I jumped on this book like ants on sugar!!! A Place for Vanishing is such a deeply emotional story about a family healing together from a suicide attempt by our Main Character, and her diagnosis of bipolar III. The emotional depth and realistic representation of the struggles people go through during a situation like this was incredible! But then we also have this creeptastic spooky house and the “ghosts” haunting it!

Fraistat’s ability to meld real life topics with fictional themes, and not lose any part of the story or atmosphere, is by far some@of the best writing I’ve read. I cried, I laughed, I checked over my shoulder many times, but most importantly I found a new favorite book and author to keep on my treasures bookshelves.

I truly hope I inspire at least one of you to read this book, and maybe her debut novel as well. 😉🥰

A Place for Vanishing
by Ann Fraistat
Pub Date: 16 Jan 2024

A Place for Vanishing by Ann Fraistat is A YA gothic with a heady douse of creep. Rich in atmospheric prose, we follow Libby, who has recently been diagnosed with bipolar III following a suicidal attempt. Her mother moves her and her sister Vivi, back to their ancestral house Madame Clery's House of Masks.

This book checked all my boxes, horror, unreliable narrator, paranormal. Strange family disappearance in the house over the years. Along with something menacing residing along with Libby and her mother and sister in the house. This book definitely kept me on my toes. If you enjoy horror this book is just what you need. 🤎📖

5 Reasons to Read

Haunted Histories & Houses

When Libby’s mom pulls up at their new old house, a mansion to be exact, she wonders why her mother never told her and her sister it ever existed. This house was so creepy and the stories of the disappearances connected to it will keep you invested throughout your experience reading this book. Every time a new section of the house is discovered the creepier it gets. I thought the house and it’s history added so much to the atmosphere of this story. I loved it.

Masks

The masks and their connection to the house was so fascinating. It was cool to see how each mask called to certain people in the story, including those not actually living in the house itself.

Sisters

Libby and her sister used to be so close but after the recent attempt Libby made to leave this world, and the recent diagnosis of bipolar III, the two sisters haven’t been able to make it back to each other. Until they enter this house and start experiencing strange things. The things they discover together just might bring them back together and strengthen their sibling bond even more than ever before.

Seances

Séances may have been part of the mansions history when it was first established 100 years ago but Libby soon finds out that someone may be performing them in the present. There is one particular scene in the first half of the book that gave me the chills. It really felt like I was in the room with them while the Séance was happening.

Bugs

So many bugs! I never thought I’d enjoy a bug horror but I totally did! This book was so creepy crawly, literally, and I don’t think I’ll ever look bugs or masks the same way again. I definitely recommend this one! I also think it’d make for a cool movie!

Creepy and atmospheric is an understatement! Horror lovers will surely enjoy the bug masks displayed on the walls, the history of séances performed in the backyard, the spirits who long for possession, and the terrifying bug elements.

What I loved:
✨Excellent character development: Libby (our MC) suffers from cyclothymic disorder (bipolar III), which often blurs the lines between reality and intrusive thoughts. The author openly discusses her own diagnosis in the author's note, bringing authenticity to Libby. As the story unfolds, Libby's family navigates not only the impact of her diagnosis but also the effect it has on the rest of the family members.
✨The Haunted House: Libby's family moves into Madame Clery's House of Masks. The house is cursed with several urban legends. Upon exploring the house, they stumble upon 13 bug masks, and Libby and her sister begin to unravel the mystery surrounding these masks. I absolutely love how Fraistat incorporates insects and their metamorphosis into this haunted house story. I can usually handle body gore, but these bugs grossed me out more than I care to admit!
✨Narration: Sophie Amoss excels with the narration. I loved her onomatopoeias. They added to the paranormal vibe of this book!

I really enjoyed the atmospheric nature of this one. The blue roses, the strange matching wallpaper, the stained glass windows that seem to correlate with the stone table in the backyard. This is a story that's very carefully built but also designed to make you question what you're reading, if what Libby is experiencing is real or in her head, and how the lore surrounding the home adds to it all. Rather than rely on tired tropes within the genre, I really like the differences in the house appearance, the "weird" things about the house, and the reason the family moves to the house in the first place.

I loved this book, it’s so magical, yet horrifying at the same time. The haunted house has so much history behind it. The way the bugs and insects were described were so creepy that I genuinly felt uncomfortable while reading it, which is something I need when I read horror books. I also appreciated the mental health representation, it’s refreshing to see accurate bipolar rep. The characters were dynamic and intersting. This is a great book to read during autumn or anytime you want a good, haunting story.

4.5 Stars

This was an incredibly atmospheric YA horror/fantasy that covered quite a few heavy topics. I found the story surrounding the House of Masks to be rather intriguing. I really appreciated the magic and mystery surrounding the masks and their abilities as well as how it all tied into the story. This was a captivating gothic fantasy full of paranormal elements and mystery. This one is definitely worth picking up.

**4.5-stars rounded up**

A Place for Vanishing is the most recent YA-Horror novel from one of my new go-to authors, Ann Fraistat. I actually recently read Fraistat's debut, What We Harvest, and was so impressed with the story she created within those pages. It sucked me in from the start and never let up.

This story is similar in a lot of ways. The first being it gets started quickly and has a great cast of characters. This feels more gothic though and a bit more cerebral.

In this story we follow Libby, who has recently been diagnosed with bipolar III. The events that led to that diagnosis were difficult not just for her, but also her Mom and little sister, Vivi. Looking for a fresh start, her Mom decides to move them into her childhood home, Madame Clery's House of Masks, a property she has been avoiding for decades.

The crumbling gothic mansion brings the atmosphere I most crave. From the very start, I was hooked on this property and learning more about it. It's fascinating. There's a prominent insect theme carried throughout the house, not just through the presence of the little beasts, but also through the various architectural details of the home, most notably the beautiful stained glassed windows.

In the local area, there are many rumors circling about the property, mainly surrounding numerous disappearances over the years. But is it haunted? Cursed? Is there actually any truth behind the speculations?

Libby befriends a local boy, Finn, who has his own interest in the house, stemming back to the disappearance of his father years before.

It's not long before Libby and Vivi begin noticing strange things occurring around the home, including their Mom's changed behavior. It's soon clear that this house is more than just a house. There's something sinister here, lying in wait just under the surface. We follow along as the girls try to figure out the truth surrounding the property and if possible, a way for them to survive it unscathed.

I really loved this. It has such a vibe and it is sensationally carried through start-to-finish. If you are a Reader searching for atmosphere, dark and dangerous, this is definitely a story you need to check out. Ann Fraistat is an absolute gem in the YA Horror genre.

Early on it made me think of Katrina Leno's Horrid, just in the set-up of returning to the mother's mysterious, gothic-feeling childhood home, full of dark secrets. Fraistat kept this interesting by adding in numerous turns that I wasn't anticipating. Similar to her first novel, this included some very interesting occult themes that felt historic and genuine, as well as eerie.

The House of Masks certainly lived up to its name. I really enjoyed learning more about the history of the property itself and the events that occurred there. I think Fraistat was successful in building-out the feeling of the home so much, it actually became a character unto itself. I love when an author is able to achieve that.

Honestly, I feel like Fraistat is one of the best going right now in the YA Horror space. It is important to keep in mind, this story is gothic, occult, thoughtful, emotional Horror, more than slasher, body or Horror thriller though, so it all depends what you like and what you're looking for.

Overall, I had a fantastic time with this. It was beautiful, engaging, thought-provoking and at times, jaw-dropping. I'm so glad Fraistat is out there creating stories for us all. Thank you so much to the publisher, Delacorte Press, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I can't wait to see what this author comes up with next!

After an attempted suicide, a teen moves into her abandoned grandparents' house with her family. It's supposed to be a new start after the trauma but things are not right with the house. The author chose to use bugs as a theme to create the atmosphere of horror and suspense which was unusual.

Thanks to Netgalley and Delacorte Press for the ARC of this!

This was so creepy, especially when you combine a potentially unreliable narrator (mental illness) and her family seeming to not see the issues she does in their new spooky, bug-infested house. The Haunted Mask is one of my favorite Goosebumps, and the bug masks here were like a creepier, partially sentient, grown up version of the fear that book evoked. I’m not sure I realized how flowers could be unsettling until the blue roses.

This author’s debut novel, What We Harvest, was an easy five star read for me, and I kept watch for her future releases. The cover of her second novel immediately caught my eye on NetGalley, and when I saw the author’s name I wasted no time in requesting it.

Be warned. If creepy-crawly insects freak you out, this might not be the novel for you. If that’s not an issue, you’re in for a horrific, compelling tale.

Libby and her family are ready for a fresh start. She’s dealing with recent bipolar III diagnosis, and her family is still struggling with the tragedy preceding it. They move into the house where her mother grew up, having inherited it several years before after her parents’ deaths. The house is quite… unique with stained glass windows featuring bizarre insect designs and a garden full of blue roses. Oh, and there’s a séance table in the backyard. Libby hears the skittering of bugs every night when she’s supposed to be sleeping, and the locals want nothing to do with the house. Even the food delivery guy drops off at the end of the driveway instead of coming to the door. There’s also the fact that numerous family members disappeared in the house over the years, never to be found. Can you blame Libby for wanting to leave the first day they arrive?

It becomes clear Libby and her family share the house with a menacing presence. As she and her sister begin to lose their mother to the house, they receive help from Flynn, a medium whose father was also one of its victims. They need to determine what the deal is with the strange, bug-shaped masks scattered throughout the house and grounds that give the wearer powers and enable them to hear voices.

With complex character development and a heavy dose of atmosphere, this is a creative blend of horror and psychological thriller. I can’t wait to see what Fraistat does next.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A Place for Vanishing had some unspeakable horror moments, I mean the graphic gore was up front when it finally got to that point, but prior to the carnage, it held the absolute best creepy suspense sensation of "what the heck is actually happening in this house?!" Libby is fresh from the throws of suicide attempt and it is referred to multiple times with explicit description, so trigger guarding is definitely in play here. Together, Libby, her mother and younger sister are not honest with each other about what happened and how they feel about it, yet the a fresh start in her mother's notoriously tragic back-storied childhood home should clear things right up ... not. Enter the cute neighbor who knows too much, a town full of people willing to gawk or avoid in equal measure, and an obscure presence that begins to influence all of them in intimately specific ways, not to mention the whole insect thing is a vibe.
File this one under things you can't unsee and be careful - it sticks with you.
Many thanks to NetGalley, publisher and author for the e-copy, these are my honest thoughts and review.

Trigger warnings: this book is about depression and how it sucks up all your energy.

Isabel “Libby” Feldman is a sixteen year-old suicide survivor. A few months before summer break, she tried to take her own life. She was found and taken to the hospital. After getting physical help she needed, she got the psychological help she needed. She spent a small stint in a psychiatric facility before being released into her mother’s custody in order to continue her therapy for her new diagnosis, bipolar III disorder with cyclothymia.

Libby’s suicide attempt changed the dynamics of her small family, like it would anyone’s family. Her mother Sharon and her baby sister, Vivi walk on eggshells around her while dealing with their own feelings about what happened. None of them are having open and honest conversations with each other, so the vibe of the household is tense at best.

Speaking of household, Sharon decides to move them out of their small apartment and away from Libby’s high school/toxic environment. She settles on moving back into her childhood home she lived in until her 4th birthday when her parents died. Up until this point in their lives, Sharon has never openly discussed her parents with Libby and Vivi. She never even told them much about the house. They had never even seen it. It wasn’t until they arrived with their whole lives in their hands. That’s point one of this suss story.

What’s point 2 you ask? Take your pick. The house is run down, there are strange stained glass windows depicting humanoid bugs, the lighting, or lack thereof, doesn’t even light a whole room up, and, oh yeah, the original owner of the house performed seances back in the 1890s. Also, the original owners and several other inhabitants of the house have gone missing over the last hundred years. That’s it! I’m turning this car around, and we’re getting the flack out of here! But, it wouldn’t be a story if people did the logical thing would it?

What follows is a strange paranormal horror adventure where Libby has to not only fight for her family but also her self worth and desire to live. Nothing like a near death experience at the hands of someone/something else to put your self-views and life in perspective. That’s the lesson here, and the journey Libby takes to get there is an entertaining jagged upwardly mobile arrow. She’s trying as hard as she can, but I can imagine that bipolar disorder is difficult to navigate in and of itself. Adding on paranormal fears and events just seems so unfair.

All the characters of this book are amazingly well-developed and interesting as everyone is going through some kind of trauma. Everyone needs hugs and conversations. The emotions as palpable.

There is a small amount of romance in this book that is slightly annoying and steals a lot of the sibling time away from Libby and Vivi. However, it grew on me. It was extremely superficial at first, but once all the layers were pulled back and the trauma was revealed, it felt more honest and raw.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes YA horror, paranormal horror, bugs, floral rot, and working through trauma. The overall vibe of this book is creepy-crawly.

I have been provided with a review copy of A Place for Vanishing from NetGalley for an impartial review. I was just drawn into this wonderful story and I just couldn’t get enough of it. It was just so easy to get lost in this great story. I just didn’t want it to end. I just lost myself in and I just couldn’t get enough of these interesting characters. I can’t wait to see what’s next from this author.

What worked: Creepy gothic horror with insects, masks, and seances. The eery backdrop with a family house of secrets is riveting. Add to this there's an element of not knowing if what Libby is witnessing is part of her bipolar disorder or the paranormal.

I was totally engaged in this ghostly tale. After some time in an institution, Libby's mother has them go back to an abandoned family home for a new start. At the very beginning, there's something sinister about the house. There's insect masks throughout the home and rumors of a medium who conducted seances there. Add to that mysterious blue roses that give off cloying scents but also seem to take over Libby's mother.

Fast-paced with very descriptive images of creepy bugs that have a paranormal essence. I shouted out more than a few times with Libby's encounters with the spirits that are trapped in decorative masks. There's grisly secrets behind the beauty of the roses and house. Also, the attic scene is very vivid and creepy. Think life-sized exoskeleton of a cockroach. Yup, creepy.

The love interest Flynn has his secret about the house. Little by little he finds he's a part of the house as well. At first, he comes across as a stalker but later shows his true colors. Flynn becomes a reluctant ally but one that Libby needs to overcome the evil within the house.

As someone who has close family members with bipolar disorder II, I admit, that I didn't know what cyclothymia was. Yes, not all those who have or know those who have bipolar disorder have the same experiences. I do though like how the author has Libby wonder if she's witnessing paranormal things or something else. That part was believable to me.

Chilling, spine-tinging horror where a girl finds a deadly secret in her house where not all is what it seems.

4.25 stars

I enjoyed that this jumped right into the creepiness, starting with Libby and her family moving into a long-abandoned house. The atmosphere is great, plenty of darkness and macabre art throughout the house to give our main character a sinister vibe. The insects made me squirm a couple of times, especially when they crawled over people, ew!

The pacing was pretty good, we followed Libby as she started to realize that things were not right and she and her family were in danger. I liked Flynn as a helpful sidekick and was glad the romance was in the background.

The ending left me wondering how things were explained to the outside world, but other than that, this was an entertaining horror story!

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for the copy.

Starting with the rough part. Although the book has a lot of warnings about the strong triggers, the book is not about them (I mean that it's not about moving us closer to the incident, it's about putting distance between the negative experience and forward, towards a positive journey but facing new monsters).

It takes place six months after a mental issue incident. Starting a healing journey, they move to their abandoned family house. This family needs to be united more than ever. We eventually learn what the incident was, and how it was, but the book focuses on dealing with a house full of perils and dangers. Libby needs to be strong to protect her family and recognize the signs that will show that others need help too. Great read for any time of the year, and perfect for spooky season. I love the masks and his they connect to insects giving different abilities.

The sisters are very different but amazing together, their mom is a brave woman who decided to love and have children using a donor and assuming all the responsibility for raising them and loving them.

The house is amazing, I hope this becomes a show or a movie. There are masks in the house, and spirits and the masks offer more than beauty and concealment to those who wear them. They are not regular masks, nor the seance that will be held there now that the family returned have ever been experienced in recent years. But this is just half the journey because the monsters are coming. Will the family survive?

Secrets will be unfolded and more than ever they must stand strong as a family. Flynn is a great character, and one external to the family but crucial to them.

The cover changes color under the light. I was more in love with this book than before when I noticed it. The book is a bit long, but it works well to create tension and the ending is full of YA emotions. This is my first contact with this author, but now I want to read the previous title.

Great YA horror.

Thank you for the e-arc.

Libby and her sister, Vivi, move with their mother to their mother’s early childhood home after becoming diagnosed with bipolar as a fresh start. Immediately strange things start happening, making Libby dive into the true history of their new home. Fantastic creepy crawly, haunting book. Highly recommend. I plan on getting my daughter a copy of this for her birthday this year.

Have you ever seen the movie Thirteen Ghosts? It’s a favorite of mine from my childhood. This book is that. But with an old creepy house and lots and lots of bugs.
Full review to come on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/hollyheartsbooks

Wow, absolutely incredible, amazing writing. I may need a minute to recover from this book.. I simply could not put this book down, it draws you in from the first page, and the whole story was fast paced and kept me on my toes through the entire book. There is so much to say about this book it’s hard to even begin, the plot was something that I have never. read before, the characters not only grow together as a family after a tragic tragedy tore them apart, but individually grow themselves after realizing their own worth. The family moves into the house to have a new beginning, but only discover that the house and it’s inhabitants have a different plans for them.