<This is
a standalone novel.>
If she can enter the House, she can save her sister. This
is what Birdie believes, so she’s blackmailed her way in as a maid. She truly
is a maid, having worked as one since she was 10. She’s now 16. She saved all
of her money for her little sister, Magpie, to have the procedure and hopefully
gain a special ability that would get her family off the poorest streets of
Sootcity. She always thought Magpie would be a good outward empath. Birdie
enters the House of Quiet, which is surrounded by a peat bog. She works hard,
but has her eye on the House Wife’s door. Of her fellow maids, Rabbit is very
green and Minnow has clearly never worked as one. The only residents of the
House are all from wealthy families, so she’s boggled as to why they’re there.
They all appear to have abilities, even though none claim to have undergone the
procedure. Their abilities are not all obvious. What is obvious is that things
are not right. There are only more mysteries. There is handsome and silent
Forest, clever River, trapped-in-his-mind Nimbus, wants-to-be-helpful Dawn,
what-is-she-talking-about Lake, and scary Sky. Even without the un-navigable
bog, the House of Quiet is a desolate, dangerous place. It holds sinister
secrets and terrible truths. Birdie only wants the House to hold Magpie, and
she can’t be found.
The
latest from White is a dark gothic YA fantasy that is a standalone novel, but
could easily start a series. It’s claustrophobic and all-consuming, and that is
a compliment. It’s mysterious with a chilling air without being downright scary
and is balanced with sparks of sarcasm and a whole lot of empathy. This group –
with their different classes in a dystopian-like world – becomes an unlikely
group of friends, even when they don’t all trust each other initially (and
shouldn’t, as one was sent to kill another). There is struggle where there is
also great privilege and friendship through darkness and nightmares. This tale
is imaginative and clever with an explosive ending. Get ready to ignite the
rebellion with two rebel maids I never knew I needed in my reading repertoire.
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