Book Review: The House That Whispers

By Lin Thompson 

4 Stars

The House that Whispers is a book following an 11-year-old named Simon, who is struggling with his gender identity and his family. His parents are having relationship issues and drop him off at their Grandmother's house to have a break from Simon and his two sisters, Rose and Talia. This book details Simon trying to discover the secrets of the house, along with the feeling that the house might be haunted given the strange things happening in the house, such as strange smells or scratching in the walls. So Simon sets out to hunt the ghost living in his Grandmother's home while discovering more about the ghost and himself.  

This book is really good at balancing all of its messages and themes well, tying in the plot of Simon's gender identity with the ghost he's looking for. Each new information he finds brings him closer to the ghost in ways he wasn't expecting. This book has tense moments and does a good job of showing how active an 11-year-old's mind can be in a strange situation like this one. The book treats Simon's gender identity and his being in the closet with care and respect, and it treats his coming out to his family members with care. There are many scenes where the book brings his gender to light in dialogue from his sisters or his Grandmother, things that might not seem like much but can hurt a lot from the perspective of a trans person. Overall, I recommend this book as it's a good and interesting story that ties in family dynamics and LGBTQ+ themes into the ghost plot. 

Reviewed by Martin

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