The agony house by Cherie Priest

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Illus. by Tara O'Connor. Arthur A. Levine Books, 2018. ISBN: 9780545934299.
(Age: 12+) Recommended. YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. Themes: Ghosts, Horror. With a clever graphic/novel hybrid The Agony House provides chills and thrills for the teen reader. Seventeen-year-old Denise Farber, her mom, and her stepfather are trying to renovate the Argonne House, a very old run down house in New Orleans, but ghosts inhabiting the house are not happy. Denise finds an old comic book in the attic, starring feisty Lucida Might, crime fighter and it may have clues to an old crime and the reason that horrifying incidents are happening in the 'Agony' house.
The gripping composition of this combination of types, graphic and novel, make it quite difficult to put down. O'Connor's illustrations from the comic and stand-alone pictures all stand out in blue, while the text from Priest is engrossing and easy to read. Denise is a determined heroine, very able in confronting not only ghosts but opposition to the renovation from her neighbourhood.
The agony house is a memorable ghost story that fans of ghost stories and the supernatural are sure to enjoy.
Pat Pledger

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