Garrett never met his grandfather, Burke, but he’s heard the stories from his mother. Burke was an enormously successful writer, but he was also notoriously cruel, especially to his family. After he passes away suddenly, Garrett and his mother are told that his enormous fortune is hers…if they agree to spend a week at his estate.
The house is a monument to Burke’s obsession with puppet-like dolls, and the attic is packed with cryptic notes and ancient books. It’s clear that his grandfather was up to something, but Garrett can only guess what, and his fear only deepens when he finds a creepily detailed doll with ‘Marion’ written on the foot.
As the week progresses, Garrett realizes that the house isn’t what it seems. An old typewriter clicks away on its own. There are sounds in the night that come from the basement. And strangest of all is Marion, who always seems to be watching…
I want to talk about ARCs for a little bit here. Well, “want” is a strong word. But I’m GOING to talk about ARCs for a little bit here.
Because they always seem to be a big part of the conversation, whether that’s on Bookstagram or Threads or any other platform, I assume.
People behaving badly to get ARCs at the big book cons. People selling ARCs for exorbitant prices (you shouldn’t be selling them for ANY prices!) People complaining that they didn’t get an ARC, and tagging the author and the publisher on social media.
It’s all just a lot. And for sure, there are instances where some of the complaints are totally valid. I can definitely recall times where ARCs for a BIPOC author were sent almost exclusively to white bloggers/influencers, and that’s shitty on the part of the publisher.
But for the most part I just wish everyone would…not make such a fuss over ARCs? To me, they hold very little value. They hold no monetary value (because again, DO NOT SELL ARCS), and for me, they also don’t hold a ton of sentimental value.
I’ve been sent many ARCs over the years, and for the most part, they get donated when I’m done. If it’s a book I loved, I’ll buy a finished copy. If I was so-so on the book, then I really don’t need the ARC taking up shelf space, and so it goes to a Little Free Library or a thrift store or something. At the end of the day, an ARC is an inferior version of the book, with any & all typos still intact! So I will never totally grasp the way some folks covet these things.
Now, ALL OF THAT SAID. I have definitely had a sentimental attachment to a couple of ARCs over the years. I think the very first ARC I ever received was for Mark Lawrence’s RED SISTER, and it was a huge deal to me. I still have it, in a tote with some other books that don’t exactly have a space on my shelves, but that I can’t quite part with.
That’s a long & rambling introduction, sorry! It was a super roundabout way of saying that THE DOLL HOUSE by D. W. Gillespie is my first-ever middle grade horror ARC & I was delighted to get it!
I had been meaning to read GRIN by Gillespie but well, here we are. I couldn’t resist diving into THE DOLL HOUSE & I had a blast reading it!
Thirteen-year-old Garrett Weathers loves to tell stories. And strange things happen to him all the time. Which he then tells stories about, to anyone who will listen.
This has earned him a bit of a reputation (and a few unkind nicknames) among his classmates as something of an…exaggerator, let’s just say.
But Garrett’s got a big story to tell, and that’s how this whole book is structured; like he’s telling you about something incredible & scary that happened to him quite recently.
It’s just Garrett & his mother, June. Garrett has never met his father, and he doesn’t really know many relatives. He never met his grandparents, but one day a strange man arrives at Garrett’s house with a message: Garrett’s grandfather, a horror writer of some renown named Burke, has passed away. If Garrett & June spend a week in Burke’s mysterious mansion, they’ll inherit Burke’s entire fortune.
June wants nothing to do with this offer at all, but Garrett is deeply intrigued by his novelist grandfather. So they go.
Right away, this mansion gives off really strange, creepy vibes. Garrett finds discarded doll parts in an overgrown greenhouse. Weird notes & bizarre old books. And a very unusual doll named Marion.
And then there’s Wes, the caretaker’s son. Wes & Garrett are fast friends, and while Wes becomes invaluable to Garrett in the horrors to come, Wes flat-out refuses to go inside this cursed house. Strange things are afoot & Garrett is determined to figure out what it all means, while also trying to learn as much about his grandfather as possible.
This one gets CREEPY! The overall tone towards the beginning of the novel is somewhat snarky & light, so I was pretty surprised by how unsettling some of the imagery is. Generally speaking, I’m not someone who finds dolls scary or has a phobia about them or whatever. But in Gillespie’s hands, oof…maybe I actually AM afraid of dolls after all?
The relationship between Garrett & June is quite interesting, and different from anything I’ve seen in a middle grade horror novel. At times, it felt like June was almost abrasive with Garrett, or a bit impatient with some of his flights of fancy. And then at times they seemed like the best of friends. But as the novel goes on, you start to see that June is carrying a ton of trauma with her from her childhood, specifically as regards her father. June’s experiences with her father are in direct conflict with Garrett’s curiosity about the man. It’s a really grownup storyline, and I appreciate how THE DOLL HOUSE shows June as a complete & complex person, and not just simply as Garett’s mom.
I enjoyed this one a lot! It’s very vivid & descriptive, and the haunted house vibes are vibing. Definitely more excited to check out some of Gillespie’s other middle grade horror novels!
Big thanks to Random House Children’s Books & Delacorte Press for sending the ARC my way! THE DOLL HOUSE releases July 28th!
Grimdark Dad 