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An ARC copy of this book was provided to me in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts are my own.
MY REVIEW:
A true horror story in all its perfection! When I went into this book, I had every expectation that it was going to have a haunted house creepy vibe to it. But the author really gave homage to a classic horror story in this one.
While using a phenomenal comparison and contrast between the main characters mental diagnosis and the experiences throughout the story, you really get to immerse yourself in everything that happens.
A family already torn apart by a near tragedy, they continue to experience the calling of death that is on their door step. Some of my favorite lines from the book:
“Clearly, this house was in need of, as Mom put it, ‘a lot of love.’ But was anything truly wrong with it – or was I only seeing, yet again, my own mental distortions?”
A Place For Vanishing by Ann Fraistat
“Just as a caterpillar undergoes dramatic transformation to evolve into a butterfly, Myers believed that only in death could humans achieve their superior form.”
A Place For Vanishing by Ann Fraistat
More than impressed with the authors ability to write such an immersive story; one that aligns a higher message with the inner workings of the plot. I couldn’t put this book down and I was even more terrified of bugs than I already was after getting through the first few chapters. When a book has the ability to bring the pieces of itself to life in this manner, I am also a hooked fan for life!
GET IT HERE:
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A teen girl and her family return to her mother’s childhood home, only to discover that the house’s strange beauty may disguise a sinister past, in this contemporary gothic horror from the author of What We Harvest.
The house was supposed to be a fresh start. That’s what Libby’s mom said. And after Libby’s recent bipolar III diagnosis and the tragedy that preceded it, Libby knows she and her family need to find a new normal.
But Libby’s new home turns out to be anything but normal. Scores of bugs haunt its winding halls, towering stained-glass windows feature strange, insectile designs, and the garden teems with impossibly blue roses. And then there are the rumors. The locals, including the mysterious boy next door, tell stories about disappearances tied to the house, stretching back over a century to its first owners. Owners who supposedly hosted legendary masked séances on its grounds.
Libby’s mom refuses to hear anything that could derail their family’s perfect new beginning, but Libby knows better. The house is keeping secrets from her, and something tells her that the key to unlocking them lies in the eerie, bug-shaped masks hidden throughout the property.
We all wear masks—to hide our imperfections, to make us stronger and braver. But if Libby keeps hers on for too long, she might just lose herself—and everyone she loves.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ann Fraistat
Ann Fraistat is an author, playwright, and narrative designer. Her debut novel is What We Harvest, out now with Delacorte Press, and her second book, A Place for Vanishing, is coming January 16, 2024. Her co-author credits include plays such as Romeo & Juliet: Choose Your Own Ending, and alternate reality games sponsored by the National Science Foundation. She lives in Maryland.
For more, find her at annfraistat.com, or connect on Twitter or Instagram @annfrai
Adventures in Literature 
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