The Ash House

About this book

An unsettling, gripping middle grade debut about searching for a sense of belonging in the wrong places, and the bravery it takes to defy those who seek to control us. This is Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children meets Lord of the Flies for fans of Neil Gaiman and Holly Black.

When Eleven-year-old Sol arrives at the Ash House, desperate for a cure for his complex pain syndrome, he finds a community of strange children long abandoned by their mysterious Headmaster.

The children at the Ash House want the new boy to love their home as much as they do. They give him a name like theirs. They show him the dorms and tell him about the wonderful oasis that the Headmaster has created for them. But the new boy already has a name. Doesn't he? At least he did before he walked through those gates...

This was supposed to be a healing refuge for children like him. Something between a school and a summer camp. With kids like him. With pain like his. But no one is allowed to get sick at the Ash House. NO ONE.

And then The Doctor arrives...

Strange things are about to happen at the mysterious Ash House. And the longer Sol spends on the mysterious grounds, the more he begins to forget who he is, the more the other children begin to distrust him, and the worse his pain becomes. But can he hold onto reality long enough to find an escape? And better yet, can he convince the others?

Reviews

Praise for The Ash House

A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year

"The book has an allegorical chill that settles slowly, like damp seeping in... leaving readers with a feeling of ambiguous unease that may stir for a long time in the back of their minds like the aftereffects of a nightmare.” -- The Wall Street Journal

* “An impressive first novel that slowly unfolds its brilliant twists and deceptions.” -- The Bulletin of the Center For Children’s Books, starred review

“An intersection of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and Lord of the Flies.” -- Booklist

“An unexpected—and pleasing—combination of propitious and disquieting.”-- Kirkus Reviews