Content warning: intergenerational trauma, domestic violence, divorce, blood, vehicular manslaughter

Fifteen-year-old Sara is really going through it between her parents’ impending divorce, her Bibi Jan’s dementia, and the house her mother is flipping that is unequivocally haunted by a ghost which may be a part of Sara’s past. Family secrets and a truth hidden for generations come together in this contemporary fiction that’s as much about community within an immigrant family as it is about Sara’s personal coming of age.

If you’re looking for a YA book with a younger protagonist and no romance arc that’s as heart-wrenching as it is spooky, you are in for a treat. Definitely among the best books I’ve read this year.

Zargarpur pulls off something incredible with this work. At the highest level, it’s a compelling story about family. But it’s also a compelling tale of a family, but also weaves a ghost story that is a delight for all fans of that horror genre subgenre. That being said, however, I would not consider this book a horror. The focus is definitely more on the interpersonal rather than instilling fear. It’s spooky, but melancholic in a way that feels true to life. Sara’s interactions with Malika, specifically the flashbacks, nearly brought me to tears.

I loved Sara as a narrator. She’s thorny, she has a deep inner world, and she is intricately connected to those around her. While this is definitely her story, she’s not the central focus. The way the plot does not let Sara off the hook for being selfish in a way that seems archetypical of young adult protagonists really works. This is a story about family, not just in the past tense but in the present as well. There are immediate wounds that need healing, such as the rift between Sara and each of her parents, but also the things Bibi Jan kept that are falling through the cracks of her own fractured memory.

There is also a sense of respect for all the women in Sara’s life. It’s unspoken that there is no right way to be a mother or a woman in this work, and I think it’ll resonate with other readers as well. The complexity is astounding, especially given that love leaps off the page with all its thorns and tenderness.

An absolutely gorgeous ghost story that’s also about familial love and community that I cannot recommend enough.

I'm not a native English speaker so I struggle a lot with audiobooks. Although the Narrator was excellent I couldn't connect with Sara. It as an ok book and I really wanted to like it. Maybe I got distracted with the beautiful cover.

I wanted to like this book, but unfortunately it was not for me. It felt disconnected, and honestly I was lost while reading the book.

3/5 ✨ s

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me listen to a advanced audio copy of this book for an honest review.

The audio on this book was good. I listened to this on the NetGalley app and I listened at 1.75 speed. The audio at 1.75 was good and I did not have any issues. I speed it up towards the end and did not notice any issues with the audio. It was not weird or echoey. The narrator was great and she was easy to listen to.

This book was ok for me. It is very family centered. It is centered around the grandmother and her past, and a lost/forgotten about daughter she had. Sara is helping her mom with the new house which she discovers her grandmother lived at back when she was younger. Her grandmother is suffering from memory loss, and has started to miss count her children. This is what tips Sarah off to the muster of her grandmothers memories in the old house with the ghost of a child.

It was an ok read and our MC has a lot of her own issues that she works on through the story. However I was more interested in the memory ghost thing that was going on so a lot of the real life family drama fell flat for me. I was satisfied with the ending.

The thing I think that made me review this lower was the fact I did not find it spooky. I think if it was more spooky I’d have rated it higher. It seemed to have the making of a modern gothic mystery with ghosts but it didn’t really go there. Which is totally fine :) I think I thought it’s be more spooky then what it is actually about. Decent read though!

Family drama, history, and tragedy all rolled into one.

Sara has a huge family with 9 aunts and an uncle. There are always cousins around. Her grandmother, who is slowing slipping into dementia, also lives with her and her mother.

But not her father. Her father is gone and trying to move on after a horrific, violent fight between him and her mother.

When Sara’s family buys an abandoned house for their flipping business, she starts seeing pieces of her grandmother’s past that no one knew about. How is this house and her grandmother connected?

This book was interesting, the outline held a lot of promise, and I was intrigued by the title, cover, and blurb.

While I feel that the book was lovely, I also feel that it did not quite live up to (maybe my rather high) expectations based on the blurb. I also believe that I would rather have enjoyed reading this book, more than I enjoyed listening to the audiobook, the pronunciation was so americanised, it was quite a put off...

I could not relate to Sara at all, though she seemed to be quite a lovely girl. The large migrant family drama though, I could totally relate to.

Thank you Net Galley for an audio ARC of House of Yesterday by Deeba Zargarpur. This story just didn't do it for me. I was uninterested and kept losing the story. I listened to the who book but was unimpressed with it.

House of Yesterday has a fairly novel premise and reveals its mysteries slowly to impatient readers; it kept me turning pages.
The family relationships and the similtaneous questions of divorce and dementia are neatly paralleled in the life of a main character who is learning that families are strong and defining, but are also vulnerable and sometimes scary.
House of Yesterday wowed me.

Hours of Yesterday is uniquely it's own story - touching on trauma and memories of the past - however, what really sold it for me was the audiobook narration. The narration really allowed you to feel emersed in the story and feel what you're intended to.

Thanks so much to Recorded Books for the copy of this ALC.

House of Yesterday is such a unique YA book, touching on the memories and trauma of the past and how they affect the present in a tangible way. The author drew from her Afghan-Uzbek heritage and used it to create a generational immigration story that's framed perfectly for a YA audience in this a coming-of-age novel. I loved the embodiment of the ghosts from the past and thought it added a very cool layer to this story.

Absolutely loved the narration by Ariana Delawari!

House of Yesterday is an emotional, gripping story about addressing grief and the ghosts of generational trauma.

Sara begins to uncover family secrets when she walks into an old house her family business means to renovate. The writing is beautiful and compelling and the story is heartbreaking and hopefully — overall, it's a read I highly recommend!

DNF

There was nothing exactly wrong with this book, but there was also nothing to make me want to pick it up again.

I'm sure House of Yesterday will have its readers, and based on other people's reviews I’d say there's a good chance it's pretty good. I might even decide to finish it as some point. So if you planned to give it a try, please don't let my review stop you.

I'm just trying to be more strict with DNF-ing. There are too many books I want to read and I can't waste any more time on books that are ok to me but not as thrilling and engaging as some others. But that is 100% personal preference - honestly, objectively the beginning wasn't bad at all and I’m sure I’d find many more things to appreciate if I continued.

A huge thank you to RB Media and NetGalley for providing me with an audio ARC of House of Yesterday Deeba Zargarpur in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for providing me with an Audio ARC for an honest review.

This was a beautifully written book (beautifully narrated as well), the world build and characters was amazing. Definitely swept me away in the story of Malaka and Sara and BibiJan and the whole Amani family.

This is a story of a 15 years old Sara, living with the fact that her parents are separating and going through a divorce, her dad moving on whilst her mum has to live with the pain that comes after. The story carries on between the past (lived within a house in Somner) and the present and whatever is in between. It talks about love, friendship and the rollercoaster that is a big family. I loved the fact that the writer included words from the Afghan/Uzbek heritage (where Sara's family is from). The secrets that unfold within time, it was all so magical.

I did find that there was a lot of going back and forth, and at some point, the story felt like it was stuck at a specific timeline but then it moved on to Finally reveal the truth of the family history that Sara tried so hard to find about.

I would definitely recommend this book to people who love fantasy YA, paranormal or haunting sets.

Thank you so much for letting me listen to this audiobook. This was a difficult one for me. And not because it was tragic but because I couldn't connect to neither the story nor the characters but that is totally a me thing.

This was a unique read and one with a powerful message that many will be able to relate to. The audiobook was nicely done and I enjoyed listening to the narrator.

The book is told from one point-of-view and it comes from Sara. Her story isn’t the only one we are following though. There are flashbacks from her families life and they are very interesting! They can also be on the darker side as well. I haven’t read many inter-generational books but I enjoyed learning more about Sara’s family past and what it means for her future.

Sara is very strong willed and it can put her in dangerous situation, and does, as well having her come off as selfish in a way. I think that all of her feelings are valid though. Her parents are going through a divorce and it isn’t easy on her or seeing her mother have to deal with the aftermath. It is very messy and when you add in her father being in a new relationship it just takes it to a whole other level. I have not personally had to deal with divorce parents but my husband has and I’ve had to see him deal with it when we were younger as well as trying to play it safe when figuring out holidays etc. It is a lot of work and can definitely be stressful and hard.

Her grandmother is a key part of the story and the key to unraveling the mystery that surrounds her family. I could understand trying to find answers and hitting a brick road when the person you need to talk to the most is struggling with the decline of their mind. I have seen it happen with my own grandmother and it is heartbreaking to watch.

There is so much to unpack from this story and it feels like I have only touched the surface.

Overall, this was worth the listen. I liked the narrator and the beautiful story that unfolded even if it was sad. I do think that there was some hope sprinkled in, especially at the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so moving and beautiful. The struggle with generational trauma was approached in a good way and this story was interesting with how Sara deals with this trauma. I loved the inclusion of magic and mystery because it really added to the overall story.

4 stars

Sara, the m.c. of this heartrending YA contemporary novel, is facing some really challenging personal circumstances at a young age. Her parents' divorce is not amicable, and the circumstances leading up to it - as well as the current situation and unknown future - are constantly on her mind. Anyone who has lived through a divorce at that age will be able to easily connect with the uncertainty, upheaval, and feelings of guilt that come along with parents behaving...differently. On top of this pivotal event, Bibi Jan, Sara's grandmother, is not the reliable pillar of strength she once was, thanks to her declining mental state. Anyone who has experienced the decline of a loved one will also connect to the many painful details of this aspect.

This is a challenging read because the content is so dark and - for a reader like me - very relatable. This is also the reason I'll be recommending it to students. Zargarpur really captures the feelings associated with these all-too-common experiences, and I think many readers - young adult and adults alike - will deeply connect with and benefit from Sara's encounters and articulations.

One of my favorite aspects of this piece is how invested Sara gets in Bibi Jan's past. Spending time with older generations so often helps us uncover details and experiences we not only never knew of but also cannot imagine. It's so interesting to see how Sara approaches this information and how it consumes her and changes her understanding of her family. This is another really relatable aspect of this novel that I know I appreciated.

So many readers will be able to use Sara's story to better understand their own. I look forward to recommending this to students with appropriate warnings.