This Appearing House

Ally Malinenko's This Appearing House is a spooky story for 10 year olds about a house that turns up overnight at the end of a dead-end street.

What happens

Jac is twelve and new in town. She rides her bike round the cul-de-sac on Juniper Drive when she needs to think. One October evening there's a house there that definitely wasn't there last week. Turrets, stained glass, and windows that seem to watch her.

The next morning its doorknob is so cold it takes her breath away.

Jac has a lot to think about. When she was little she was seriously ill, and she's been taking pills every day for five years since. Now the five-year mark is coming, the day she hopes to hear there's no evidence of disease. Her mum is so worried she checks Jac's smile and keeps asking about headaches.

So when Jac starts seeing the House's door where her own front door should be, and falls off her bike for no reason, the big question is horrible. Is the House doing this? Or is she getting ill again?

That's what makes it so gripping. It's creepy, but the scariest part is how real Jac's fear feels.

She's great company too. Clever, stubborn, into science and David Bowie, and very good at pretending she's fine. Her best friend Hazel (named after the rabbit in Watership Down, which the class bully finds out about) talks non-stop and has VERY strong opinions on pizza. They're lovely together.

Then Jac takes Hazel to see the House, and things get a whole lot stranger.

One thing to know before you hand it over. This is a book about a child who survived cancer and is terrified it's coming back. Scans, daily pills, a tutor to help her keep up and a mum who can't stop worrying are all on the page. For a child who's been seriously ill, or has someone poorly at home, it could hit very close. You might want to read it first.

For other readers it's a really thoughtful spooky story about being brave when you're scared. Jac even points out that books usually only tell the story of the sick kid who doesn't make it, and she's the one who lived.

What to read next

For another girl in a new home with a door she really shouldn't open, Coraline is the one to try next.