Ash House - Angharad Walker

When Sol (Solitude) arrives at The Ash House, he can't remember his name or how he managed to get there but he's hoping that this new place will be able to do what all other doctors have failed to do: cure his chronic back pain.  However, he very quickly discovers that things are very different in this house.  The children seem to be on their own but say that the Headmaster will be back soon (but they've been waiting for him to return for 3 years); they are all named after a virtue or 'Niceness' which forms the rules of how they live; their dormitory is in the greenhouse; they each have their set chore and live to a strict daily routine; they hold daily meetings which are based around a phone call from the Headmaster and Concord seems to be in charge.  Sol finds it difficult to settle but a boy called Dom (Freedom) is determined to take him under his wing and help him.  Dom shows him the daily routines and what is expected of everyone, but also worries that the others will discover Sol's sickness; he suffers from debilitating back pain which results in seizures.  As the days progress, Sol realises that the other children seem scared of many things, but mainly the idea of children getting sick which would result in the arrival of the Doctor.  So what happens when the Doctor turns up and decides he can cure Sol of his back pain?  And will he ever escape?  

From the very beginning of this book there is a very definite element of the unknown (Sol can't remember his name and has no idea where he's going or how he got to be in the car that's taking him there) and this is a theme that continues throughout the book.  There is a quiet and, at first, subtle build up of tension which means that you don't quite know who or what to trust - it leaves you unsettled and on edge in the most gripping way!  It starts with the house itself which seems to be made literally of ash and smoke and seems otherworldly in its description, creating an air of mystery (I actually wondered whether it was real at one point).  There are many elements of the house that creeped me out: the fact that they aren't allowed upstairs, the strange noises that can be heard (which later turn out to be the shucks which are equally as scary); the idea that the hut moves of its own accord, not to mention the fact that the children sleep in the greenhouse.  The children themselves were also rather eerie in their attitude and their actions (they seemed to have no concept of the outside world and are terrified of heading beyond the boundary), they are bound by the rules of the Headmaster even though he's been absent for 3 years and are utterly terrified of the Doctor - it all contributes towards the tension and the eeriness of the book.

The Ash House is a creepy book that will grip you, scare you and unsettle you in equal measure, and it will keep you questioning so you find it difficult to put the book down.  It's a chilling MG horror book about friendship, memory and control that will be a hit with readers aged 10+ and I'm looking forward to seeing what my class think of it next term.