KIRKUS BEST OF 2023 BOOK

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HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE meets found-footage horror in this edge-of-your-seat thriller that explores the power of family ties and the trauma that lurks there.When Sophia Galich was twelve, she starred in her older sister Layla’s amateur horror movie Vermillion, which recorded raw footage of her very real reactions to scenes her sister concocted in their old Californian house on the coast―Cashore House.

In the years after the film’s release, Sophia’s relationship with her sister became more strained, while her memories of the now-infamous house fueled her nightmares. Vermillion amassed an army of fanatical fans who speculated about the film’s hidden messages, and it was rumored that Layla made a pact with the devil―her soul in exchange for fame and arcane knowledge. Sophia dismissed this as gossip…until Layla disappeared. Now, Sophia must study the trail of clues Layla has left behind, returning to the very place where it all began. As she gets closer and closer to Cashore House’s haunted heart, she must once again confront the ghosts of her childhood. But the house won’t reveal its secrets without a fight.

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Rights Sold:

USA: Page Street Teen (NA); UK: Macmillan; Russia: Eksmo

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Reviews: 

“The artful weaving of ghostly horrors with the off-kilter creepiness of films and fandoms creates multiple layers of fear in this deeply unsettling page-turner. Haunting, intense, and eerily spooky.” ― Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“De Becerra’s narrative is both dreamy and tight, creating a disorienting, nightmarish atmosphere without making readers feel lost... [WHEN GHOSTS CALL US HOME] should be recommended to fans of horror in any format.” ― Booklist, starred review

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"Really got under my skin. Sophia's unreliable memories and gaps in time create an eerie, dream-like feeling that is hard to shake. Rather than relying on the more standard Victorian trappings, Cashore House is a sort of art deco nightmare, enwreathed in an aura of early Hollywood Golden Age parties, séances, and broken ballerinas. It's a setting that lingers in the mind long after the book draws to a close.” ― NPR

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“Combining cult horror, internet fandom, and a truly terrifying haunted house, de Becerra weaves an addictive tale of artistic creation and sisterhood, occult magic and impossible belief. You'll be drawn in page by page, until you're drowning in the book's deep mythologies.” ― Melissa Albert, the New York Times and indie bestselling author of the Hazel Wood series and of OUR CROOKED HEARTS