After her mother’s death, fourteen-year-old Ava moves to New Orleans to live with her grandmother. Ava’s grandmother, Lane, is an eccentric artist suffering from dementia. Ava tries to navigate her new living situation, but Lane is not exactly welcoming.

A slow-paced, character-driven novel. This book combines coming-of-age and family drama with a little suspense. I found this to be an enjoyable read, but can see where other readers may be disappointed in how the book is categorized. It’s more like literary fiction, and readers looking for a true suspense novel should look elsewhere.

Well-drawn characters in an incredible setting. Atmospheric, unique, and intriguing.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the gifted copy.

Well, this is one book that you really can't judge by it's cover. The cover says "thriller", the book is NOT a thriller. Honestly, the premise of this book is not bad - a young girl goes to live with her eccentric grandmother in New Orleans after her mom dies. The grandmother is an artist, the house holds lots of memories, and there's a backstory about the grandma's lover's son showing up one night covered in blood. It had so much potential, but just fell flat for me.

First of all, I found the characters very unlikable. I liked Ava, the granddaughter, but Lane and Oliver were awful. Lane's memory issues were out of control, and there was no real answer to what was wrong with her. Too much weed? Dementia? Something else?? The situation with Oliver just aggravated me, and then the whole ending really threw me off. I was pretty bummed because this had the potential to be a really good read.

2.5 stars, rounded to 3 because I'd rather round up than down.

Ava, 14-years-old and on her own, has not fully processed her mother’s death when she finds herself heading to New Orleans to stay with Lane, her grandmother whom she’s never met. Lane is a well-known artist in New Orleans and spends her days in a pot-smoke haze while working on a mural. Her grip on reality is shaky, and Ava’s arrival unsettles Lane because Ava bears an uncanny resemblance to her daughter. Ava’s presence is bringing up painful and disturbing memories, which forces Lane to retreat further into her own mind. Meanwhile, Ava is entranced and frightened by her grandmother, but wants to be included in her life even though she can’t navigate her grandmothers tempestuous moods.

Thank you to Macmillan for providing me with an ARC of “The House Uptown” by Melissa Ginsburg as part of their Reading Insiders Club in exchange for an honest review. This book follows Lane who is sent to live with a grandmother she’s never met after the death of her mother. This story is about the relationship between Lane and her grandmother as well as her grandmother’s past and the secret she is keeping. I did enjoy this story and there is quite a bit more that goes on that is not included in the official synopsis. Overall, I was hoping for a hard-hitting emotional read, but I felt that it was a bit lacking. I wanted to see more development and connection out of the relationships. I also thought that some parts of the plot seemed a bit rushed through and not fully explored. However, I thought that this was a unique story (with an awesome setting) that did surprise me in the direction it did take!

Release Date: March 16, 2021

One of the things I loved most about this book is I was never quite sure about the endgame until literally the last few pages. It’s a great fiction story with some mystery and suspense elements.

Ava is fourteen years old and her mother passed away recently. She is sent to stay with her grandmother, Lane, in New Orleans. A tough situation for Ava especially since she hasn't had any type of interaction with Lane other than a one time visit when she was a few years old. It's fair to say Lane is not your typical grandmother. She is a successful artist who spends her days getting lost in her work and getting high with her assistant, Oliver. Ava's arrival will stir up some painful memories for Lane. And you know what they say, the past has a way of rearing its ugly head.

The story gets off to a great start with a flashback to 1997 when Lane was raising her daughter, Louise, and a kid shows up unexpectedly at her house. You are left wondering the relevance of that moment and how is it going to tie in to the current day story with Ava and Lane.

The feel of the story is unique and in my opinion doesn't fit in a nice and neat box of any genre other than regular fiction. It's not a typical coming of age story but technically it might meet the definition. You have the mystery of what happened years ago as well as suspense elements with the current day storyline. It's interesting because I was never sure what the intentions were by the author in regards to the story but that turned out to be a positive thing. I was able to just sit back and enjoy this story as it unfolded without the usual theories floating around in my head on how it was going to end.

Worth reading as Ava and Lane are fascinating characters.

<b>This was a tragic and emotional tale, but didn’t come off as a coming-of-age story...nor a thriller, but I still enjoyed it. It brought tears to my eyes, as I read about Ava’s sad journey, after her mother dies suddenly! This poor girl! I wanted to reach into the pages and hug her.</b>

When Ava is sent to live with her grandmother—Lane— after her mother dies, she’s totally unprepared for her new life. To begin with, there is a huge contrast between Iowa and Louisiana. Then she finds Lane to be unlike anyone she’s ever met before. She’s an eccentric—but phenomenal artist. She struggles to take care of herself, so she has no support to offer Ava. She spends her days smoking pot and drinking, only able to focus on her art. Although she hasn’t been formally diagnosed with Dementia or Alzheimer’s, it’s plain to see that she is easily confused and has major memory issues.

Ava’s new life is unstructured and there is no one to set limits or watch over her daily activities. Oliver—Lane’s long-time assistant—is the only person that she can talk to or rely on. And he’s as bad as Lane, with the drinking / drugs. But that changes when Lane’s Dementia causes her to spill long buried secrets!

The one thing I wasn’t completely satisfied with was the ending. It was a great ending, but I would have liked a little more closure, regarding the characters. I’ve never been to Louisiana and I forgot about their liberal liquor laws. I’m amazed at how lax they still are! I love reading about the New Orleans setting, and visiting has been on my bucket list since before Katrina. I’m hoping to make it there one of these days! Until then, I’ll keep reading about it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan and Melissa Ginsburg for this free digital ARC, in exchange for my honest opinion!

<b>My Rating: </b> 4 ⭐️’s
<b>Published:</b> March 16th 2021 by Flatiron Books
<b>Pages:</b> 336
<b>Recommend:</b> Yes

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The House Uptown by Melissa Ginsburg

I know that the synopsis says that this is a coming-of-age story but I didn't see it as that. The story takes place over the summer of Ava's fourteenth year. Her dad died two years earlier, after the loss of the family farm, and then Ava's mother dies suddenly. Ava is shipped off to New Orleans to spend time with her grandmother, Lane, an eccentric, pot smoking, heavy drinking, losing her mind, 60 something who is a well known artist.  

From the time we meet Ava, she seems to be one of the most well adjusted and level headed teens in literature. She has no idea what is going to happen, how to deal with a grandmother who doesn't know her, doesn't care about her, and who seems to be suffering from dementia. The person who has been keeping her grandmother's life running smoothly is Oliver, who is Lane's pot smoking, heavy drinking, personal assistant. The most functional person in this trio is Ava, still a kid, but finding that she must try to pull her aunt's household together because she's not sure about Oliver's place in her grandmother's life. 

There is a huge secret in Lane's past that is only coming out due to her dementia. Oliver, always on the lookout for "more", decides to do something that causes an avalanche of events. This story is a character study of this trio and one other integral character. It's slow moving but was interesting to me, in a bystander sort of way. 

Thank you to Macmillan Publishers/Flatiron Books and NetGalley for this ARC.

"The only measure of [time] that had relevance to Lane was before, during, after a painting. She could see time in brush strokes, in line, in an expanse of wall yet to be covered." Lane was well-known in the New Orleans art scene. She sketched with focused energy..."nothing mattered but the work... Something distressing lived in part of her mind...slivers of trouble coming or trouble already happened and forgotten...just beyond the edges of thought".

For years, Oliver had been Lane's assistant, protecting her from distractions, paying bills, purchasing food and art supplies. "...he had learned not to question Lane's process." The arrival of Lane's orphaned, fourteen year old granddaughter, Ava from Iowa, tipped the precarious balance Oliver had established.

"Ava's likeness to her mother dredges up painful and disturbing memories." Lane's daughter, Louise had left home at seventeen. She had little time for Louise.... was always painting. "Lane always seemed baffled by Ava's presence...Ava had no idea how to handle living with Lane...they were strangers to each other, Louise had seen to that."

The sights and the flavor of New Orleans are brought forth through Ava's bike rides as she tries to navigate the perplexing geography of an unfamiliar city. Did her mother Louise visit these same sites and sit under the same trees? Why had Ava never met her grandmother until now? Perhaps the truth lies in past secrets and promises kept dating back twenty five years.

"The House Uptown" by Marisa Ginsburg is a mystery/ thriller deeply rooted in scenic New Orleans. The three main protagonists, all having experienced prior traumatic events, tried to be there for each other. This captivating novel had a shocker of an ending! Highly recommended.

I received a free ARC of "The House Uptown" by Melissa Ginsburg from Macmillan in an exchange for an honest review.

New year new me???? Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, more like new year same me.

I thought it was because I’m still an idiot who somehow was mistaken that this was presented as a coming of age story when I chose it, but I just re-read the blurb and it appears the bookpushers are the idiots because they totally claim this to be a coming of age story. Now I know a lot of people have different opinions about what makes a particular genre that particular genre, but simply having a 14-year old as a character in the novel does not a coming of age story make as far as my opinion is concerned.

The good news is, the page turnability factor of this one hovers right around a 10 throughout. It’s probably best to know as little as possible about the plot because the big reveals are necessarily all <b>that</b> big and it would be very easy to spoil things for yourself should you dig around the Goodreads or the ‘Gram too much.

All you really need to know is this is the story of a young girl who gets sent to New Orleans to live with her artist grandmother after her own mother passes away and said grandmother has a bit of an issue deciphering the difference between the present and the past. There’s a potential old mystery to solve as well as some other shenanigans going on in the present and some truly readable characters delivering the tale. It almost reads like a real good Young Adult family/whodunit hybrid (if it weren’t for all the pot smoking).

<i>This was my choice for my Macmilland Insiders Reading Club selection this month and it was a good one.</i>