Starling House

Alix E. Harrow's Starling House is the kind of book I'd like to write. It's the perfect escape, one that leaves you feeling more connected and grounded than before you started it. It reminds you of what really matters and why it's worth fighting for, and steels you to stand up to bullies because it's the right thing to do.

I picked up Starling House in the small English-language section at an independent bookstore in Granada. Most of the bookstores here have a random-seeming selection of English literature, which has helped me recapture some of the magic I felt as a kid when unearthing a potential treasure at my local library. It's the first novel of Harrow's that I've read, and I partially chose it for the colourful starlings and old keys on the cover, as well as Rovina Cai's haunted black and white illustrations placed throughout. The novel promised a sentient house, a brooding owner and a strong yearning for home: it did not disappoint.