A children’s game created to absolve boredom in an orphanage, a group of young girls play in hopes of besting their peers in achieving higher ranks within their hierarchy. What begins as meaningless pranks quickly escalates into a disturbing game that ends with everyone’s demise.

This story is told in two different timelines. The first part tells the events that take place while the girls are residing in the orphanage. The second half takes place 13 years later after the tragic events took place. The girls still reside within the home. Their spirits continue to roam the property, scheming and plotting the same cruel pranks, and even in the afterlife, the dangerous game continues.

This book was creepy and had the bones of a great gothic horror novel. However I do feel I would’ve enjoyed this story much more had there been deeper character development with the girls, as well as their caretaker the Matron.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review. This will be posted to GoodReads as well.

A nice little children’s ghost story.
“ We were bored, and so we made up a game. We were bored of reading the same books and playing the same games, and so we made up a new game. We were bored of pretending to get along when we didn’t like living with each other, and so we made up a game of one-uppance, of besting each other in pranks and tricks. A game that we each had a chance of winning. A pretend game of a Queen and a court of Princesses. A game set in our castle, which the adults called ‘Hawthorne House’.” it sounds SO good that I couldn’t wait to read it, however, that feeling didn’t last. It may be me, but in the beginning I had a hard time keeping the characters and their “ranks” separated, I wish a little more background on each child was given, in a block, so that I could learn and remember them straight away. I liked the story build-up and had fun building up the scenes in my mind, The game they made up was awful and they were so mean to each other, I felt sorry for them. Once part 2 comes in I finally had a handle on who each other was, and what was taking place. I liked the faster pace and they story building. I felt though I needed more, I wanted to see “what happens” and the story left me hanging. Overall a pretty good book, not exactly what I thought it was going to be, and felt it lacked something, which is the reason for my 3 star rating.

OH MY GOODNESS! This tapped into emotions from days back in primary/middle school when my friends and I played and said things to each other that felt fine back then but now looking back, things sometimes got conceited. The hierarchy and competition, the constant one-uppance, jealousy...

This Gothic novella explores that, but what if the game goes too far as neglected and abused orphaned children are left to fester malicious emotions?

I am conflicted on my rating here. I enjoyed the idea, but the story itself didn't quite work for me.

The Good: The setting is divinely creepy and the two timelines make for an interesting device for story telling.

The Rest: The set up here was strong and the gothic elements stood out, but there really wasn't enough character or plot development for me to latch onto or be invested in any of the characters. I wanted to know more about them so I could care, one way or the other. The second part was a little odd. I wanted more about the motivation to rebuild / the background of our new character. I couldn't latch onto him either. I thought there was so much room for dialogue to break up the description and wanted the encounters to be detailed more to evoke dread.

I wanted so much more from this story. There were too many unanswered questions, blank backstories, and underdeveloped characters. I also wish that the "What Happened" POV of the last thirty percent or so had been mixed in with the first seventy percent.

What Happened at Hawthone House was a little novella about young girls in an Orphanage who antagonize one another for the first 60% of the book. The other 40% is told from a different POV of 'What happened'.

As of novella, I feel it had the potential to expand on the interesting storyline, dive into character development, and answer a few of my unanswered questions. The remaining 40% lacked the depth to complete a full tale. Nothing felt wrapped up at the end.

Who is the Matron? Why was she so scary? What of the girls' past? How did they come up with the game? What happened to the visitors and to future ones? What happened to the house?

As a writer, Hadassah Shiradski is pretty damn good. I say she has great potential once her craft finally finds it's full voice.

This is creepy and weird. I don't know. It is kind of children of the corn type story. The girls in the orphanage make up a game that involves royalty. they become queen by one upping each other. The pranks are cruel and all the kids are acting out how the world treats them.
It is dreadful but well written.
I really do imagine this happening in an old timey boarding school or orphanage. This is probably why they aren't popular anymore- kids just be doing horrors to one another.
Thank you for the ARC.

A semi-short gothic child-centered horror story about a "harmless" game that just went too far.

This was a quick and easy read and one that fits into the gothic horror genre pretty well.
I gave this book 3 stars because the storyline just didn't really stand out to me.
The writing was good and there were times where the plot kept me on my toes. However, I have a feeling this book will fall from my memory soon after finishing it.
It sort of just blends in with the other horror books I have read.

Still a good read for anyone looking for something quick and easy to get through.

The first part of the story was really strong, but it kind of lost me in part 2. I feel like this should have either been shorter, so just part 1, or a full lenght novel. I just generally feel like part 2 was a bit unnecessary, and the tone was different to part 1.

Malheureusement je n'ai pas accroché du tout avec ce livre... J'ai eu beaucoup de mal à définir les personnages, qui est qui? La situation est assez floue aussi, je n'ai pas bien compris le cadre de l'histoire...

Malheureusement, une déception pour moi à cause d'une incompréhension...

All children play games, but what happens when children raised in an orphanage decide to take it too far. This gothic-horror novella set in 1926 follows a group of girls at the Hawthorne House Orphanage where nine year old Rosalyn devises a new game. Young girls competing for a crown in the Royal court, but Roselyn will stop at nothing to win. But none of these girls have anything to lose, and with each girl vying for the crown it is sure to get dark at Hawthorne House.

This short sinister novella was a fun read, with a gripping story that is sure to disturb you as you learn how far these children will go to win.

Thank you, NetGalley and Brigids Gate Press, LLC. for providing me this book. My honest opinion: The first part (which was longer) gave me a "prologue" vibes. The kids playing their mean games to be the "Queen", their everyday life and tasks. I was expecting part two to be more... exciting, something to happen. But then it was even less dinamic than the first part. It felt unfinished.
I did enjoy the gothic vibes, then idea behind the games (at least from the point of view I understand it).

2.5/5 Stars (rounded up)

When I first started reading What Happened at Hawthorne House, I thought I was reading a YA novella. It seemed fitting since the first part of the story follows a group of children and the game they had made up out of boredom. But I quickly realized that their "Clover Court" wasn't a harmless little game about princesses and queens, but a sinister ploy to gain control over the other children at Hawthorne House. It seemed the little girls would do anything to be in charge, no matter how gruesome and bloody the task.

I had a hard time following the happenings in the first part of the novella. There are so many girls the reader is suddenly introduced to and, there is no way to tell them apart other than their names. The reader was given no characteristics or backstory, so it was tough to figure out who was doing what. I also felt the writing was a bit bland, as we were mostly being told "This girl did that thing" and "Now this girl was the queen".

The second part takes place years later, and without spoiling any of the story, I have to say it was written clearer and I felt a lot less lost.

Overall, What Happened at Hawthorne House is a quick and gruesome read, but wasn't for me. One thing I did really enjoy was the gothic undertone, which is my favorite genre in horror.

What happened at Hawthorne House is a Young Adult Horror novel based on a school for girls. But some of these girls are evil, scary and want nothing more then to kill.


A small game between friends turns deadly. Some of the girls want to run away,some of them are to scared to run.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this!

This book is about a ghost story about a children's game gone way wrong and too far!
The fact that there was the aspect of children games/ presence made it all that much more creepier!
I can also say there was a gothic - horror type feel to it (excellent in my opinion as a long time lover of dark and creepy!)... it may also be on the "morbid" spectrum.
The book itself was a shorter book (which makes for a quick and easy read).

All in all a great fantastic read and cant wait to check out more from this author!!

Shout out to both NetGalley and Brigids Gate Press LLC, for providing me with an eARC of this novella in exchange for my honest review!

2.5 STARS

“We were bored, so we made up a game. . . . a game of one-uppance, of besting each other in pranks and tricks. . . . A pretend game of a Queen and a court of Princesses. A game set in our castle, which the adults called ‘Hawthorne House.’”

This story is a gothic horror novella (with a heaping scoop of historical fiction) that is told in multiple timelines. The main storyline introduces us to a group of young girls living at an all-girl orphanage in 1926 that is run by an elusive and mysterious “Matron” who’s described as being awful to the girls.
To pass the time, and distract themselves from their individual sadness of not having families, our FMC Rosalyn and the other orphaned children create a game where they compete to be the Queen of an imaginary Clover Court. Earning the title of Queen is achieved through pranks/tricks the girls play on each other - and they quickly escalate from annoying to cruel, dangerous, violent, and disgusting. But when two more girls are brought into the fold, the pranks begin to surge into the deadly category.
We then move into the other timeline and get to see what’s left of the Hawthorne House as it’s undergoing a remodel to be used to house people during WWII.

MY THOUGHTS:
So, when I began reading I had a very hard time gathering what was going on. I knew from just the description what the basic premise was (or was supposed to be), but the first 40% of the novella is confusing and a bit disconnected at times. I think a prologue would have provided the context I needed to get my mind wrapped around the story. There are so many characters to keep track of without any real discernment between characters. Instead, I was plunged into a story that read like “this girl did this mean thing - so now she’s the Queen; So then this other girl did this slightly more mean thing, so she’s now the Queen;” - rinse and repeat.
As I pushed through the beginning, it did end up picking up quite a bit for me and I enjoyed it more than the first two chapters. The vibes were excellent, and it was a quick read just in time for the fast approaching spooky season! Mean/Spiteful/Lonely children that evolve into Vicious/Creepy/Horrifying children.

Hadassa Shiradski provides all the ingredients for horror in "What Happened at Hawthorn House": wicked children, dilapidated orphanage, and a Neganesque hammer. The result is definitely cringe-worthy. But Shiradski goes beyond mere blood and gore delving into the psychological toil of abandonment, degradation, and isolation. What makes this even more harrowing is that those abused are no more than children. Left to their own devices these children become vindictive, maliciously cunning, and manipulative. Their tragic end only leads to further encroachment between themselves and those who stay at Hawthorne House. Although we have sympathy for the girls, we are still left with a bad taste in our mouth as the childish games become more and more macabre. In the end the girls are left in a perpetual state of survival and fighting against being left "unwanted and collecting dust."

What Happened at Hawthorne House is a historical horror novel, split between set 1926 and 1939, that tells the story of the girls of Hawthorne House Orphanage. The girls develop a game called the Clover Court, which finds them constantly trying to one-up one another with "pranks" in an attempt at being crowned Queen.

I'm not sure what to make of this novella. It's sold as one thing -- an adult horror novella -- but doesn't feel like it's an adult story or a horror story. The writing is unfortunately juvenile at best, and there aren't any scares to be seen on the page. The trigger warnings at the end include "intense bullying," which is really what seems to be the main plot going on. The girls aren't committing any wildly horrifying acts against one another during their game, but they are just being mean girls, which wasn't exactly what I thought I'd signed up for. I wasn't scared, I just felt like I was in middle school again.

There are also just so many girls to keep track of almost immediately, and none of them have any defining features that make them stand out from the group. The entire first 60% of the novella read something like: this girl did this mean thing, so she's the queen now, then this other girl did this other slightly meaner thing, so she gets to be queen now, repeat, repeat, repeat. One girl could be entirely interchangeable with another, and so could whatever "prank" she was playing.

I wish I'd had a better time with one, because the idea of creepy kids doing creepy things usually makes for a good time. But the kids were just flat, mean girls and that's not what I'm looking for from my horror.

Thank you to Brigids Gate Press and NetGalley for the arc of this book!

This one is an easy read for me, creepy orphanage, children playing pranks turned deadly. It has two timelines, sometimes it was dragging, I hope there was more of the creepy parts. It could've been better, for me, if the story was more of the second part and then the first part slowly unravels, like blended, as the story goes on. Overall, it was intriguing. Stories about haunted children and orphanages are always an interesting read.

This was a horror novella. It was a short read, but a satisfying spooky story. I liked the writing style, I was interested in the characters, and I felt the story was eerie without trying too hard. If you're looking for a spooky short story, this would be a good choice.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free copy to review.