Kids are reading about "the children"? The writing was super repetitive which is a pet peeve of mine.
I will say it's a beautifully made book. The cover got my attention right away, and I loved the interior chapter designs.
The Ash House is a debut middle grade, and I had high hopes for it. It's one of the best middle grade covers I've seen this year. Unfortunately, it's not one that I will pass on to my kids.
April 30, 2022
Absolutely insane. And I mean that as praise.
I honestly didn't realise that this was aimed at younger audiences. There were moments when I had to remind myself to breathe and tears of fear were threatening to fall. I'm not kidding.
I had many theories. Military base? Psychiatric hospital? Concentration camp?
All these ideas had flaws though, the main one being why they couldn't find the house afterwards or how the other children didn't seem to exist.
As someone who can predict endings pretty well, this frustrated and thrilled me.
I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who's easily enraged by an unsatisfying ending.
After searching online a little it seems the unsatisfying ending is just meant to be one last horror. I don't mind though. Whilst others may think this is a bad way to end a book I don't mind leaving it open to speculation in my head.
I only hope that maybe I'll be able to ask the author herself one day, or maybe she'll publish an explanation. Otherwise, this will simply be an incredible horror story that is the first to truly capture my entire brain and body in a long time. I sat down at 12am and literally couldn't stop until it was done. Now, at 4am. Insane.
I honestly didn't realise that this was aimed at younger audiences. There were moments when I had to remind myself to breathe and tears of fear were threatening to fall. I'm not kidding.
I had many theories. Military base? Psychiatric hospital? Concentration camp?
All these ideas had flaws though, the main one being why they couldn't find the house afterwards or how the other children didn't seem to exist.
As someone who can predict endings pretty well, this frustrated and thrilled me.
I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who's easily enraged by an unsatisfying ending.
After searching online a little it seems the unsatisfying ending is just meant to be one last horror. I don't mind though. Whilst others may think this is a bad way to end a book I don't mind leaving it open to speculation in my head.
I only hope that maybe I'll be able to ask the author herself one day, or maybe she'll publish an explanation. Otherwise, this will simply be an incredible horror story that is the first to truly capture my entire brain and body in a long time. I sat down at 12am and literally couldn't stop until it was done. Now, at 4am. Insane.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 7, 2021
A moody and mystical story that is a cross between a Neil Gaiman tale and MISS PEREGRINES HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN. A new boy comes to the Ash House after a long line of foster homes and doctors. He has debilitating back pain that no one can cure and this new home is the strangest place he has been to so far. Given the name Solitude (Sol) because all the kids there are named after niceness themes, he doesn't understand the kids nor their life in a crumbling mansion where few people arrive and no one leaves.
He doesn't understand why they don't just escape to the other side of the fence, why they follow rules when there is no one there to enforce them and why he suddenly feels better. Is the Ash House the magical place they all insist it is or is there something much more sinister about it? This is written for middle school but it will appeal to a much older audience and lover of dark fantasy. Simon Vance delivers perfect narration. My thanks to the publisher and Libro.fm for the advance audio copy.
He doesn't understand why they don't just escape to the other side of the fence, why they follow rules when there is no one there to enforce them and why he suddenly feels better. Is the Ash House the magical place they all insist it is or is there something much more sinister about it? This is written for middle school but it will appeal to a much older audience and lover of dark fantasy. Simon Vance delivers perfect narration. My thanks to the publisher and Libro.fm for the advance audio copy.
January 18, 2022
Obligeance. Si je lis ce mot encore une fois, je crois que je vais jeter le livre par la fenêtre. Ce pseudo roman ado psycho-fantastique rentre dans la catégorie du n'importe quoi. Les enfants sont brainwashés au possible, le directeur Jekyll et le docteur Hyde... c'est cliché, bâclé et sans intérêt. Si la fin avait été mieux faite ou si on avait pris une direction plus métaphorique, ça aurait eu plus de sens. On ne s'attache pas aux personnages qui sont larmoyants et grotesques de bonnes intentions. La maison de cendres en fin de compte n'offre pas d'explications. À éviter à moins de vouloir mourir d'ennui.
March 5, 2021
être le premier avis sur ce livre en français... quel honneur ! j’ai adoré ma lecture, dont le seul mot qui revenait sans cesse pour le décrire était : perturbant. on ne sait pas où on va, on ne sais pas comment on y va, on ne sait pas quand on en ressortira. c’était mystérieux, inquiétant, intrigant, complètement fou. et je peux vous dire que j’espère qu’il va y avoir une suite PARCE QUE C’EST QUOI CETTE FIN ? 😭
February 9, 2022
La casa di cenere è un romanzo per ragazzi potente e inquietante da cui è impossibile staccarsi. Una misteriosa storia autoconclusiva dalle tinte Horror con una spolverata di Fantasy che narra di bambini soli e in gruppo, spaventati e coraggiosi, sottomessi e capaci di ribellarsi. https://ilmondodichri.com/la-casa-di-...
March 19, 2021
Absolutely disturbingly haunting !
September 4, 2022
4.5 rounded up 5
This book was absolutely wild from start to finish, and I loved it.
The Ash House is the kind of middle grade horror/thriller that I just eat up. The suspense and mystery that Walker weaved into this tale kept me hooked all the way to the end. So many mysteries I needed to know the answer to, and while not all of them where answered a vast majority of them where. Please don't believe the other reviews where they are like "It was never stated how Sol got to the Ash House" because, yes, yes it was. It requires a little bit of reading comprehension but yes the book does allude to how exactly he got there and its just as dark and disturbing as the rest of the content in this book.
The content of this book has everything from death, child abuse, animal attacks, to children being brainwashed and controlled through the teachings of "niceness", it very much screams cult. It doesn't shy around children being harmed, because it does happen and it happens often and it is not glossed over, so if that's not your jam than I would skip this book.
The story mainly follows Sol the new boy at the Ash House and Dom, one of the boys who has always lived at the Ash House. Its split into two pov chapters, there where a few times when you couldn't tell the difference between the two point of views, but towards the end they really started to show their differences. Along the way Sol meets others kids of the Ash House such a Libby and Con. Con really grew on me throughout the story, he was the one character who I felt like had the most character growth while Dom was actually the one who frustrated me the most. I don't hate the boy he just frustrated me but I understand a lot of his character. He always thought he was doing the "niceness" but a lot of the time he was just making very poor decisions but again I understand why, his whole world was thrown out of wack because of Sol arriving and the Headmaster leaving.
I do wish more background had been giving on The Headmaster and The Doctor, while I can make some assumptions about them and while one of the biggest reveals involving them (which I will not state) blew my mind, I do wish we had gotten more solid information on them. While I love making up my own ideas and theories the way the story was built up I feel a true explanation would have really hit the ball out of the park for this, and this goes for the Ash House itself. Do I know what the Ash House is exactly, no, because that is one of the mysteries that is not answered but I do have some of my own theories as to what it could have been. There are small moments when the characters are in the house that lean towards possible answers as to what the house originally was, but again we were never given a solid answer.
The end of the story is where the .5 comes in in my rating. Its a very open and ambiguous ending that honestly feels to like a sequel could follow. (Look I want a sequel!!) There are still certain mysteries that weren't solved and a very very big one at the end that for me, needs to be solved.
In the end The Ash House was suspenseful, creepy and down right addicting!
This book was absolutely wild from start to finish, and I loved it.
The Ash House is the kind of middle grade horror/thriller that I just eat up. The suspense and mystery that Walker weaved into this tale kept me hooked all the way to the end. So many mysteries I needed to know the answer to, and while not all of them where answered a vast majority of them where. Please don't believe the other reviews where they are like "It was never stated how Sol got to the Ash House" because, yes, yes it was. It requires a little bit of reading comprehension but yes the book does allude to how exactly he got there and its just as dark and disturbing as the rest of the content in this book.
The content of this book has everything from death, child abuse, animal attacks, to children being brainwashed and controlled through the teachings of "niceness", it very much screams cult. It doesn't shy around children being harmed, because it does happen and it happens often and it is not glossed over, so if that's not your jam than I would skip this book.
The story mainly follows Sol the new boy at the Ash House and Dom, one of the boys who has always lived at the Ash House. Its split into two pov chapters, there where a few times when you couldn't tell the difference between the two point of views, but towards the end they really started to show their differences. Along the way Sol meets others kids of the Ash House such a Libby and Con. Con really grew on me throughout the story, he was the one character who I felt like had the most character growth while Dom was actually the one who frustrated me the most. I don't hate the boy he just frustrated me but I understand a lot of his character. He always thought he was doing the "niceness" but a lot of the time he was just making very poor decisions but again I understand why, his whole world was thrown out of wack because of Sol arriving and the Headmaster leaving.
I do wish more background had been giving on The Headmaster and The Doctor, while I can make some assumptions about them and while one of the biggest reveals involving them (which I will not state) blew my mind, I do wish we had gotten more solid information on them. While I love making up my own ideas and theories the way the story was built up I feel a true explanation would have really hit the ball out of the park for this, and this goes for the Ash House itself. Do I know what the Ash House is exactly, no, because that is one of the mysteries that is not answered but I do have some of my own theories as to what it could have been. There are small moments when the characters are in the house that lean towards possible answers as to what the house originally was, but again we were never given a solid answer.
The end of the story is where the .5 comes in in my rating. Its a very open and ambiguous ending that honestly feels to like a sequel could follow. (Look I want a sequel!!) There are still certain mysteries that weren't solved and a very very big one at the end that for me, needs to be solved.
In the end The Ash House was suspenseful, creepy and down right addicting!
April 20, 2023
I’m not even sorry I’m reading YA books haha.
This book was incredible.
Seeing the world through a child’s eye is scary in itself. Putting in mental illness, physical illnesses, and abuse all through the description of children is honestly way more horrifying than reading about it from an adult’s perspective. It starts out just weird, then when it clicks, the blood drains from your face and it goes from “oh that’s weird” to “oh that’s FUCKED” really quick.
Adult horror books can have that but sometimes they try to be too clever or pretentious which I roll my eyes at. The innocence of children tied into the real life horrors/paranormal activity is really an incredible perspective and truly frightening.
I really enjoyed this book. My one complaint is I wish I knew more.
This book was incredible.
Seeing the world through a child’s eye is scary in itself. Putting in mental illness, physical illnesses, and abuse all through the description of children is honestly way more horrifying than reading about it from an adult’s perspective. It starts out just weird, then when it clicks, the blood drains from your face and it goes from “oh that’s weird” to “oh that’s FUCKED” really quick.
Adult horror books can have that but sometimes they try to be too clever or pretentious which I roll my eyes at. The innocence of children tied into the real life horrors/paranormal activity is really an incredible perspective and truly frightening.
I really enjoyed this book. My one complaint is I wish I knew more.
April 14, 2023
This is a Maine Student Book Award nominee for 2022|2023.
When our young protagonist gets moved to a house in the middle of the night to heal and get better, the people there almost seem unreal. We learn his new name is Solitude, Sol for short. He meets young Freedom (Dom) the night he moves into The Ash House. Sol is wary of his new home. Young boys living in a greenhouse, there are no apparent adults; and the headmaster has been gone for over three years.
Nothing is as it seems, and you’re left with more questions than answers. A great atmospheric audio book, but it left me with wanting more answers.
When our young protagonist gets moved to a house in the middle of the night to heal and get better, the people there almost seem unreal. We learn his new name is Solitude, Sol for short. He meets young Freedom (Dom) the night he moves into The Ash House. Sol is wary of his new home. Young boys living in a greenhouse, there are no apparent adults; and the headmaster has been gone for over three years.
Nothing is as it seems, and you’re left with more questions than answers. A great atmospheric audio book, but it left me with wanting more answers.
September 10, 2021
Very creepy/spooky with a dense feeling of dread and unease through it all. It went to some pretty dark places , so definitely recommend for the slightly older side of middle grade. Overall the audiobook was fantastic and atmospheric, making it a great spooky fall read/listen.
October 5, 2021
Mixed feelings on this one for me. On one hand I like the almost dreamlike half fantastical world the story lives in and I like that it's never explained away. But I found the characters to be... frustrating at best really. Sol was all over the place and while that makes sense to an extent (given the circumstances) he had some remarkably abrupt about faces that came out of left field. Con felt possibly more hot hot/cold but he's given so little development coupled with the strange reality and a brief explanation that I was more willing to accept it. That brings us to the story itself, which, wow so much child abuse. I suspect this is one of those "I'm too much of a grown-up now' books where adults only see miles and miles of horrible abuse & kids/teens see a thrilling horror adventure (still scary but it's all about the direct actions & less the underlying horror). Still the levels of abuse horror were a bit startling and the emotional core didn't come through to me at all (I wont have figured it at all if the protagonist hadn't had a conversation about it in the epilogue) so it felt a bit like the terrors were for nothing.
TLDR: a strange horror read for tweens & teens that explains little, and left this reader unsettled in the wrong ways.
TLDR: a strange horror read for tweens & teens that explains little, and left this reader unsettled in the wrong ways.
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