Victoria M. Adams, The House at the End of the Sea, Andersen Press, May 2024, 246 pp., RRP $17.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781839134234
If you have tweens who are keen readers seeking a story with just the right amount of creepiness, twisty references to fairy folktales yet set in a context they can relate to, The House at the End of the Sea could be the one. Debut author Victoria M. Adams has placed a new spin on a traditional tale of fairy mischief and madness, mixing adventure, fantasy and mystery into the story of a family struggling with the loss of their mother, and the upheaval of the changes this brings.
Moving from London to their Grandparents’ spooky Victorian house high on the clifftop above a quiet English seaside town is not easy, especially when Saffi and Milo True, along with their Dad are already mourning the death of their much loved mother. Fortune House is ostensibly a guest house, but with strange visitors arriving at odd hours, eerie music floating through the air and scurrying creatures lurking, it is clear to Saffi that this is no ordinary bed and breakfast. The walls seem to change colours, a face appears in the mirror, and Grandma seems almost afraid of the unseen guests, preparing feasts of decadent delicacies which disappear all too quickly. Grandad is brusque and argumentative, seeming to be carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, while Dad becomes increasingly withdrawn and distracted.
After meeting local boy Birdy and adventuring down to the beach to explore a mysterious cave, things become even stranger. Young Milo catches sight of the White Lady, believing she could be his mother calling out to him, while Saffi uncovers her family’s history and a fateful bargain her ancestor made with the fairy folk—a deal that has haunted their family for generations and may soon claim another price. As Saffi struggles with her feelings of grief and her memories of her mother, she also discovers the magical truth about the house and its colonial past, which bought great wealth, but also much suffering and unhappiness. Can she walk the path between worlds to bring light once again to the family, or will the cruel Fairy Queen continue to claim her debt?
In The House at the End of the Sea, the young characters, particularly Saffi and Birdy, take the lead in unravelling the mysteries of the True family’s history, seeing through the fairy magic in ways the adults cannot. This, combined with the rules and games of the fairy folk and the backdrop of the dark and brooding Fortune House high on the cliff above hidden caves evoked for me the themes and tones of Enid Blyton’s work, reimagined for a slightly older audience. A truly engrossing and enchanting story, this book will be suitable for confident middle primary readers to those in lower Secondary.
Reviewed by Kay Oddone
