The Fall of the House of Tatterly

It started with one ghost and a spell gone wrong. Theo can see ghosts, a helpful skill when your house is full of dead family members. The first time Theo tries to perform an exorcism by himself, it goes terribly wrong, setting in motion events that may end the Tatterly line for good. And he’s the only one who can stop it.

A kid who does exorcisms, another who can be possessed by ghosts, and a family of Bikin? This does not seem like a novel for kids to me. There are a few places that are gruesome and more than a couple that are scary. I would not recommend this for younger than thirteen.

Theo has three aunties, plus a dead one, and I could never keep track of who’s who and who could do what. All the characters have different personalities, there are just too many for me to keep track of.

There are several places that subtly address racism, not only from in the past but in the present. I like how it is written in, making it a key point in the plot but not making the whole story about it.