Another YA novel I fiercely enjoyed reading even though two decades have passed since my adolescence. This story is thoughtful, finely tuned and heartbreaking. I also liked the way the author composed the words:

'I have hatred in my heart for the man who lives at 758 (..) It came from the same place in my mind where the grief and doubt and anger also grew out of absolute numbness. Is there a stem cell for feelings? Can we intercept them before they grow out of control?' (77%)

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book.

I am all about coming of age stories, and this one definitely goes on top 10 on my list. The characters are not complex to understand and they are extremely relatable. I read this book in a blink of an eye. I only kept this book down when I had to. An effortless read with a delightful ending definitely appeals to YA audience. I love to read about summer of teens, lost, yet to be found, protagonists. Author has created evolved characters and draws excellent parallels between past and present, it also has an unexpected twist. You would crack it before hand if you are looking for hints consciously. Even though the plot is a tragedy the story leaves you feeling better somehow.

In all honesty, I didn't have high expectations for this one. It wasn't a top choice when I first read its description on NetGalley, just a whim request.

I'm really glad I requested it.

The House at 758 is an English translation of the Spanish La Casa 758 (I'm not totally sure why the book was originally written in Spanish, as its author appears to be an anglophile from the San Francisco Bay Area, but maybe I misunderstood something, and this really has nothing to do with anything beyond my own inherent curiosity). It's a book about grief, told from the eyes of a teenager.

Krista is 16-going-on-17 and still reeling from the death of her mother a couple years prior. It's summer vacation, so her best friend's out of town, she's stuck at home, and her physician father is in and out (along with his new live-in girlfriend and the two kids she has partial custody over). Everyone seems to be moving on and looking toward the future except Krista. Krista doesn't want to. She doesn't want to forget, or let go of her grief and anger over what transpired that led to her mother's death.

Poorly written novels on this topic could go one of two ways: they could let readers know upfront what happened in plain English and hyper-focus on the details throughout the story or they could repeatedly yank the chain and keep readers guessing (when, let's be honest, we all know it's going to be cancer, a car accident, or some random mugging, depending on the clues an author drops liberally throughout the story).

The House at 758 takes a different approach. We know something's wrong at the outset. We know it's Krista's mother who died. For a little while, it's not explicitly stated what happened, but that gets revealed organically as the plot winds along. I liked that. I also appreciated the introduction of a romantic interest for Krista that helped her heal rather than focusing on romance as an overwhelming part of the story. Krista crushes just enough for it to be realistic without crushing so hard I want to throw a hammer at her. We also see her father's girlfriend's actions and words interpreted through Krista's partiality, which transitions from highly critical to a growing understanding. That's great emotional character development, in my opinion, especially when we're dealing with a teenage narrator.

The introduction of a visit from Krista's grandfather came about later in the story than I'd anticipated given the novel's summary, but it worked well, and helped Krista along on her emotional recovery.

I also appreciated the subtly of how socio-ecnomic status was introduced in this story. Krista comes from an affluent family, and that's reflected in a couple ways, from the neighborhood where she lives to the car she drives, then contrasted with a couple other characters whose families aren't quite as well off financially. I would've loved for the author to explore this even more explicitly, but I realize that wasn't the point of this story and appreciate that it was introduced at all.

There were just a few things that kept me from giving this an outright 5-stars, and one's a bit subjective - nothing emotionally impacted me as much as other books I've read that I've given the 5-star rating to (told you). The other is an issue with what I imagine was meant to be a surprise reveal near the end that I didn't really buy. I won't give spoilers here, but I didn't feel like enough clues were offered beforehand (or in a way that made me question what was happening enough to appreciate the addition of a surprise twist to the grief Krista was experiencing, is perhaps a better way to put it). That meant when it actually got sprung near the end of the story I had a "wait, huh?" moment, then found myself shrugging a bit and moving on. It felt like it cheapened what was otherwise a very well written story about the long-lasting effects of grief. Unnecessary. Also probably not the emotional impact the author was going for.

On the whole though, this is the best YA story I've read in awhile, and one I'd recommend to anyone looking for a contemporary, character-driven novel with a teenage protagonist. High praise, considering how picky I've been about what I'm reading in this genre lately.

This was a good read. I enjoyed the story of the house at 758 and what it held. This novel handles trauma, love, relationships, and family life in a really nice way with various different characters. I really love the way the grandfather is presented in the novel as well as the bird Charlie I think they both symbolize growth extremely well. I also love the history of the grandfather as well as the reveal of Krista's family towards the end. A wonderful read.