Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

So, Ursula Vernon and T. Kingfisher are the same writer. Ursula Vernon writes hilarious, highly illustrated novels for elementary to middle graders, and T. Kingfisher writes–older stuff. My first introduction to the latter was A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking, which was pretty much amazing; both hilarious and thought-provoking, with some hefty feels as it progressed. My second foray into Kingfisher I finished listening to on Wednesday evening, and it was…creepy.

SO creepy.

The thing is, I should have expected it, because it came from the horror section. On the other hand, the comparatively medium-sized gap between Ursula Vernon and A Wizard’s Guide didn’t really prepare me for A House with Good Bones. It started out hilarious and atmospheric and suspenseful, but the ending would have given me nightmares if this sort of fiction were the sort of thing that gave me nightmares. (It doesn’t, though. It never has. I get bad dreams when I read, say, books about the Holocaust before bed, and then they tend to involve some form of being chased by the Nazis.) Sam is a bug archeologist whose dig got postponed because they found human remains; having expected to be gone for months, she finds herself temporarily homeless and so ends up staying with her mother, who lives in her mother’s house. Something about that house, however–and something about Sam’s mother–feels off. Being a scientist, Sam starts by researching whatever rational explanations she can think of, but when some of her research bumps into some of her family history, the possibilities start to get considerably less rational.

Also, there are vultures.

Anyway. Apart from the language, which was not ideal (especially for an audiobook), I did enjoy A House with Good Bones; Sam and her mother are thoroughly likable, as are Gail (a neighbor) and Phil (the handyman). Kingfisher’s writing voice feels rather like a funnier (and more focused?) Robin McKinley–and I do love Robin McKinley. If you choose to handle the language, this is an incredible read for Halloween.

In the meantime, this insane week is almost over, and I am DESPERATELY glad. Here’s to a relatively chill weekend!