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I won’t go too much into it as I don’t want to spoil anything but the way Hart worked up to the ending was so thought provoking and the allegory was so well done. At least, the way I interpreted it? But that’s the best thing about books isn’t it, everyone can take things for their own. I love so many spooky books that it’s hard to choose. My current favourites are Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas and The Dead and the Dark by Courtney Gould. I also love graphic novels. Two brilliant ones for autumn are Sheets by Brenna Thummler and Mooncakes by Wendy Xu and Suzanne Walker. My favourite spooky films would have to be Practical Magic, and The Craft. Two witchy classics! For TV, I’m a big fan of Good Omens and, of course, Stranger Things. For cosy autumn vibes it’s hard to beat Gilmore Girls. But I think Buffy the Vampire Slayer will forever by my favourite. The Other Ones is a contemporary YA queer romance and ghost story. Sal is a bit strange, least of all because he lives in a notorious haunted house in his small English town. Pax is the new kid in town and also kind of weird. They form an unlikely friendship that soon turns into more. But between the haunting and a shameful family secret, their romance may not pull through. I’d love to be like Pax. He is both thoroughly weird and completely at peace with who he is. But I think, really, I’m more like Sal. I’m a real introvert, just like him, and we both have a terrible coffee addiction. He can be a bit grumpy, but his family and friends mean everything to him. I definitely found him very easy to write! I love how Sal gradually started liking Pax. A soft enemies to lovers. He took to noticing what sweaters Pax wore, where he sat and, occasionally, what he was eating. Sal seemed to try to push everyone away but Pax wasn't having any of it.
This is billed as spooky and haunted but I perhaps would disagree, it is eerie ish but the focus is more so on recovery and healing from grief, found family and first love. Sadly, none of that was strong enough to push past the negatives. The fact it began like a "There once was a haunted house..." Harry Potter-esque story with too much floral purple prose only added to the problem. When you're told the story is one thing, but never shown the truth until the end - and it's revealed like you/the other characters must have been some kind of gullible idiot for not knowing better - it really doesn't inspire my forgiveness for the lingering and deliberate deception. Then there’s the new boy, Pax, who won’t leave Sal alone. His idea of a good time is hanging out in graveyards. And, for some reason, Sal just can’t stay away.Sal hates standing out. But he lives in a haunted house – and everybody knows it. His oldest friend, Dirk, tries to help… but he wants to stay popular, and Sal isn’t helping. Elsie was popular – until recently. Now she’s on the outcast’s table too… and she doesn’t want to talk about it. I am eager to read more from this author. This book was so comforting that I believe it may just be high on my comfort read lists.
The winners of the Diverse Book Awards 2023 have been announced, with one winner from each of the four categories announced: Picture book, Children... I expected Sal to be secretly bisexual or to get an awakening towards being bi, but I was immensely disappointed by the bi-erasure of this little nugget - "It explained why he had never enjoyed kissing girls much." *sigh* Everybody knows the haunted house in the neighbourhood. Unfortunately this means that young Sal, who prefers to stay hidden, is thrown into the spot light. He envies an ordinary life with ordinary experiences but a strange boy, Pax, winds up on his door step, and his life grows even more complicated. Their unlikely friendship grows and flourishes, but the true meaning behind the hauntings puts their unlikely friendship at risk. United by being outcasts, Sal becomes friends with others who are just as marginalised.We are experiencing delays with deliveries to many countries, but in most cases local services have now resumed. For more details, please consult the latest information provided by Royal Mail's International Incident Bulletin.
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