The agony house by Cherie Priest
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