The Ash House by Angharad Walker (review)

When the new boy arrives at the Ash House, he expects to find someone who can help cure the debilitating back pain that began after his parents died in a house fire. Instead he meets a peculiar group of kids who've never left the property, and he only manages to make one friend, Freedom ("Dom"), from whom he acquires the name Solitude ("Sol"). The residents are governed by Niceness and eager to please their beloved, long-absent Headmaster. Being ill at the heavily surveilled Ash House draws unwanted attention from the unstable and dangerous Doctor, whose surgical intervention renders Sol unable to walk, and as Sol pushes at the Ash House's secrets and restrictions, the Doctor's controls move from subtle to overt savagery. This is an impressive first novel that slowly unfolds its brilliant twists and deceptions as chapters shift focalization between Dom and Sol. The book deftly builds its strange dystopian world of ash and smoke and desperate cooperation, and readers will quickly grasp that something is amiss even behind that front; the note of disturbance is an ever-growing hum until it finally bursts into full-on horror. Walker cleverly leaves the reality of the events a question mark, with evidence plentiful for this being Sol's mental concoction but also for this being a gothic reality, and the teasing ending will allow readers to argue with conviction for either interpretation. This selection would make an excellent option for close reading and developing analytical skills, and it'll be a must for educators looking to spark a classroom debate. Readers will sit back and revel in the uncertainty.