The story follows Pat as he and his family are forced to move out of their house into the extended family’s summer home after their grandma burned their own house down. While there, his brother gets possessed by a spirit that does not immediately realize that he’s dead and he must find a way to put the spirit to rest before the possession kills his brother.
The story was really cute. It’s very much intended for a younger audience with frequent references to stuff like Doctor Who and Eurovision, which places the story very squarely in the UK1 and I always like seeing that. It is, however, definitely a book that takes place in an older time and some of the references haven’t necessarily aged well.
The focus of the story is Pat and he really does feel like a teenager, with his concern for his brother being paired with choices that feel like they would make sense to someone his age. It’s nice seeing books where teenagers act more like teenagers than short adults, and are prone to that combination of turning to their parents when they are lost while not wanting to actually tell their parents what the problem is and expecting them to intuit it without having to voice that concern. I really liked those moments.
Overall, it was cute and it’s a nice quick read. If it sounds interesting to you, check it out!
- Ireland specifically? There were a lot of very specific references, but I didn’t pay that much attention… [↩]