The narration is wonderful. I just found a lot of the book to be triggering for me. It is a wonderful amazing and relatable book. It was just too relatable for me. I didn't make it to the end. I got close though.

On her 17th birthday, Penny feels compelled to return to her childhood home. She does not want to be there, yet she can’t help but walk through each room as memories of her childhood emerge. It’s a heartbreaking fever dream of a story told partly in verse, giving it a dark fairytale vibe. This was a quick, kind of bleak read and I do recommend it if you’re in the mood for a sad but ultimately hopeful story.

Thank you NetGalley and Recorded Books for an ALC.

First and foremost, I think the theme of this story is heavy and contemplative. I was not expecting the level of trauma we encountered along the way, nor the level of child neglect Penny suffered as her mom went through active addiction.

The House No One Sees, seems to reflect the house in which Penny grew up in with her mom and the various boyfriends the mom would have. On Penny's 17th birthday, after visiting a local fair with her friends, she receives a text from her mother and returns to the house where she suffered when she was younger. The story focuses on the things Penny tried to hide and explain away when she was younger and things she knew but didn't know were wrong. She knew her grandparents tried to help by leaving money or buying groceries until Penny's mother burned the bridge of that relationship and penny found herself going hungry more and more.

There was an echo of a very dark Alice i wonderland, as Penny enters the doorway to the house, it seems to transform into a maze of memories she must confront and work through. The overall theme is fairly heavy and grim but there are some lights of hope such as her grandparents and the teacher that makes sure she has food.

I didn't know to expect such a moving story, but it was one that will resonate with me for a while.