Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children's for the Digital Review Copy of this title.

What if ghosts aren't what we think they are? What if these ghosts weren't spirits trapped in the afterlife, but just transparent, invisible people? Mar Romasco-Morre explores this idea through Pie in her sapphic story.

I genuinely wanted to like this book because the premise was unique and intriguing. Unfortunately, the execution fell flat for me. What I did like was the exploration of being seen for you are at your core, not the labels that are attached to you.
To me, the prologue was the wrong way to start, with the home birth of our main character, Pie. While it lays the foundation for the rest of the novel, Pie being invisible, it was the starting point of the turn-off for me. I think it would be more effective if we don't know from the very beginning that Pie is invisible to regular people.

Content warning: absent parent (father), child sexual assault (Chapter 43, not depicted, heavily implied), mental illness, kidnapping, home invasion

Pie isn’t a ghost, not exactly. But no one can see her, except for her equally invisible mom. All her life, they’ve been traveling across the United States, and Pie’s special treat holiday is Halloween. She chooses Pittsburg as the destination in the hopes that she’ll see the girl whose house she squatted in a few years before.

Melancholy, tender, and spooky, this novel is a great examination of family born and chosen with a dash of boundary setting in more ways than one.

The structure of this book lends well to giving a full spectrum look at the deep loneliness Pie experiences. Almost every chapter ends with a memory or an anecdote. So, we get to see her distance from people both in real time and the isolation it has caused in the past. The compassion the narration shows Pie’s mother is also incredible. Truly, a woman doing her best to protect her mother, and I would gladly read a spinoff story about her adolescence.

There are some moments which flex the suspension of disbelief, such as some of the robberies that take place. Pie’s father is an absolute scoundrel and while her supernatural abilities make it seem that he’s always going to be successful. The way this storyline unfolds as Pie learns to trust herself and others is truly heart-wrenching and I really like the open-endedness of it. Nothing is tidy, but it’s super hopeful, especially given the sadness that preceded this particular episode in her life.

If you’re looking for a read that features both loving support and stern accountability, the depiction of messy friendship is not something I’ve seen in fiction yet. While there is a happy for now, apologies don’t erase the upset. It’s an important depiction that conflict is inevitable but not relationship-threatening, especially among teen girls who are still in the process of discovering themselves.

Pie has been invisible her entire life, literally. Alongside her mom, they have moved across America, sleeping in trains, mattress stores and other peoples homes, never having a place of their own. But at seventeen, Pie is lonely being in a world where she isn't seen. Together, the two set off to Pittsburgh where Pie dreams of revealing herself to the girl she once fell in love with; unfortunately, Tess has no idea she exists.

"I Am the Ghost in Your House" is an incredibly unique story about friendship and learning to love yourself when your entire existence feels transparent. I really enjoyed watching Pie's growth throughout the story as she faced her fears and went after the things she wanted. That said, I didn't care for the storyline with her father, it felt unnecessary and I would've appreciate the time spent on it dedicated to Denise, Jules and Neely instead. Seeing them bond is what drew me in the most. The gorgeous cover helped as well. Also, sapphic love.

I do wish there was more of an explanation as to how and why Pia is invisible. The premise behind why it happened to her mother made sense, but I wanted more. Overall, "I Am the Ghost in Your House" is an intriguing and original piece of writing that I think YA fans would appreciate.

I loved the idea but I felt like it was very flat. Okay, she is invisible due to an abusive situation. It all seemed a little too pat to me and shallow. I wish it could have been fleshed out more or barring that, turned into a graphic novel. There wasn't much there but the idea was so good, I wanted more.

A girl who is invisible.... literally. Pie and her mother have always been invisible, transparent and are only able to see each other. They come and go, they live in your house almost like ghosts and the only way to even see them a little bit is by using infrared. Pie is lonely. She wants more, she wants to be seen, to be known, not to always be invisible. When her mother starts to become invisible to even Pie she begins to worry. After they came back to Pittsburgh, a place they use to live in, where there was a girl Pie fell in love with lives... Pie once again finds herself seeking that girl out. What Pie finds though is new friends, understanding what it means to be seen. and what it means to love a girl who is invisible. This was a pretty sweet story about finding love and friendship when you only see yourself as being invisible. I loved the idea that there are people out there who are completely invisible but still find a way to live. It’s definitely a unique take on a sort of ghost story.

*Thanks Netgalley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I am the Ghost in Your House starts off strong, but did not pique my interest throughout the entire book, which I was expecting from the description and premise of the book. The writing style was good, but altogether just left something to be desired.

This was one of the more unique YA titles I've read in a while! The idea of invisible people was really well explored here, and watching Pie make connections and friends was a really heartwarming experience. I did feel at times that the story was a little bogged down by logistics--I think readers who pick up this title are probably going to go with the flow and don't need every little thing explained. The storyline with her father also felt slightly dissonant and unnecessary to me since so much other good stuff was happening in this, but overall I think this is a really strong book. I would recommend it to YA readers who like magical realism/speculative elements in contemporary titles, who like found family stories, and who like stories told from an outsider perspective.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for this book. However, I was not able to finish this one. I read to about the 30% point and found the book to be mundane; not because of the story line but it just isn't a story line that interests me. I am sure, however, that many people will love the premise of this book!

I just finished another metaphysical book recently so maybe the timing of this one was just off for me.

Totally nothing wrong with the writing or overall story. It just wasn't for me.

I Am the Ghost in Your House
by Mar Romasco-Moore
Pub Date: 19 Apr 2022
Ever feel like someone is in the room with you but you are all alone? You might feel the air stir by you or think you see something move out of the corner of your eye? Most people shrug this off as just their imagination; others believe it's a ghost. Pie is neither of these. She is a girl. A normal, human girl who just happens to be invisible. Suddenly torn from the only person who knows she even exists, Pie has to figure out how to navigate the world on her own. She knows the rules to stay safe, but she is a teenager without support. She wants what she sees other girls her age having: friends, laughter, romance. Do invisible girls get that life too? Interesting concept..
#iamtheghostinyourhouse
#marromascomoore #netgalley

This story was so original! I felt sucked in from page one and I have thought about it for days after finishing it. I especially loved drawing connections between the trauma experienced in the book and how that translates to invisibility and the trauma that exists in real life causing people to feel unseen.

I've never been stopped in my tracks by a book cover before. That all changed when I spotted this one. It's beautifully grotesque, the phantasm just takes your breath away. Probably one of my favorite book covers. Sadly the cover and the concept were the best things about this book.

This had one of the most interesting concepts but I felt as if I was chasing my own tail most of the time. Things just happened in this big continuous loop and it got old after the third time. At first, I was glued to the pages to find out what was going to happen next and then it kept happening and kept happening. Then the authors threw some side elements into the mix that took a lot of attention away from the main objective.

I enjoyed the interaction between Pie and Denise but really didn't like it between Pie and her parents. Her parents were selfish and not loving at all. Some may see her Mom as a caring and wonderful Mum but she was nothing of the sort. And please don't get me started on that character that Pie called Dad. *puke* So this book was really a double-edged sword for me. I enjoyed this and then I didn't. While it was interesting, I wasn't fully invested.

Denise, Jules, and Pie were the absolute cutest and no one can change my mind about that. Their instant bond with one another was so sweet. Instead of Denise being judgemental, she learned the full story before she made a choice. It was endearing.

I Am the Ghost in Your House was okay. It was more disappointing than anything. While I liked Pie and her willingness to accept who she was, she forgot all about her Mum once she made friends. Which is really weird once you know the extent of their relationship. While I liked some of this book, it wasn't the book of the year like I thought it was going to be. I do recommend this one because it was really unique.

First of all, I’m completely in love with the cover.

Now, let’s get started on the book. For starters the concept of the book, the plot and the creepiness is what got me into reading it.

From the beginning it started picking up its pacing and the conclusion was amazing,

This was a different mystery novel you should try out.

This is one of the most beautifully unique books I've ever read.

This is one of my most anticipated book for 2022 and I was so lucky to be able to review it a bit early.

I absolutely adored this book and Pie as our main character who her and her mother are invisible and it's such an amazing story and it has eerie/crazy vibes that were absolutely immaculate and whoever designed this beautiful cover deserves a raise or something. I feel like it definitely captures the vibe of this book.

This is a strange book but it's so worth it.

4.5 stars

I Am the Ghost in Your House is one of the weirdest books I've read this year, and that is a compliment.

Even without the attention-grabbing premise (Pie and her mother are both invisible, and Pie is on the quest to meet up with a girl who captured her heart before), Romasco-Moore's skilled writing is enough to draw you in.

This book won't be for everyone but I will definitely recommend for teens looking for a different read.

So here’s the thing. This is a super fun story. The characters are interesting, the invisibility is super fun and unique, the plot is well done. I enjoyed it.

But.

The whole premise of the invisibility is that Pie’s mother turned invisible because she was being abused, and invisibility was how she escaped. That was the only explanation given. And that’s cool and all, but it never actually dealt with the abuse? Even nearly twenty years later she spends every second of her life hiding and emotionally abusing her daughter because she won’t deal with her own trauma, and that’s never addressed. If it had been acknowledged as a bad thing I would’ve been happy, but it’s just presented as “of course this is the way it is, if you have a problem with it that just means you blame me for being abused”. Which I don’t agree with. Her PTSD is valid, but her living in terror to the point that her daughter can’t live her life is not, and I didn’t appreciate it being presented as a fine thing.

That being said, I really did enjoy this book! I liked the way Pie learned to grow and make her own choices, and I liked the way she was able to make friends and face her fears. I liked reading it and I’ll definitely watch for more books from this author. I just wish that the abuse had been dealt with and not thrown in there as a halfhearted means to an end.

This book was a good amount of Sapphic and creepiness, after reading this I am pretty sure that somebody is watching me while I write this review

Rtc

Creepy, gorgeous, disturbing cover matches the weirdness and extra eeriness of the book!

Imagine a girl named Pie who in invisible. This is not a gift or superhero power that you can turn it on and off! Nobody in the world has seen her actual face! She sees herself made of glass or water! Insubstantial! A girl who might break and wash away!
Anything she touches also disappears. To solve this problem, she wears gloves to grab things to steal or move out but if anyone accidentally sees her, she gets into trouble because they see objects fly in the air and start screaming!

Her mother is also suffering from same condition but she wasn’t born this way like Pie! And now she starts disappearing and re-emerging out of nowhere.

Pie drags her mom to Halloween celebrations in Pittsburgh. This is the only day, she can walk around the real people with her double mask and feel a little like normal young girl!

The real reason to go to a Pittsburgh by train ( without someone is sitting on their bodies) was a girl named Tess. Pie met her two years ago and fell hard!

The mother and daughter need a place to stay for the night. Pie convinces her mother to follow a teenage girl called Neele.

Her mother gets sick and disappears again. But this time she doesn’t come back! Of course Pie gets shocked because she doesn’t have any person in the world sharing the same condition with her. Without her mother, she has no idea how she could move on with her life!

At the house she hears Neele goes to a party. Pie’s curiosity gets the best of her. She joins the party and surprisingly releases Tess is also at the same location. And then…

I’m stopping right here! That’s the point where things get weirder!

The concept of the book and creepiness level truly picked my interest! At first third the story was dragging, wobbling. I patiently waited to find out what’s gonna happen. In the middle things get a little changed and when we learn more about the past of mother- daughter, the pacing picked up! The conclusion was also good!

It took too much time for me to get into the story. Several times I question myself if I should stop reading. It was still above the average, unique, weird reading experience.

I liked the bleak, dark, irritating story concept. I wish it wasn’t slow burn. But I still give extra half star to round up 3.5 stars to 4 for the originality!

Definitely different, interesting YA fantasy/ mystery novel: you should give a try if you like ghostly, spine tingling stories!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children’s / Delacorte Press for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

LOVED loved loved this book.

The writing had me captivated from the start to finish, and I found myself reading it almost straight through one sitting. I look forward to reading more by this author.

While I didn't personally enjoy the writing or the storytelling, I think that is largely to do with not being the target audience for the book. The story is fun and at times a bit creepy and I thought this would be a great read for a younger audience who is into creepy stories. The characters and plot were logical and well developed and the story was built well and towards a satisfying conclusion.

Honestly pretty creepy in certain moments but I think that’s why it was special. It takes a lot for a book to actually genuinely creep me out and the fact that this book was able to says a lot. I really enjoyed this as it was even one of my most anticipated releases of 2022!