Aaron Polson's The House Eaters is a tight and trim YA horror novel that, in first person POV, captures that teenage voice wonderfully well. Nick, our protag, and his sister Tabby have moved from the Kansas City suburbs into a new development near a small town and are creeped out by a local abandoned House that seems to call to them, speak to them. They know the House means trouble, but are nevertheless drawn to explore it. This, along with a mysterious neighbor, some teenage shenanigans, and a bit of budding romance, make for a compelling read.

Polson is from Kansas, where the story is set, and his writing reflects the city-kid-in-the-country angst that makes this a realistic high school novel fraught with tension and suspense and a surreal story scenario. Some slight, high school appropriate vulgarities makes this, in my opinion, a recommended read for 8th grade or older. ( )

Typical kid-moves-to-new-town haunted house story. I liked the main character and enjoyed reading it. The ending was a bit anti-climactic. I was expecting more than a divorce to happen to the parents, but that's probably the result of too much Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I wasn't sure if the house caused their problems, or if those were just present to distract the parents from what the kids were doing.

The evil house scenes were sufficiently creepy. If I were a teenager, it would have freaked me out. I'm too jaded to get scared; however, the creepy parts were enjoyably uncomfortable. Maybe I WON'T go poking around in an old dwelling next time I see one. o_0

There were a few editing nitpicks, which I noticed because I'm editing my own work and I'm hypersensitive to some things, like eye-rolling, some unnecessary italics and word repetition. But the narrative smooths out about halfway through, and then I just enjoyed the rest. A fun read. :)

Nick's family moves to a small outskirt of a small town. In fact only 3 house's sold in new division. Up the street is a big old house thats abandon. Nick is starting his senior year the week after they move. His dad is one of his teachers. He has a crush on a girl named Cat, who's on again off again takes to bullying Nick. Tabby his sister is a freshman and had a few health problems last year. His mother was laid off and drinks in the afternoon. Old weird guy and newly weds only people live in thier area. Two guys are friendly to Nick and want him to go in old spooky house with them and one falls and hurts his leg in kitchen. Old spooky house is spoken about and Nick thinks he heres it talking to him. Tabby can read his mind sometimes now. a door apears in their house and disappears. its not a bad story. I was given the ebook in exchange for honest review. ( )

AARON POLSON'S "THE HOUSE EATERS" (A REVIEW)

Reading Aaron Polson's "The House Eaters" reminded me of why I am terrified of basements, and why I vow never to live in a house that has one. His intertwining of Indian Legend with a story of a HOUSE that seems to be perpetually haunted is intriguing and exciting.

This combined with the relationships and angst of the teenage years is a perfect read for the YA genre. I really enjoyed the book and I very much enjoyed the fact that the narrator/main character, Nick wasn't shallow like most young men can be. He realizes early on, the good friendships he has found after moving to such a small town and he doesn't allow his animosity to keep him down. I find it both intriguing and endearing of how protective he is over his younger sibling, Tabby. He realizes her strengths as well as her weaknesses and seems to hold nothing against her in any regard.

The trouble between his parents sets a nice backdrop to the story of an underlying drama in what is perceived at the beginning as being a perfect relationship. It's not hard to see the underlying reasons behind why Nick's dad wanted to move back to his old hometown. Mr. Sanderson, while being creepy, you still can't help but think he's just a lonely old man that has had a really hard life.

The story is well written with a good plot and interesting subtext. I do intend to read more of Mr. Polson's works! ( )

The House Eaters is a good suspense novel. I started reading just to get the basic idea of the story before getting back to my todo list, but I just couldn't stop reading. The characters were believable and the plot was entertaining. The only criticism I have is that I wish the story was even longer and more detailed in some places. Aaron Polson has a clear style that I enjoyed and I look forward to reading more works in the future. ( )