This is a great book. It deals with some very troublesome issues at an important way. Completely authentic storytelling without preaching or condoning. While it includes some complex issues and borderline behavior, overall this is a great read, wholeheartedly recommended.

Thanks for the Publisher for providing an ARC of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Actual Rating: 3.5 stars

Plot: Krista is a 16 year old teenager who is going through the phases of grief as explained in the book, she lives with her father, a doctor who is also a control-freak and Krista, her father nurse and his new love after the loss of Krista's mother. So the book starts with describing Krista's depressive life, she and Emma are like the two hands of a weighing scale, if one is happy the other will be sad... Although Emma is trying her best to fit in!

Krista keeps driving to house 758, where supposedly she sees "someone" who did "something" and that goes on and on for many pages and we are supposed to be curious to know who and why (To be honest, I was curious but it dragged more than it should have).

Also, Jake now is brave enough to get into her life, he has always been there but he didn't have the courage to face her but know once that "thing" has happened and she longs for a normal life, Jack is the only one who treats her in that way.

Also, her sick grandpa is paying them a visit for medical purposes and he also has that effect of old people of being carefree and speaking his mind so he kind of changes her life.

Things that I like:
* There were some good quotes throughout the book, the writing style is not so special but it was not half-bad
* The psychological aspect was well written and as a medicine student I could relate to Krista's depression
* The Grandpa character was also very well-written and realistic!
* Beautiful cover, I don't know why, but I like it very much!!

Things that I didn't like:
* Although this was a fast read, the book could be even shorter because some parts were unnecessary and repetitive.
* I already have a diagnosis for Mr.Grandpa, I thought that it was an important part of the story but then it was suddenly ignored!
* Some parts were not very convincing.

Summary:
This is not supposed to be a very happy story, life is not fair and that exactly is what this book depicts. It was good in being realistic and it felt like watching a family movie. sometimes I am in the mood to read something depressive and this was a good choice! But don't be fooled as it is also about moving on and second chances!!

Fav Quote:
"I couldn't hate everyone- there were too many to hate. Where would I stop? Hate doesn't hurt the hated person... it only hurts the person who hates."

In this coming-of-age-over-a-summer novel, sixteen year old Krista is still struggling with the death of her mom who passed away two to three years before. It doesn't help that her dad seems to have moved on and has moved his girlfriend into his house, or that her best friend is away for the summer, or that she hasn't been able to face the person she holds responsible for her mother's death.
The author constructs the story so that the plot is unveiled slowly. We don't know the details surrounding Krista's mother's death until well into the story and even then we don't know the full truth until the last chapter.
When Krista's grandfather comes to visit she encourages him to tell his story about being a Hungarian Jewish holocaust survivor thus completing a project her mother had begun.
During the summer Krista also begins a relationship with one of her high school clsssmates, Jake.
There's a lot to like in this book. It's well written. Krista's grief is very real and there are enough twists in the plot and subplots (perhaps too many) to keep a reader's interest to the end. I gave the book three stars for a number of reasons.

I found the author hid the details of the mother's death long after a conscientious reader would have figured them out. Revealing it earlier would have allowed us more time to really understand Krista's struggle. Also the reveal of the details in the police car seemed contrived.
I don't want to give any spoilers but I felt blindsided by the final surprise reveal. In hind sight there were two big clues which had given me pause when I encountered them but I still felt a bit cheated, as if that final detail was unfairly dropped in. I can't imagine why it never came up in any discussion with anyone at all.
While I liked hearing the grandfather's history it felt very much on the periphery of the story line until the last few lines of the narrative.
Krista's dad and his new girlfriend seemed particularly out of touch with the reality of adult life. I found it hard to imagine myself in Marie's shoes and making the choices she made.

So, overall an interesting albeit flawed summer read.

This was a lovely young adult read about family, love, death and regret. I liked that we had to wait to find out what happened to her mother and sister, and we had little hints dropped along the way. Her Grandfather's story about the Holocaust was particularly interesting too and he was a wonderful character to hear about. Overall I'd recommend this book for a shorter, but still sweet read.

Interesting story, coming of age, love and loss, and well written. It was interesting how instead of wanting to tackle the emotions that Krista was dealing with in her own life she decides to stalk The House at 758 . I loved Krista's grandfather and the storyline between the two of them. Jake was well placed as the love interest and and I wish that there had been more between the two of them, but I enjoyed the parts he was in.

A light quick read, would recommend!

This was a really touching story. Krista has recently lost her mother and she is trying to deal with the emotional loss in the aftermath. It is summer so she is out of school and her best friend is going away for the summer. This book is really well-written and very sweet to read. Krista's father's girlfriend moves into their house as well, something else for her to deal with along with her father pressuring her to find something to do for the summer. There is a bit of mystery about who actually lives in the house at 758 and why Krista is kind of obsessed with it. She starts dating super nice Jake who is really supportive and also helps Krista to start to heal. Her grandfather comes to visit from Venezuela and she helps take care of him which is good for her as well. Plot twist at the end answered a lot of questions... Krista was a great character, honest, angry, emotional etc, and that really came through in the writing. Definitely liked this book! Great coming of age story.

"The House at 758" opens like a thriller and I'm so glad it veered into a very character driven YA drama. Main character, Krista, 16, is battling grief because her mother died the previous year. Krista begins to take care of herself and reach out to others during a very stressful and confusing time. Her relationships with her father, his gf, the gf's children--scary, will they become step-siblings?--and a neighbor deepen the narrative. Also of interest is a first love, and very compelling exploration of her visiting grandfather's youth in Nazi-occupied Hungary. There is much to love in this novel, recommended for fans of Jandy Nelson and Joan Bauer. Note: sex goes as far as making out and there are no drugs or drinking.

I think younger readers will appreciate and relate to this book more than me (I'm 27).

First, I didn't understand the "love" interest. She pushes him away because of a kiss but allows him to make comments about checking out her ass while they run? It just didn't make sense to me. The scenes didn't flow smoothly. While the writing was good the setup was choppy. There was no real spark between Krista and any of the characters.

I will say I was interested to know what happened and why she was obsessed with 758, but when it was finally revealed it was quick and a little dull. There wasn't enough ending, it was, here's what happened, I'm giving Emma this doll now, everything's better. I just didn't feel satisfied with it.

A late-nighter for me.  That's what this one was.  In fact, I'm pretty sure I finished it in less than a day.  It was that good. 

Krista's life isn't going so well.  Still grieving the unexpected death of her mother, she's also trying to cope with her dad's new live-in girlfriend.  Her best friend is gone for the summer leaving Krista with nobody to confide in.  Rather than facing her problems head on, she escapes.  To a tent she's pitched on her roof, to her car, anywhere but where her issues lie.  

Her dad has tried to convince her to resume therapy but she's not interested.  She'd rather, quite obsessively, watch the house at 758.  Why does this particular house hold her interest?   And what is she hoping to accomplish?

When she meets Jake, she begins to have a purpose.  Still, she has so many things she's dealing with that having any kind of a romance proves difficult.  Then her grandpa comes for a visit.  He's also mourning the loss of her mother, his daughter.  Can he help Krista find her way back to those she cares about?

Lots of things going on with this story, but they blend together seamlessly.  I loved reading Krista's thoughts, especially in her self-imposed isolation on the roof.  She's grieving but also avoiding grieving at the same time.  And the house at 758?  There's a reason she can't stay away.  It won't take you long to connect the dots, but the full story doesn't come until closer to the end. 

Note:  Although this is the debut novel from this author, the Spanish version was released several years ago.  This new release is the English version.

I really enjoyed this book and the changes and emotions it takes you on, how you get a look at the past and present at the same time.

A sweet story about learning to cope with loss.

I found Krista to be a relatable character, with good character development. I enjoyed her relationship with the other characters in the book.

After only being available in Spanish, it’s good to see a publishing house realized what a moving story this was and deserved a shot in the English-language market so more people can have their heart broken and healed by Berla’s talent.

Particularly with everything going on in the world right now, grief is becoming a mainstay of the human conscious and Berla shows how different people handle tragic events with no right or wrong way to move through the process. She has created an emotionally moving piece that could have been just another sorrowful story but she manages through some uplifting character work to turn it into something heartwarming and educational by showcasing trauma through the balance of love and family.

By examining tragic experiences from another’s perspective it added this whole other dimension of beauty and healing. As a parent I found the story uplifting as it reminded me that parents and kids heal from the same situation differently and come out with different needs so we should be respectful and understanding that how I process things as an adult and what I want to do to move on isn’t necessarily going to work for my kids so I should give them the space to find what will.

Berla’s story was so rooted in realism you could easily walk away from this book and apply some of the character lessons to the world around us in hopes of helping others.

An enjoyable read, no huge surprises but the links to history provided a little more scope than the average teen romance" likeable characters and growth and enough to shed a tear to.

Another YA novel I fiercely enjoyed reading even though two decades have passed since my adolescence. This story is thoughtful, finely tuned and heartbreaking. I also liked the way the author composed the words:

'I have hatred in my heart for the man who lives at 758 (..) It came from the same place in my mind where the grief and doubt and anger also grew out of absolute numbness. Is there a stem cell for feelings? Can we intercept them before they grow out of control?' (77%)

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book.

I am all about coming of age stories, and this one definitely goes on top 10 on my list. The characters are not complex to understand and they are extremely relatable. I read this book in a blink of an eye. I only kept this book down when I had to. An effortless read with a delightful ending definitely appeals to YA audience. I love to read about summer of teens, lost, yet to be found, protagonists. Author has created evolved characters and draws excellent parallels between past and present, it also has an unexpected twist. You would crack it before hand if you are looking for hints consciously. Even though the plot is a tragedy the story leaves you feeling better somehow.

In all honesty, I didn't have high expectations for this one. It wasn't a top choice when I first read its description on NetGalley, just a whim request.

I'm really glad I requested it.

The House at 758 is an English translation of the Spanish La Casa 758 (I'm not totally sure why the book was originally written in Spanish, as its author appears to be an anglophile from the San Francisco Bay Area, but maybe I misunderstood something, and this really has nothing to do with anything beyond my own inherent curiosity). It's a book about grief, told from the eyes of a teenager.

Krista is 16-going-on-17 and still reeling from the death of her mother a couple years prior. It's summer vacation, so her best friend's out of town, she's stuck at home, and her physician father is in and out (along with his new live-in girlfriend and the two kids she has partial custody over). Everyone seems to be moving on and looking toward the future except Krista. Krista doesn't want to. She doesn't want to forget, or let go of her grief and anger over what transpired that led to her mother's death.

Poorly written novels on this topic could go one of two ways: they could let readers know upfront what happened in plain English and hyper-focus on the details throughout the story or they could repeatedly yank the chain and keep readers guessing (when, let's be honest, we all know it's going to be cancer, a car accident, or some random mugging, depending on the clues an author drops liberally throughout the story).

The House at 758 takes a different approach. We know something's wrong at the outset. We know it's Krista's mother who died. For a little while, it's not explicitly stated what happened, but that gets revealed organically as the plot winds along. I liked that. I also appreciated the introduction of a romantic interest for Krista that helped her heal rather than focusing on romance as an overwhelming part of the story. Krista crushes just enough for it to be realistic without crushing so hard I want to throw a hammer at her. We also see her father's girlfriend's actions and words interpreted through Krista's partiality, which transitions from highly critical to a growing understanding. That's great emotional character development, in my opinion, especially when we're dealing with a teenage narrator.

The introduction of a visit from Krista's grandfather came about later in the story than I'd anticipated given the novel's summary, but it worked well, and helped Krista along on her emotional recovery.

I also appreciated the subtly of how socio-ecnomic status was introduced in this story. Krista comes from an affluent family, and that's reflected in a couple ways, from the neighborhood where she lives to the car she drives, then contrasted with a couple other characters whose families aren't quite as well off financially. I would've loved for the author to explore this even more explicitly, but I realize that wasn't the point of this story and appreciate that it was introduced at all.

There were just a few things that kept me from giving this an outright 5-stars, and one's a bit subjective - nothing emotionally impacted me as much as other books I've read that I've given the 5-star rating to (told you). The other is an issue with what I imagine was meant to be a surprise reveal near the end that I didn't really buy. I won't give spoilers here, but I didn't feel like enough clues were offered beforehand (or in a way that made me question what was happening enough to appreciate the addition of a surprise twist to the grief Krista was experiencing, is perhaps a better way to put it). That meant when it actually got sprung near the end of the story I had a "wait, huh?" moment, then found myself shrugging a bit and moving on. It felt like it cheapened what was otherwise a very well written story about the long-lasting effects of grief. Unnecessary. Also probably not the emotional impact the author was going for.

On the whole though, this is the best YA story I've read in awhile, and one I'd recommend to anyone looking for a contemporary, character-driven novel with a teenage protagonist. High praise, considering how picky I've been about what I'm reading in this genre lately.

This was a good read. I enjoyed the story of the house at 758 and what it held. This novel handles trauma, love, relationships, and family life in a really nice way with various different characters. I really love the way the grandfather is presented in the novel as well as the bird Charlie I think they both symbolize growth extremely well. I also love the history of the grandfather as well as the reveal of Krista's family towards the end. A wonderful read.