by Nancy Bond
First published 1980
Fourteen-year-old Penelope steps into the old stone house in northern England with her new family. The isolation of their surroundings matches the unease growing inside her. Something feels wrong about this place, though she cannot name what it is. The house sits heavy and silent around them, and Penelope finds herself watching the shadows, waiting for something to happen. Her instincts prove accurate when summer arrives. The months that follow bring events that confirm her worst fears about their new home. What began as a fresh start for her reconstituted family becomes something darker. The foreboding that gripped Penelope from her first day in the stone house unfolds into reality, testing her courage and forcing her to confront dangers she never imagined.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, coming-of-age, mystery, gothic-horror, family-drama
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, haunted-house, unreliable-narrator
Setting: England, Northern England
Period: 20th Century
271 pages · Hardcover · Atheneum
Content warnings: anxiety, depression