The house of cracks
The house of cracks -or House of Hollow, by its original English title, is a dark fantasy young adult novel written by Australian journalist, editor and author Krystal Sutherland. The work was published on April 6, 2021 by the publisher Nancy Paulsen Books. Later, it became part of the list of best-selling books in the world. New York Times.
Subsequently, it was translated and marketed in Spanish by Oceano Gran Travesía. After its launch, It has received mostly positive reviews, and has been positioned as one of the most suitable books to read in the summer., given its lightness and fast-paced narrative style, as well as descriptions of nature reminiscent of Pan's Labyrinth o Alice in Wonderland.
Synopsis of The house of cracks
Taken to the place where ghosts dwell
The protagonist and narrator of this story is Iris, a girl who, like her two older sisters, It is very special, although she herself does not know if that fact is good or bad.. Grey, Vivi and Iris were kidnapped when they were 11, 9 and 7 years old, respectively. They were on a street in Edinburgh, with their parents, when, suddenly, they disappeared without leaving traces of their whereabouts.
A month later, the three returned to exactly the same place where they had been taken. Their return triggered a series of strange events in their town, beginning with the young girls' own appearance.. At first, his parents were surprised, because they seemed intact: there were no signs of abuse, malnutrition or emotional trauma, and his physical appearance began to change.
A dark fairy tale
Before disappearing, Grey, Vivi and Iris They were three girls with black hair and blue eyes. However, shortly after returning, his parents realized that His hair had turned white, and his eyes were completely black. Likewise, they carried a crescent-shaped scar that was beginning to heal. At the same time, they showed enormous hunger. Nothing they ate seemed to satisfy their appetite.
However, his weight remained stable. How was it possible for girls to eat so much without gaining even half a kilo? Nobody knew. Still, that wasn't the only problem. Both the habits and behavior of the protagonists changed, which made the father suspect that they were not his daughters, alleging that they had been replaced by something supernatural.
Beauty serves to warn of danger
In a fit of hysteria and desperation, the father tries to end the girls' lives, but Grey, his eldest daughter, stops him and rescues her sisters. Afterwards, the man commits suicide. Thus, Grey, Vivi and Iris grow up in the care of their mother. Later, the woman has an argument with her eldest daughter, and kicks her out of her house. Afterwards, Gray drops out of school and becomes a supermodel.
Soon, Vivi follows in her sister's footsteps: she leaves home, leaves school and becomes a singer. For her part, Iris is the only one left. Despite She remembers very little of what happened before and during her kidnapping., feels like finishing her studies and having a normal life with her mother, but this will not be possible, because what took them away years ago returns to claim them.
Beautiful creatures are dangerous, but they are also fragile
One day, the sisters agree to meet again, as Vivi would return to her hometown to play with her band. However, Gray disappears after stating that she did remember what happened when they were kidnapped. When they do not reach the place scheduled by their sisters, they become worried and begin a search that could lead them to discover secrets about their own lives.
For many years, neither Vivi nor Iris came close to remembering what was done to them during the month they were deprived of their home, as well as their life before the kidnapping. In this sense, Grey's confession about his memory of this matter surprises and frightens the sisters, especially when a mysterious entity appears and threatens to plunge them into a darkness to which none of them wants to return.
Krystal Sutherland's narrative style
The house of cracks It is one of those agile novels, where something is always happening. The protagonists never know where their story is going, and this is something that is repeated with the readers, who are enveloped by shadows until the plot is revealed more clearly. On the other hand, this eye-catching book may have needed a little more development.
This title by Krystal Sutherland presents a series of mysteries, which tend to be set in a world beyond the town where the protagonists were born and raised. Elements such as the horror, romance and suspense, in addition to places that resemble those where the most popular stories of the Brothers Grimm take place.
About the author
Krystal Sutherland was born in 1990, in Townsville, Australia. Throughout her life she has resided on all continents, living in places like Sydney, where she edited her university's student magazine. Also She worked in Amsterdam, where she collaborated as a foreign correspondent. He later moved to Hong Kong, where he finished his career in the communications field.
His works have enjoyed great international recognition, being adapted to the screen twice. In 2020, Amazon Studios released a feature film based on his first novel, titled Chemical Hearts. This one starred Lili Reinhart and Austin Abrams. Her second book will be brought to TV by Yellow Bird US.
Other books by Krystal Sutherland
- Our Chemical Hearts — Side effects of love (2016);
- A Semi Definitive List of Worst Nightmares — An almost definitive list of my worst nightmares (2017);
- The Invocations — The Summons (2024)