Gr 5 Up—Eleven-year-old Sol, who has chronic pain, finds himself at the imposing Ash House with little memory of
his previous life. The school is devoid of adults, and the young students are inexplicably dedicated to a headmaster
who deserted them three years ago and a deep-seated fear of The Doctor. Blending suspense and pervasive dread,
this tale stands out from the scary-story crowd. With a cover that delivers on its promise, this is for readers clamoring
for "the scariest book you have."

Lacked character development and there was barely any character description-a hair color here, an eye color there. All the kids were interchangeable. The chapter headings stated which characters perspective we were following, but since they all read the same (and it was written in third person) it didn't really matter and I ended up not really paying any attention to which character each chapter was about.

The writing was alright. My biggest complaint is that there's this whole subplot with the hard drive and the kids get the hard drive but...never look at it? And then they refuse to give it to the adults who find them in order to prove that they're telling the truth. Like, half the book was about this stupid hard drive and nothing comes of it.

Interesting concept, but executed poorly and half-assed. ( )

Sol (Solitude) arrives at Ash House and is greeted by Dom (Freedom). The children who live at Ash House are excited to welcome him and show him around. But Sol is shocked by what he finds. The Headmaster has been gone for 3 years, leaving the children to run things in this decrepit place. There is a strong code of behavior where Niceness is encouraged and Nastiness is punished.
The children have no knowledge of the outside world. The kids are terrified of the Doctor. Sol is seen as trouble because he wants things to change. The story alternates between Dom and Sol. A creepy quick read. ( )