A riveting middle-grade fantasy about sibling bonds, enchanted houses, and encroaching wildness, lyrically told in eerily beautiful prose
The grass grew taller than the house itself, surrounding it on all sides. It stuffed the keyholes and scraped against the roof. It shook the walls and made paintings shiver.
Seven years ago, the Ballastian sisters’ parents left them in the magical Straygarden Place, a house surrounded by tall silver grass and floating trees. They left behind a warning saying never to leave the house or go into the grass. “Wait for us,” the note read. “Sleep darkly.” Ever since then, the house itself has taken care of Winnow, Mayhap, and Pavonine—feeding them, clothing them, even keeping them company—while the girls have waited and grown up and played a guessing game: Think of an animal, think of a place. Think of a person, think of a face. Until one day, when the eldest, fourteen-year-old Winnow, does the unthinkable and goes outside into the grass, and everything twelve-year-old Mayhap thought she knew about her home, her family, and even herself starts to unravel. With luscious, vivid prose, poet and author Hayley Chewins transports readers to a house where beloved little dogs crawl into their owners’ minds to sleep, sick girls turn silver, and anything can be stolen—even laughter and silence.
This is the best kind of middle grade as it imaginative, includes fun elements and is easily read in one sitting. I enjoy long books that i can get lost in for hours and enjoy for days on end. In the rush of everything some days are just to packed with stuff for that to be possible so it nice that this book i read in just a few hours. It made me smile, laugh, brought up sweet memories of my own sisters. It opens with a magical house, magical grass and some very different animals. At the heart of it is a mystery that is solved in a timely manner. I think even a reluctant reader would be able to pick this up and enjoy it.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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14 September, 2020:
Finished reading
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14 September, 2020:
Reviewed