Review | The Other Side of Elsewhere by Brett McKay

A dare takes Ret and his friends, Jax and Gary, into the Crooked House, an abandoned mansion with a dark history. They escape with memories of a ghostly vision but soon, a stranger moves into the House. Then people start going missing. When the adults, including the Sheriff, doesn’t take Ret’s concerns seriously, he decides to investigate the House and its occupants himself. Soon, it’s up to Ret, his friends and a new girl, Dawn, to figure out how to save the day.

The house made its sounds, just like mine did. My mom said it was just the house settling, but sometimes, I thought it wasn’t. The squeaks and creaks were slow and had the rhythm of walking. Our parents always told us that was all in our minds. But I was never really sure.

I really liked this! I thought The Other Side of Elsewhere is super easy to read but also full of details and doesn’t dumb down for the audience. The narrator, 12-year-old Ret, is entertaining and speaks the way I think tweens that age do – a mixture of naivety and exaggerated bravado. One of the things he and his best friends does during the summer is forming their own “gang” which is stalled before they got into a “life of crime”. I found that hilarious.

The book is set in the 80s so there’s a nostalgic vibe to the setting – from biking in the summer to water fights in the neighbourhood to sharing the house phone with family members. I’m sure many will say it’s reminiscent of Stephen King’s IT but it has its own charms. One thing the book doesn’t shy away from is showing death – and plenty of it! Ret is forced to deal with the way adults behave – and not in a good way – and to deal with disappointments. But the book also shows the resilience of children and the strength of friendships. I loved the portrayal of Ret’s family members and friends. The paranormal detail of the story is intriguing too. I thought it would be a straightforward ghost story but it turns out to be something more.

This would be a 5-star read for me if not for the epilogue. It felt like an unnecessary downer for what had been an exhilarating ride. I think it’s to show that childhood friendships couldn’t last but after what the characters had gone through, I thought they deserved better than that. Still, I enjoyed what came before.

I received a review copy from the author via Voracious Readers Only in exchange for an honest review.

About the author: Brett McKay

Photo by Anatoly Anikin