The House of Months and Years

November 21, 2016
Amelia Howling, 10, resents her family’s move into a curious old house in order to care for her recently orphaned cousins. Beyond feeling ignored and angry, Amelia can’t shake the sensation that she’s being watched, or that the house almost seems sentient. After Amelia learns that the house is an architectural oddity known as a calendar house—with rooms, floors, windows, and other elements that correspond to months, days, seasons, etc.—the mysterious presence manifests as Horatio, the house’s builder. Horatio explains that the house can transport her through time, whisks Amelia away on adventures to medieval periods and pirate ships, then invites her to build her own calendar house and live forever, traveling through time. In a clever twist, the very magic that fuels Amelia’s adventures is drawn from memory and emotion, tethering Amelia to her family and highlighting the importance of empathy amid difficult situations. Trevayne (The Accidental Afterlife of Thomas Marsden) creates an eerie and enchanting story in which an unhappy girl’s discontentment nearly blinds her to the dangerous forces that surround her. Ages 8–12. Agent: Brooks Sherman, Bent Agency.

December 15, 2016
An awkward protagonist takes on an unconventional "haunted" house in this dark middle-grade fantasy from England. Of course 10-year-old Amelia felt very sorry for her cousins after their parents died. But it was still completely unfair that she would have to say goodbye to her own best friend, leave her own perfect home, even share her own parents, and come to live in this horrid old house with 12 rooms and four stories. However, she soon discovers that the house is special, and once she meets not-a-ghost Horatio, who takes her on the most amazing adventures across space and time...why, that makes Amelia special too. But is the price of magic worth it? Amelia's voice--prickly, vain, selfish, book-loving, desperately lonely, and almost as clever as she thinks she is--dominates the narrative. While ethnicity is never mentioned, every character appears to be white and professional class. As clues to the house's real nature and Horatio's secret agenda slowly accumulate behind the exciting (if historically inaccurate) time-traveling set pieces, a sense of menacing dread develops subtly through sinister metaphors and gruesome imagery until it is almost too late. If Amelia's change of heart feels abrupt and her cousins' sudden cooperation unbelievable, her solution to their dire peril is both quick-witted and satisfying. A just-scary-enough adventure that might send readers to investigate more about real-life "calendar houses" like Amelia's new one. (Horror. 8-12)

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January 1, 2017

Gr 4-6-Ten-year-old Amelia Howling's life changes forever when her uncle and aunt are killed in a car accident and her parents take custody of her three cousins. Despite Amelia's protestations, the Howlings move into the cousins' home, and though Amelia doesn't want to be there, she can't help but notice something strange about the house. Horatio, a man who appears from the shadows, tells Amelia the secrets of this special home: it's a Calendar House with 12 rooms, 365 trees, a floor for each season, and many more symbolic elements related to time. The immortal Horatio can travel to any place and time through the door in the attic, and he wants to share this ability with Amelia as his apprentice. At first Amelia is thrilled at the attention, the adventures, and the secret, but she soon learns that all is not as wonderful as it first appears. This engaging, well-written fantasy highlights the importance of memories and relationships. At its heart is Amelia, whose feelings of frustration and loneliness are palpable, and discerning readers will see that it is these very feelings that allow Horatio to convince her to join him. The change in tone when Amelia realizes the truth is stark, and the tension builds to an exciting climax; an epilogue hints that readers may not have seen the last of the Calendar House. VERDICT A solid middle grade fantasy with an intriguing setting and a relatable protagonist.-Amanda Raklovits, Champaign Public Library, IL

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