Unfortunately I was unable to get into this one and did not finish it. Many thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to review this title.

The house at 758 by Kathryn Berla.
Kirkus ReviewsSixteen year old Krista is still grieving the untimely death of her mother when her father's new girlfriend moves into their home. He's already moved on and wants Krista to do the same, but she's not ready to resume a normal life yet. Distancing herself from those around her, Krista spends all of her time obsessively watching a mysterious house, the house at 758.When a fellow classmate, Jake, takes a sudden interest in her, Krista feels excited for the first time in two years, but feelings of guilt consume her, and she ends up pushing Jake away. It isn't until her grandfather makes a surprise visit from Venezuela that Krista is finally able to confront her grief and begin to let things go.
A great read with good characters. I liked the story. Read in 3 days. 4*.

It was a decent coming of age type story with the character dealing with grief. I appreciate the way it touched on depression. Although, the story seemed to drag on in many parts, it was overall an ok read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I like books that are character-centered, where we follow their progress and development until the very end. While the story of “The House at 758” seemed like something I would enjoy, the way this novel was executed made it a little difficult for me to do so.

My main complaint is the main character: she was a total headache. She is trying to deal with her mom’s recent death but fails at it. It’s understandable that she has many feelings going on inside of her but I don’t think it was enough of a reason to treat others in the worst way possible. Her grieving wasn’t explored in its totality to understand her behavior and choices and, wasn’t that what the book was about?

Besides that, the way the scenes go on and the characters interact with each other, it all felt a little underdeveloped. For example, the main character meeting her love interest and having a little bit of insta-love without much of a background story (or a relationship that grows without any effort.) Overall, I don’t think this is a horrible book, more like I wasn’t really the target audience for it, but still, the author needed to polish many things. I’d like to believe that if I had read this book back when I was younger, I probably would’ve enjoyed it more. This can easily be a solid 3 stars read for many, unfortunately not the case for me.

This could've been a powerful short story, instead became a long, dragged, mellow book. That literally summarizes my opinion of this book.

What I liked: the exploration of family dynamics and feelings after parental loss, part-Venezuelan protagonist (so some diversity!)

What I didn't like: Filler moments. So many of them. From the protagonist's (Krista) day to day routine to unnecessary back stories and letters. Slowed down the pace of this, made it boring instead of a powerful story.

Book Review
Title: The House at 758
Author: Kathryn Berla
Genre: YA/Family
Rating: *****
Review: All I knew about The House at 759 was it follows 16 year old Krista, whose mother has died and while her father is moving on she is struggling to do the same. We are introduced to Krista as she has become obsessed with House 758 after the death of her mother and she can’t cope with the fact that her father has already moved on with another woman, Marie who is now living with them and it seems like they are trying to make the best of a bad situation but Krista isn’t ready to let go just yet. Krista’s best friend Lyla is going to Maine for the summer and Krista’s father has told her she needs to do something with her summer instead of sitting around. Even though we haven’t been told we can assume Krista’s mother has been dead over a year and the day Marie moved in, Krista moved into her tent on the garage roof, so they don’t actually live in the same house as each other.
As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, Krista’s father doesn’t even seem to realise that his daughter is drowning in her grief as she is skipping her therapy sessions, doesn’t see any of her friends except Lyla and even begins stealing. The stealing is something which is going to develop as the novel progresses I believe as the boy working in the store, Jake, is someone that knows her from school and even comes to her house to find out why she stole from the store even when she has the money to pay for it but he doesn’t turn her in and I think that is because he knows about the situation she is in right now. Her father has also told her she will be looking after her grandfather when he arrives from Venezuela while he, Marie and Marie’s children are going to Disneyland. The responsibility of caring for Charlie the parakeet which belonged to her mother has also fallen to Krista as her father seems to have forgotten about him completely.
As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, after Jake comes by she decides to return the item she stole and apologize which prompts Jake to come around again and talk to her. He invites her to a street fair in Napa the next day and without consulting her father or Marie she accepts. Before they go out, Marie asks her to pick some stuff up for the kids and as she wants Marie on her side she says just but we can clearly see Krista resents Marie and the space she has taken that belonged to her mother. That night when she goes out with Jake, they have a great time but when he tries to kiss Krista at the end of the night she pushes him away because she doesn’t feel that she deserves to be happy and despite the crushing loneliness she feels she also doesn’t want to do anything to change that. We can also see that her father and Marie are trying to get her more involved with the younger kids but she doesn’t want to even speak to the people she doesn’t feel belong in her family even if it does make her father happy.
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, Krista seems to have an okay relationship with Chad, Marie’s son while Emma, her daughter is quite little. Krista ends up taking to house 758 and there seems to be something about this house that draws Krista in and her father wants her to stay away from it. When her dad confronts her about taking the children there, he wants her to go back to therapist and she sees getting really mad at him but we do get a heart warming scene between Chad and Krista where he says she doesn’t have to explain herself because he gets it and when he confesses to lying about seeing Jake flirting with another girl, she can’t even summon the energy to be mad at him for it because he doesn’t want to get inside her head like everyone else.
As we cross into the second half of the novel, Krista hasn’t reconnected with Jake after the terrible ending to their date but she is building a connection with Chad and his love of soccer even inspires her to get back into fitness herself, even if it isn’t swimming. We also get three major scenes in this part of the novel as we learn Krista’s mother was killing by Omar Aziz who was texting while driving and the house Krista has been going to is his home. Omar was convicted as a minor and only served two years because his family was financial dependent on him after his father was killed in Afghanistan as he was a translator with the US military. Omar had been working three jobs the night he killed Krista’s mother and was texting his boss. Krista doesn’t seem to hate him but she can’t let Omar go and she feels that two years wasn’t enough for taking her mother away. Krista and her father have a massive argument over this which leads to both of them breaking down, showing neither has really moved on from it even though it seemed like it on the surface. The final big scene is where we are introduced to Krista’s grandfather, Gyuri and he explains grief, loss and moving on in a way that is simple for Krista to understand. She is also considering finishing her mother’s documentary about her family’s history with the Holocaust, which might help her find some closure.
As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, there seems to be something wrong with Krista’s grandfather but we don’t know what it is yet but they spend some quality tome together as he has given her unspoken permission to finish her mother’s project as he tells her all about his life growing up in Nazi Germany and how his entire family was taken and killed by them in different ways which she records in her mother’s unfinished journal. She is also back talking to Jake and they are in a relationship now, they even start running together which helps effectively take her mind of Omar and what he did to their family. I did like the fact that the state of the family in reflected in Charlie, the bird, who looks very sickly at the beginning of the book but by the time Gyuri has been there a few days he is beginning to heal, much like Krista and the family in general.
As we cross into the final section of the novel, finally found some resolution but it does leave us with the message that things like loss and grief don’t go away overnight, in fact they never go away, you just notice it less as time passes. By the end, we see a brief confrontation between Omar and Krista but she can’t say anything in that moment, and we also learn that it wasn’t just Krista’s mother that died that day but her younger sister, Lucy too. However, as the novel draws to a close we see that Krista has started seeing her therapist again taking her grandfather’s word to heart, she relationship with Jake is great and the relationship with her father is getting better. Together, she and her father visit the Aziz family one last time although we don’t know what happened in this interaction. Her father and Marie also take a break thinking of what is best for their children before getting into a relationship that neither of them is really ready for. Overall, The House at 758 was beautiful and heartfelt and made me tear up more than once.

The House at 758 is a coming-of-age book that narrates how a 16 year-old girl navigates through the grief of losing her mom and her sister.
Personally, I feel like the "mystery" at the beginning of the book got too stretched and didn't really had a defined purpose: it kinda bored me, instead of keeping me on the edge.
Insta-love plots aren't really my thing, so I was a little bit annoyed when Jake made an appearance and Krista immediately fell for him. But he turned out to be nice support system to Krista, helping to keep herself on track.
I loved Krista's grandpa, how wise and understanding he was. I was hooked as soon as he began telling her about his life during WWII. But what I didn't like is that I felt that there was no closure about her grandpa's illness.
Actually, this book has a lot of loose ends. I felt it lacked a proper ending.

Unfortunately I didn't finish this book, as I couldn't get into it - nothing against the author or book, just not to my personal taste. Thank you for the opportunity to read it.

This is a beautifully written coming-of-age tale about teenager Krista, as she struggles with the aftermath of her mom's death. Krista is still grieving, even though her dad has seemingly moved on with new girlfriend Marie. As she navigates life seemingly alone, she continues to visit the house of the man who killed her mother, trying to make sense of it all.

The House at 758 is a powerful, heartbreaking depiction of grief and how it can alter a life. The book focuses on not just Krista but also her family, which makes this book even more emotional. Though sometimes, I felt as though this book could have been edited down, perhaps into more of a novella, as there were parts that were not really relevant, and pulled me out of the story.

That said, The House at 758 is a fantastic read and I'd love to read more from this author in the future.

Tragedy and grief are ultimately at the forefront of this read, and I feel that Kathryn Berla handled the subjects with grace. I enjoyed this book, and I feel it will stick with me for some time.

THis book was difficult to finish so I chose not to. The writing was not enjoyable and the story was uninteresting despite the decription.

The House at 758 is a simple story, calm and relaxing, but powerful. It's about how one small moment in someone's life can make a lifelong impact in someone else's life. These important messages are delivered through Berla's lyrical prose that was easy to enjoy. Although a shorter read, this book doesn't lack in characterization or depth, for the most part.

Love this coming of age story. It was really enjoyable and relatable. Loved the interesting plot points as well as the fluidity of the writing. There were some really amazing quotes I liked to highlight as well as the beautiful cover. Very good book I would definitely recommend it.

This was a good read, a sweet look at loss, love, forgiveness and moving forward well written a brilliant coming of age strongly recommend!

Krista is 16 and having a rough time. Still grieving the loss of her mother, she's horrified when her father's new girlfriend moves into their house. Facing a summer without her best friend, Krista feels like she's all alone. Despite advice coming from all sorts of people, Krista spends her time shoplifting, hanging out in a tent on the roof, and flirting with Jake, a guy who works at the store she likes to shoplift from. When her grandfather comes to visit, Krista starts to finally open up and heal.

A debut novel with depth and heart, Berla's novel does a superb job of not only developing the voice of its main character but offering readers prose that is moving, authentic, and memorable. There's plenty for readers to explore alongside Krista here, including issues of first relationships, loss, and low self-esteem. Relevant, relatable, and memorable, this is a strong debut from an author who has a lot to offer teens.

A well told story about loss, life, moving on, growing up, understanding others and trying to find your path again after losing your way because of loss.

Its not necessarily a book for everyone since i would guess that not everyone understand why and how the characters are behaving in some situations as they do. but i personally liked it and would recommend it.

I was so looking forward to this book because I thought I would connect so much with it, especially because of the The Grandpa but. even though the writing was really good some parts were irrelevant and repetitive and not convincing.

I really enjoyed reading this book - the characters felt real and the plot moved quickly enough that I didn't want to put it down.

An interesting book! I greatly enjoyed this one from beginning to end. Full review coming soon on my blog.

The story is very emotional, touching and engaging. Krista is missing her mother who has passed away. And isn't happy about her dad moving in with another woman. She is depressed. Though she intially gets attracted to a guy, she quickly breaks up with him when he comes closer. Krista often keeps a watch on the house at 758. Her life is anything but happy. Soon her grandfather is expected to come and that introduces a turn in the story. The main character is very well thought and you feel a connection with her.