This Appearing House by Ally Malinenko
Four out of Five Magical Coffee Cups
I will start by pointing out that this book does have to do with a child with cancer. I know this could be hard for some people to read.
Jac sees a house at the end of a street that she knows was not there before—it is like the house just appeared one day. Jac and her friend Hazel enter the house and find they cannot escape. The house wants something from Jac, and she cannot leave until she gives it what she wants.
The horrors in this house are really terrifying. There are all sorts of ghosts, wailing, pounding on the walls, and random tasks. At one point, she ends up in an Oubliette, and all I could think of was the movie Labyrinth. It does have some Labyrinth vibes. She has to get through the house (or the labyrinth) before it’s too late. The walls change, and doors appear and disappear at random. There was a man named Mr. Nobody who gave her a little bit of an explanation of what she needed to do, so I guess he was a little like the Goblin King. I do love Labyrinth, so I started to really like this book.
As they start to move through the house they meet all sorts of people? I’m not sure I can even say people, maybe creatures? They all seem to be trying to trick her and keep her in the house or convince her to just give up.
I looked this book up and saw that the publisher recommended it for grades 3 and up. There were other library publications (school library journal) that had it at 5th grade and up. I’m not sure I would be handing this book to a third-grader. I’m sure plenty of them would dive right in, but I would hate to find out they had all sorts of nightmares because of this book. I will admit to reading the Goosebumps books in elementary school, but this one felt a little scarier. There were some really terrifying things in that house!
Literary Coffee 