Content levels
Positive tags
Hero archetypes
Heroine archetypes
Protagonist archetypes
Tropes
Themes
Synopsis
In a manor by the sea, twelve sisters are cursed. Annaleigh lives a sheltered life at Highmoor with her sisters and their father and stepmother. Once there were twelve, but loneliness fills the grand halls now that four of the girls' lives have been cut short. Each death was more tragic than the last--the plague, a plummeting fall, a drowning, a slippery plunge--and there are whispers throughout the surrounding villages that the family is cursed by the gods. Disturbed by a series of ghostly visions, Annaleigh becomes increasingly suspicious that her sister's deaths were no accidents. The girls have been sneaking out every night to attend glittering balls, dancing until dawn in silk gowns and shimmering slippers, and Annaleigh isn't sure whether to try to stop them or to join their forbidden trysts. Because who--or what--are they really dancing with? When Annaleigh's involvement with a mysterious stranger who has secrets of his own intensifies, it's a race to unravel the darkness that has fallen over her family--before it claims her next. House of Salt and Sorrows is a spellbinding novel filled with magic and the rustle of gossamer skirts down long, dark hallways. Be careful who you dance with...
Is House of Salt and Sorrows appropriate for my child?
Suitable for most readers 14 and up.
Parents should know this book contains multiple deaths of children (plague, drowning, falls), ghostly visions, supernatural horror elements, and themes of grief. There's a romantic subplot with kissing and a dark, eerie atmosphere throughout.
What to know going in
This book has moderate violence, mild sexual content, and mild language. Content notes include death, death of child, and grief (see the full list above).
Who'll love this
Teens will be drawn to the atmospheric mystery, the gothic manor setting, the sisterly bonds, and the race to uncover who—or what—is behind the family curse.