The Horn Book Guide

OLDER FICTION

Dunkle, Clare B.

The House of Dead Maids

151 pp. | Holt | September, 2010 | Trade ISBN 978-0-8050-9116-8 $15.99

(1) YA Illustrated by Patrick Arrasmith. Dunkle's gothic tale inspired by Wuthering Heights conjures Emily Brontë's isolated, windswept moors but heightens its supernatural elements. Plain Tabby is taken to dreary Seldom House to watch over a small, wild boy; the children are soon visited by a ghost. Dunkle's style recalls a nineteenth-century narrative, echoed by spooky black-and-white illustrations. An engrossing thriller and worthy companion to its literary ancestor.

Reviewer: Lauren Adams | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2010