Adina King's The House No One Sees is a haunting exploration of family, addiction, and the enduring power of memory. Penelope returns to her childhood home, a place filled with secrets and family drama. As she delves into the past, she confronts her mother's struggles with addiction and the impact it has had on their family.

The novel does a great job of balancing the past and present blurring the lines between reality and memory. You get to see how Penelope's mother's struggles with addiction shaped her life and the lives of those around her. The house itself feels like a character, almost breathing with its own history.

If you're into stories with strong family themes, this book is definitely worth checking out.

I don't think that I'm a fan of stories written in verse and that is entirely a "me" problem. Because of this I had a hard time finding myself picking up the book or engaging with it when I did decide to read. Ultimately I'm just not the target demographic for the novel.

Readers who connected with Amber McBride's We Are All So Good At Smiling will love Adina King's The House No One Sees.

Written in verse, the book employs a mechanism of telling without telling what is happening through distorted memories and symbols. Eventually, the storyline starts to make more sense, as Penny faces past trauma and sadness. She relives her mother's addiction, her uprooting to go live with her grandparents, and her mother's failed attempts to recover and be the adult that Penny needs.

Penny has a little doll that symbolizes her pain and growth, nesting emotions within and eventually burying her pain both figuratively and literally. Little Doll is also her mom's nickname for her.

I was drawn in by some of the mysterious memories, and felt like I was uncovering a new timeline and new realization the further I read. The author's use of verse and masterful use of language craft an amazing story that should be recommended reading for teens and adults in schools, foster systems, and other organizations.

I highly recommend this book!

So this is one of those books where I’m not sure if not being the target audience is influencing my perspective. This is very clearly a YA for teenagers and may work really well for those readers.