A review by esthergreenwoodx
The Agony House by Cherie Priest

2.0

Meh. I didn't like it. It's very plainly and simply written, so it ends up closer to middle grade than YA even though the main character Denise is going into her senior year (which might make it more appealing to a reluctant reader, but it didn't work for me). The 3rd person narration doesn't work. The premise of an author dying mysteriously in your new house and leaving a comic behind is super cool, but this is a ghost story that barely talks about ghosts. It's more about how Denise's family is barely making ends meet, repeated ad nauseum (I know how living paycheck to paycheck can fill your entire life up with anxiety over money, but reading about it on almost every single page just bogs the story down). Peppered in are some weird interactions where Denise feels sorry for herself because she's white; the discussions around issues like gentrification, race, and class aren't executed well.