The Haunted House Project

September 5, 2016
Writing in the candid voice of a 13-year-old whose mother recently died in a car accident, debut novelist Clasen offers a heartrending portrait of a family coping with sudden and enormous loss. As Andie’s unemployed father buries his grief in alcohol and gambling, Andie worries about her older sister, who works long shifts as a waitress and seems to have shelved her college aspirations. Realizing that her mother “was the glue, and without her, maybe we’ll never stick together again,” Andie resolves to pull her family back together again by convincing her father and sister (and, to a degree, herself) that her mother’s ghost is haunting their home. Unsurprisingly, her well-intentioned tactics—spraying perfume, playing music, writing a message in dust—are more unsettling than comforting, yet they trigger honest conversation that lets the family begin to heal. Clasen steers clear of melodrama, anchoring the story with authentic characters and emotions. Other affecting threads of the plot include the solace Andie finds in her mother’s journals and her new friendship with a geeky, big-hearted boy. Ages 8–12. Agent: Jen Linnan, Linnan Literary Management.

A family crisis challenges 13-year-old Andie to the utmost. The white girl's family has been falling apart since her mother died. Her 17-year-old sister, Paige, now works long hours to support the family, while their father spends most of his time away from the house, gambling or drinking. To make things worse, Andie's friends at school are losing patience with her changed behavior as she tries to deal with the grief and the stress. Things change when she is assigned to do a science project with her nerdy lab partner, Isaiah. Tapping into her fascination with the paranormal, Andie convinces Isaiah to do a haunted-house experiment in which Andie pretends to be her mother's ghost at home. Andie hopes that the ghostly reminders she leaves out for her father and sister will jolt them out of their sadness and remind them of a happier time. Though she knows this experiment isn't exactly honest, she will do anything to bring her family back to life. Clasen sensitively depicts narrator Andie's navigation of her new reality as she attends group-therapy sessions at school, allows herself to get to know her mother through her mother's journals, and embraces new friends. Nerdy, black Isaiah is a particularly appealing supporting character. A touching story that explores grief and the bravery necessary to come out of it. (Fiction. 8-12) COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 1, 2016

Gr 4-6-Thirteen-year-old Andie, who has a passion for ghosts, has tragically lost her mother, and neither she nor her family are able to regroup. Her father has developed a gambling addiction, and her older sister is scrambling to keep food on the table as she grieves in her own isolated way. When Andie and her science partner, Isaiah, need an idea for a science project, they decide to study the paranormal. Andie develops an experiment of her own; she leaves reminders of her mother (a spray of perfume, moved photographs, and words written on dusty surfaces), hoping to rouse her family from their sadness. This is an honest portrayal of one girl's grief and her mixed-up ways of trying to cope in a world of pain and silence. Multiple, and sometimes disjointed, story lines are in keeping with the adolescent first-person narration. The time line of a subplot involving the protagonist having to choose between her old group of friends and her budding friendship with Isaiah doesn't quite add up, which may confuse readers. The novel ends with Andie and her family in a better, if not perfect, place after a rapid resolution in the final pages. The hopefulness of the message that things can get better will appeal to tweens. VERDICT Those looking for emotion and drama will find it in these pages. An additional purchase for larger collections.-John Scott, Friends School of Baltimore

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