Title: The International House of Dereliction

Author: Jacqueline Davies

Publisher: Clarion Books 2023

Genre: MG Fantasy

Pages: 227

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Ten-year-old Alice is moving for the eleventh time.

She’s lived in so many houses, each more broken than the last, that home to Alice is nothing more than a place you fix and then a place you leave. After all, who needs a permanent home when you’re a whiz at fixing things?

But when Alice arrives at her new home, she can’t take her eyes off the house next door, the stately dark house that hulked in the dimming light. The once-grand mansion, now dilapidated and condemned, beckons Alice; it's the perfect new repair job!

As Alice begins to restore the House to its former splendor, she senses strange presences. Is there a heartbeat coming from the House’s walls? Is someone looking at her? Soon she realizes she’s not alone. Three ghosts have been watching, and they need Alice’s help to solve their unfinished business.

Will Alice be able to unravel the mysteries of the House and find her forever home . . . before it’s too late?

Apparently I really enjoy quirky and/or horror middle grade. Do not give me a straight coming-of-age story or a beautiful family story. I want weird characters and slightly fantastical and/or absurd situations. This one was such a lovely story involving a quirky family and a collection of lost ghosts. Alice grabbed me right away. I would have loved having Alice as a friend when I was 10 years old. I think our weirdness would compliment each other. I loved following her as she attempts to scratch her home improvement itch while also wrestling with the meanings of family and belonging. Such a cute little book with lots of atmosphere. Perfect for my fall reading.

Next up on the TBR pile: