Book Review: September House by Carissa Orlando

[juushika]

Title: September House
Author: Carissa Orlando
Published: Berkley, 2023
Rating: 2 of 5
Page Count: 350
Total Page Count: 530,380
Text Number: 1943
Read Because: reviewed by rachelmanija, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: Our protagonist's house is haunted, and every September ramps up to a total horror show; and she stays, and copes, because it's her home. What a premise, right? It's a fun exploration of, confrontation of, many classic horror tropes and questions, with a lively dark humor that reminds me of T. Kingfisher, toned back. But the question "why stay in a bad home" naturally becomes an extremely literal metaphor for abuse, and then graduates to painfully belabored real-or-delusional section, complete with police and the threat of involuntary commitment. Here are the spoilers I wish I'd had: the protagonist isn't committed; the haunting is "real"; the climax is speculative.

I'm a sucker for the realistic consequences of a speculative concept, and the practical approach to a haunting scratches that itch. But the fun dies as the plot progresses and later sections are frustrating and, for me, triggering. Does the text pay back the pain? Not really; the tone's too mishmash, and for all the trope-awareness in the horror premise, all the later reveals are tropey and flat, down to the silly climax.