The House That Whispers by Lin Thompson | Blog tour

Genre: Middle Grade Contemporary

Publishing Date: February 28, 2023

Synopsis:

From the author of The Best Liars in Riverview comes a subtle exploration of gender identity, family, and the personal ghosts that haunt us all, perfect for fans of Kyle Lukoff and Ashley Herring Blake.

Eleven-year-old Simon and his siblings, Talia and Rose, are staying the week at Nanaleen’s century-old house. This time, though, it’s not their usual summer vacation trip. In fact, everything’s different. It’s fall, not summer. Mom and Dad are staying behind to have a “talk.” And Nanaleen’s house smells weird, plus she keeps forgetting things. And these aren’t the only things getting under Simon’s skin: He’s the only one who knows that his name is Simon, and that he and him pronouns are starting to feel right. But he’s not ready to add to the changes that are already in motion in his family.

To make matters worse, Simon keeps hearing a scratching in the walls, and shadows are beginning to build in the corners. He can’t shake the feeling that something is deeply wrong…and he’s determined to get to the bottom of it—which means launching a ghost hunt, with or without his sisters’ help. When Simon discovers the hidden story of his great-aunt Brie, he realizes that Brie’s life might hold answers to some of his worries. Is Brie’s ghost haunting the old O’Hagan house? And will Simon’s search for ghosts turn up more secrets than he ever expected?

My Review:

This book talked about many things and did it all too well. “The House that Wishpers” by Lin Thompson is my second book by the author. I loved the first book, The Best Liars in Riverview, but not as much as I loved this book.

Simon’s character is well-portrayed throughout the book. The story starts with a car ride to Simon’s grandmother’s house for a summer break. He was an 11-year-old kid who was super good at imagining things and was so “sure” that his granny’s house was haunted. No, it’s not truly haunted; it’s just a distraction that Simon made up in his mind so hard that he believed it was true rather than face the reality of changes happening in his family.

Simon’s sister, Talia, spends more time with her friend than with him, his parent’s unusual behavioral change that he thought might end up in divorce, and his grandmother getting older; all these changes happened one by one. He couldn’t process it at all. I love the author’s choice of adding a horror touch to the story as a distraction that Simon needed. It makes the story more engaging.

Simon and his sisters, Talia and Rose, bonding in the story is so heartwarming near the end of the book that it made me love it so much. They are all so supportive of each other. Even though there were some misunderstandings and hard feelings at times, they ended up being there for each other. I couldn’t love it more, that’s all I can say.

This story touched on many topics like gender identity, sibling bonding, accepting changes, and accepting who we are. It’s such a fantastic read. I highly recommend it to all.

My rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Thank you TBR and Beyond Tours for providing me with the arc of this book.

Click here for Tour schedule to see more reviews.

Book links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | IndieBound

Favorite Quotes:

I like the feeling when you’ve got a gap in the row and you don’t know how you’re going to fix it, and then the right piece comes along and you can slot it perfectly into place.

You’re allowed to have feelings, you know. You don’t have to be happy all the time.

Playlist:

About the author:

Lin Thompson (they/them) is a former children’s librarian, a Lambda Literary Fellow, and the author of two books for middle-grade readers: The Best Liars in Riverview (Little, Brown, 2022), which is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection and received a starred review from Booklist, and The House That Whispers (Little, Brown, 2023). Lin grew up playing pretend games in the backyard and basement of their home in Kentucky. Now they get to write pretend stories in the backyard and basement of their home in Des Moines, IA, where they live with their wife and cat.

Author links:

Website | Twitter | Goodreads