Reviewed by Cheryl
TITLE: Life at the Death House
AUTHOR: Sean Kerr
PUBLISHER: NineStar Press
LENGTH: 410 pages
RELEASE DATE: August 20, 2018
BLURB:
The locals call it the Death House, but Carol and Marco designed the New Life House as a home for kids to live, safely removed from the stigmas and judgments of the outside world. Seventeen-year-old Tyler arrives on the doorstep, hoping that he’s finally found a safe place to die. His arrival causes the other kids to question the futures they’ve been promised, and Carol and Marco must convince them there is life after diagnosis. Even through struggles with addictions and questions of sexuality, the residents could come to believe in the possibility of living.
REVIEW:
The book starts with Tyler arriving at New Hope House, a home for children who are HIV positive. Not having taken care of himself over the last two years while living on the streets, Tyler knows his time is limited. At first, he’s angry and hostile, but slowly the little family at New Hope, especially four-year-old Theo, bring him back to life.
There is a pervading sadness that runs through this story, although sometimes it’s possible to forget it for a while and just enjoy the children’s antics. They are just like any other group of children anywhere. There are squabbles and fights, relationships formed and broke, jealousies, hopes, fears, happiness and sadness. The characters are so diverse each one is a jewel in their own right and the blend together perfectly, even when they’re not getting along.
Carol and Marco, who run the house are crazy, warm, wonderful and just a little broken, just like the children.
I found all the characters relatable in one way or another. Watching them interact with Tyler and each other reminded me of so many people I’ve met over the years, as children and adults. God, but they’re childish at time, petty and selfish, but that’s kids. Everything is a drama, everything is blown out of proportion and the author has caught that beautifully.
If I have one criticism, it’s that the author has missed some opportunities to really get inside a character’s head. He tells a story remarkably well but there could have been a whole deeper layer if he’d taken a little more time over the emotions, thoughts and feelings of the characters at key times. That’s not to say he doesn’t do this at all. The book certainly has emotional depth, but there were times when I would have liked to see a bit more of what Tyler in particular, is thinking and feeling at certain points, in a less hurried way.
Apart from this I have no complaints at all about the characters, the story or the way it is written. This is not a fluffy story, but it is by no means the heavy drama that many books dealing with HIV can be. The general tone of the story is light and funny. There’s so much humour and genuine caring, and little Theo just lights up every page he’s on.
If you like a story that has teeth but uses them to smile as much as to bite, then this is the book for you. It’s young adult so the characters act like young adults. If you don’t like your MC’s being childish then don’t read. It seems like a common-sense thing, but I’ve seen too many comments by readers, and reviewers, that characters aged under 18 are childish and immature. Er…d’uh.
In conclusion, this was a great story with so much going on at so many levels. I loved every minute of it and commend the author for dealing with such a difficult topic in such a sensitive and entertaining way.
SPOILER ALERT
I love that the book took us past Tyler’s death, to show the lasting effect he’d had on everyone. It was as heart-warming as it was heart-breaking.
RATING: 
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