The House on Yeet Street

by Preston Norton

A hilarious ghost story about a group of thirteen-year-old boys whose friendship is tested by supernatural forces, secret crushes, and a hundred-year-old curse.  When Aidan Cross yeeted his very secret journal into the house on Yeet Street, he also intended to yeet his feelings for his best friend, Kai, as far away as possible. To Aidan’s horror, his friends plan a sleepover at the haunted house the very next night. Terrance, Zephyr, and Kai are dead set on exploring local legend Farah Yeet’s creepy mansion. Aidan just wants to survive the night and retrieve his mortifying love story before his friends find it.  When Aidan discovers an actual ghost in the house (who happens to be a huge fan of his fiction), he makes it his mission to solve the mystery of Gabby’s death and free her from the house. But when Aidan’s journal falls into the wrong hands, secrets come to light that threaten the boys’ friendship. Can Aidan embrace the part of himself that’s longing to break free…or will he become the next victim to be trapped in the haunted house forever?   

Genres: Middle Grade, Horror, Fantasy, LGBT, Supernatural, Childrens, Fiction

336 pages, Hardcover

First published August 27, 2024

About the author

Preston Norton teaches environmental science to fifth graders. He is the author of Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe, Where I End & You Begin, and Hopepunk. He is married with three cats.

Reviews

[Amina · Rating 3 out of 5]

✰ 3.25 stars ✰

“Anywhere I can be with you, and not have to keep it a secret, sounds like a place I’d like to be.”

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Since the story lines cater to three different time periods consisting of three different age groups, I would have to say that The House on Yeet Street is not a middle grade book, not quite an Upper Middle Grade either, but would serve better classified as a Young Adult one. I know it is not quite a point to note, but the fact that at multiple intervals at numerous occasions that it did not quite feel that a younger audience was suitable for it - does mean that it merits a mention.

“Fear makes people do terrible things... And stupid people are filled with fear.”

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ But, don't let that deny you the enjoyment of what was quite an entertaining and thrilling read - perfect for a spooky season! Balancing horror and meta-fanfic, mixed with heart and humor, amidst some sadly homophobic content stirred with a ghastly spirit of tainted friendship and vengeance does make for quite an appetizing blend, don't you think? 😟 The witches and the ghosts were terrifying! And I'm not one who usually appreciates inclusion of other lore in the story, but having Aidan's own fan-fiction excerpts added throughout was not as annoying as I would have thought. Maybe because Aidan's own personal conflict was such a battle to be won that I was just - let's roll, baby. 👊🏻

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ I really liked how the history of the Witch House on Yeet Street unfolded. How the summer before eighth grade, this motley group of thirteen year old boys had their own form of entertainment of yeeting items at the haunted abandoned mansion, only to unleash a horrifying darkness none of them expected. It was morbid and terrifying, and tragically, quite heartbreaking to even note how the past and the present - fiction and reality - intertwined. ... but more importantly, it was a love story. 🥺 A story of forbidden love.' There was depth and heart to it that made the present situation with Aidan all that more impactful and important to attack -head-on. I do respect the themes that it was depicting; how we all want to be loved in whatever way and whoever would be willing to give and receive it.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ It showed the importance of tolerance and acceptance and how harsh words lead to harsher blows that lead to disastrous and chilling results, more than what we intended or are prepared for. The nature of carrying hatred had to finally face its enemy - itself. That feeling of loss and helplessness was a really interesting parallel to all three respective persons who were affected by the ghostly haunts. The twists and reveals were - wow! One, especially caught me so by surprise, I was - wow. 👏🏻👏🏻

“Being brave doesn’t mean you’re not scared. It means doing things even though you’re scared.”

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Friendship also plays a key role in Aidan's life; Terrance, Zephyr and Kai were three well-crafted and unique individuals with their own varied personalities that brought an interesting balance to their team. 'Four boys at the library? Who am I to argue with that?' But, to have a crush on your best friend is one of life's greatest tragedies, especially when unreciprocated. 😔🙋🏻‍♀️ And Aidan's palpable fears of having his innermost desires revealed, hidden away in fiction for all those to discover, was portrayed - cutthroat. The way he felt so small and insignificant in front of his family and friends was so raw and real, that to see him overcome his own fears and weaknesses was a crowning achievement for me. 👍🏻

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Aidan was a good guy with a gentle and giving heart; that was his greatest strength. 'Scaredy-cat of the bunch' he may be 'with a personality of a wet sock - as perceived by some - he may not have believed in his own courage and lacked conviction, but he slowly built up that resolve that proved him to be a hero for everyone, which made me proud of him and root for him. 🥲 To believe in his own writing capabilities and face the unknown with a brave face was great to see. I loved that his friends cared for him in their own way - reached out to him to make him feel his own self-worth. The first teen years are such a pressuring one, let alone a polarizing one, when your circle of peers find out you're gay, casting you even further out than before. 🫂

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Yet through all the pains and heartbreak, as well as the heebie-jeebies and the shock, Aidan does find a place for himself and for his feelings. A bit unexpected, but rightfully so, especially when I looked back and saw the clues that indicated that maybe there was something he was not seeing. 'You deserve every good thing in your life. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.' It was --- heartwarming to see boys being honest and vulnerable, without judgment, but with that slight hesitation, there was a softness to Aidan's romantic inclinations and uncertainties of the unexplored unknown that gave me the warm fuzzies - despite everything he went through. 🥹

“History was only doomed to repeat itself if you didn’t understand it in the first place.”

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ I still do have to point out that certain comments did feel inappropriate - age-wise. Not for thirteen-year-olds, because, yeah, I've seen my fair share of mean-spirited 8th grade digs - but again, for a middle grade, it just felt odd-fitting, and that notion I think hampered my appreciation of it. No, actually, the ending also felt a bit too abrupt and comical to my liking. 😕 The terror of the unknown that had seeped in became comical towards the end, which did not quite appeal to me. 'Victory had never felt so hollow.' To build so much depth and insight into each respective story - the pay-off was not as rewarding as I would have liked. Maybe because it is in the past - there really is not much more we can do, save for letting the past move on, but I needed a little more.... 😔

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ In spite of this obvious complaint, I did enjoy it. The writing was fluid and unique, each of the various characters added an oomph to it, the creep factor was creepy and there was a richness to the details of capturing the daunting darkness of the Yeet House that made it a character of its own - 'when you stared at the Witch House, it stared back.' The pacing never slowed, the suspense and the emotions were heightened, and the feeling of closure to certain characters made the reading experience truly worth my while. 👌🏻👌🏻

[Lindsey Bertsch · Rating 4 out of 5]

why am I crying over a book for middle schoolers with "yeet" in the title???
picked this up as an arc at work because I've been meaning to read some modern middle grade books. damn did I luck out with this one

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was everything I could have ever asked for in a MG horror I am absolutely obsessed I will never shut up about it thank you

(the only thing I have a slight complaint about is the zephyr plotline bc it felt like it came out of nowhere but maybe I just have to reread it in cast there was foreshadowing I missed)

[Rome Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m SOBBING. This book was beautiful. It so perfectly balances the humor of a middle grade spooky coming of age story with the horror elements and the LGBT themes.

There are three generations of queers in this book and I love how the book gives time to each of them and acknowledges the evolution of these identities without making the book too reflective for the young target audience to enjoy.

The spoilers star here

In the past we have Farrah Yeet and Jesse Glass, a lesbian couple living in the early 1900’s with one partner, Jesse, posing as a man. This was a common social defense tactic for lesbians in these days and there have been many stories of people who lived as men for years only to have their female sex exposed after death. (Note I’m using she pronouns for Jesse because the book does, the book’s telling lead me personally to believe that Jesse was a lesbian posing as a man for social advantage, not a trans man). This is a major part of gay and trans history and the book tackled Farrah’s feelings of being an outcast, her draw to Jesse, and her grief at the violence they faced in such a tactful way.

Gabby is our millennial girly. She has her girl crush as her number one on MySpace and hides behind the veil of early 2000’s queer-coding. While Gabby’s love of her best friend Joss is obvious to the reader, it is written similarly to the plot of those slightly sapphic 2000’s chick flicks where the best friends are just a little too obsessed with each other to have a totally heterosexual explanation. Her character is like a time capsule representing a time of social change for the queer world.

Then we have Aidan. Aidan is our protagonist and in 2024 he primarily identifies as a gay boy, but there is a lot of subtext to indicate Aidan may be a trans girl who hasn’t quite come to her own yet. Aidan writes gender bending fanfiction about a self-insert character named Nadia, and hears her voice in his head during times of need. During a scene where he has to wear a dress due to vomit-related-misfortune, he reflects on looking in the mirror and thinking how nice the dress looks on him and how comfortable he feels in it. This is a big difference from the silly way his best friends behave when they don drag later in the book in solidarity of Aidan’s coming out.

What I liked most about this book is its themes of queer love and queer sacrifice. This book uses elements of horror and folklore to highlight how the way society treats queer people through history has changed what we can in turn be capable of. We go from the overt violence of Farrah and Jesse, that begets more violence, to the erasure and ambivalence towards Gabby that leads to her neglected ghost, and finally Aidan’s acceptance and his ability to defeat the traumas of the past.

[Louis Muñoz · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4. I really liked the young man at the heart of this story, and the book kept me engaged throughout.

[Jessie Weaver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely adorable middle grade queer joy kind of read. A little spooky but not too scary, perfect for October!

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so fun??? It was goofy at times and heartfelt at others. Love how it explores the idea of queer history through angry ghosts and deals with the devil. A really captivating narrative.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Being brave doesn’t mean you’re not scared. It means doing things even though you’re scared.”

Aidan, Zephyr, Terrance, and Kai. A group of friends in the small town of Curtain Falls, Massachusetts spend the summer learning about each other and the mystery behind the town’s haunted house; The Witch House. 

The adventure begins as this team of friends researches the death of Gabby Caldwell and leads to much more, as entities of long ago make things dangerous and deepen the secrets inside this house with “walls like bone, and windows like eyesockets.” 

The boy's bravery, strong friendship and acceptance of each other was inspiring, and for me, the true heart of the story of this ghostly reveal.

Thank you NetGalley and Union Square Kids for the opportunity to read the previously published early edition e-copy of; The House on Yeet Street by Preston Norton.

[melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't felt like this about a book since the house in the cerulean sea 💕

[Jett · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was good but I feel like it should have been broke up into 2 books.I thought it had a great storyline and I liked the plot twist. Overall good book would recomend.

[Cassy Nordgren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wholesome, spooky, good pacing, well written, realistic characters. 10/10, no notes.

[Scarlett Barnhill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loooootta HP references for an LGBT book

[Justin Lymner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great advance copy my boyfriend found at our local non. Profit art theater! Lively read, cute/scary at times :) great character development

[Justin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I stumbled on Preston Norton’s middle-grade horror novel The House on Yeet Street while looking for books to put on a Halloween display during the mad dash to create some semblance of normalcy in the wake of Helene. I was immediately in love with the thought of a middle-grade horror novel about a boy who’s camping in a haunted house with his friends overnight and the ghost knows that he’s secretly gay and in love with one of the friends. Just a very cute concept with tons of thematic potential. Someone immediately checked it off my Halloween display, and then I didn’t see it again for several months. I got so worried the book had been stolen (happens often with queer books), that I put a hold on it so if it did ever turn back up, I’d know. Less than two days after I placed the hold, it appeared on my desk, so I set aside the other books I was reading and dove in.

Every time I talk about this book, it sounds like I hate it. I have…tons of issues with this book, some structural, some thematic, some stylistic, and some just…decisions that rubbed me the wrong way. I honestly think this book is kind of a mess in some of the same ways that I thought You’ve Reached Sam by Dustin Thao was a mess. But the characters’ voices, and the constant humor and overwhelming kindness of the book’s universe made me love it anyway, in spite of itself. So going in, I’m going to be saying mostly unkind things about The House on Yeet Street, but I’m glad I read it, and I even mostly recommend it. It’s an adorable book that legitimately made me laugh out loud on nearly every page and even tear up a few times, but it’s inescapably flawed in ways that I think are interesting and worth discussing.

The House on Yeet Street is about Aidan Cross, a thirteen-year-old boy who’s secretly desperately in love with his best friend, Kai, to the point that he’s writing a secret fantasy romance novel in which his character and Kai’s character are involved. When he’s afraid his novel - and therefore his crush on Kai - might be discovered, he throws it into the top window of the very probably haunted Witch House of Yeet Street. The Witch House has a long history of hauntings and tragedy, going back a century to the witch after which the street was named, Farah Yeet, and continuing until the mysterious death of a teenager twenty years ago. In 2004, if you want to feel old.

When his friends decide to stay overnight at the Witch House and film a documentary, Aidan panics, knowing he has to come too and retrieve his novel before one of them finds and reads it. But when he does, he meets the ghost of the teenager who died in 2004, Gabby Caldwell, and she loves the book and wants to read more. When Aidan starts experiencing hauntings similar to those Gabby experienced before her death, he and his friends realize they need to figure out how to break whatever curse is on the house, to save Aidan and free Gabby.

That’s a pretty succinct summary of a very all-over-the-place story. Long sections of the book barely mention the house. Often enough that I’d call it a pattern, what’s presented as the major conflict of the book is resolved suddenly with little fanfare and then replaced by a new, less cohesive, major conflict, which is then itself resolved in a similar fashion. Often, I’d spend anywhere from a few pages to a few chapters feeling almost unmoored, as the story’s driving force had been tugged out from under me, and the plot had yet to lay out a new one. It’s a strange problem to have with a 300-page novel written for tweens, as the story’s neither long enough nor complex enough to explain these structural gaps.

On top of that, some plot threads happen all at once, without any record in the text, until in a strange torrent of exposition, the narrator suddenly lays out several days of events that took place in the background. This can be as small as a school tradition that gets name-dropped well after it would be natural to do so, or as glaring as the complete about-face of a character’s attitude over apparently several weeks. A different writer could have made these sudden shifts feel more natural, but the way they were presented here made them feel jarring every time. It often felt like Norton had an idea for a moment or beat that should have been set up much earlier, but he didn’t want to go through the work of going back and seeding it, so he…just…didn’t.

This book has whatever the opposite of good bones is. The structural and thematic stuff all feels wobbly and incomplete, but the moment-to-moment reading of it is a blast. The characters are all funny and have good rapport with each other, and most of the emotions hit like they’re supposed to, but I’d look up from a few chapters of reading with the sense that I’d taken two steps forward and one step back in terms of figuring out what the book was trying to say and how it planned to say it. That’s especially strange for horror, where The Thing That You’re Scared Of is so closely tied with what the book is trying to say that just engaging with the point of the story is enough to keep me in step with the author’s intentions. Here, though, the overwhelming kindness and comfort of the novel’s world works against its own messaging.

To dip into light spoilers, the curse on the house is related to the persecution of queer people, which makes sense for a gay haunted house story and has a lot of potential. But it’s unrelated to Aidan’s story, as a young, scared gay boy. Aidan learns over and over again that he has nothing to fear from coming out, that he has a robust support network and lives in an entire town that loves him and wants him to be happy. Each time he’s worried about experiencing persecution for his queerness, he learns that he had nothing to fear, really. Even the ghost of a teenager circa 2004 is all on board and ready to help him (and as a 2004 teen let me tell you that was not an LGBTQ-friendly cohort). That’s sweet and kind, and as intended it tickled the part of my brain that goes “aw, how nice,” but it’s not useful for the story. Aidan doesn’t have anything in common with Farah Yeet - not really - and while “things were bad but the future looks bright” is a very “nice” sentiment, I’m not sure that it’s an honest one.

That discrepancy between the world of the book and the world as I know it to be makes the book feel a bit like it’s about nothing. Now imagine how much more of a betrayal that discrepancy must feel like to a gay thirteen-year-old boy reading this book while dealing with shitty parents or shitty friends or a shitty town. If being haunted by a witch is the price to pay to live in a world where only one person is ever mean to you and the entire world shits on them for it and then bends over backwards to make you feel as loved and supported as possible, then maybe Aidan should just suck it up and stop complaining about being haunted by a witch.

I have some other issues with the book too. While most of the pop culture references land and are funny, there sure are a lot of them, and some of them I’d characterize as potentially inadvertently triggering. I laughed a lot at the jokes about people who used to like Harry Potter having to stop liking Harry Potter, for example, but I dunno that they’d play as well to an audience who has never lived in a world where those books don’t exist and/or the author isn’t a TERF. I was deeply uncomfortable at the strangely out-of-pocket bit where an eleven-year-old girl talks about “traps” - a term born out of the early crypto-fascist internet, and one that many trans women consider to be a slur. There was also no difference in voice between Aidan’s narration and Farah’s narration, despite the century of linguistic changes between them. I think it would sell the creepiness and age of the house and its story if Farah’s dialogue and inner monologue didn’t sound so contemporary.

Like I said at the top, when I talk about this book, I sound like I hated it, when I really had a great time with it. While its kindness often feels out of place in the story it wants to tell, I have to admit that it’s still calming and infectious, and I always put down this book feeling a strange mix of happy, contented, and perplexed by its decisions. I think whether this is a good book will depend heavily on how discerning the reader is and what the reader wants to get out of it. To me, it was probably a bad book but an extremely enjoyable read. I urge you to get your hands on it and see where it falls for you.

[Rina · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Aidan Cross yeeted his very secret journal into the house on Yeet Street, he also intended to yeet his feelings for his best friend, Kai, as far away as possible. To Aidan’s horror, his friends plan a sleepover at the haunted house the very next night. When Aidan, Terrance, Zephyr, and Kai discover an actual ghost in the house, they make it their mission to solve the mystery of Gabby’s death and free her from the house.

Deliciously creepy and scary, I couldn’t believe this was a middle grade book. If I had read this when I was in middle grade, the image of the ‘backward lady’ alone would haunt me for years to come. I would probably need a therapy to recover from it LOL.

On a deeper note, I didn’t expect the heartfelt story aspect involving Aidan’s journey to finding his self identity. I hope Aidan as a character would help a lot of kids out there feeling less alone in going through the same journey.

All in all, a great (not just horror) story and an amazing middle grade book.

(Thanks to NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing for a gifted copy in exchange for an honest review)

See my bookstagram review.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this. It was genuinely funny, genuinely creepy, and genuinely a fun read. I was screaming with joy reading this. I love the characters, and the story itself is so interesting. Even when I guessed the twists, I still enjoyed how the narrative revealed them. Having there be so many mlm and wlw characters was nice, especially since it felt, both to me and Aiden, that he was all alone in that respect. It was both surprising and not surprising how Zephyr’s role ended, and I’m not disappointed! And I also really really appreciated the way Christianity was treated in this. It is so hard to find queer Christian media, especially ones that don’t paint Christian’s in a bad light.

The jokes were fun, which is so hard to say about some books. The characters actually FELT their age. And the relationships and dialogue felt realistic. I especially adored Gabby, I’m so glad she got to be friends with everyone. The treatment of women and girls in this was great, even the ones who aren’t “pure hearted”, and I love that. Definitely will recommend.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The House on Yeet Street delivered an exceptional ghost story and I really enjoyed the present day connections it made. Wonderful story about friendships, relationships and even courage from Aiden the main character as well as those around him.

It took me a bit to get through some of the Alpha dynamics and Millennial connections (hello MYSPACE, do I feel old). However it did make sense since the ghost they encounter was alive during that time. I also could have done with out so many mentions of Raising Canes.

The storyline flowed really well and and was able to wove in the story of how the house and the subject of the ghost story came to be perfectly. After reading this story I recommend it for ages 10 and up since it covers death, relationships, bullying and version of the devil.

[Ellaryn Kraak · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't believe I actually liked this. I can not stress enough how insanely weird this was, but somehow it was good? I don't know, the dialogue was honestly atrocious, and the author definitely does not understand modern slang, but it had honest emotion and handled serious topics while also telling an interesting story. It is a good way to introduce social issues to young teens in the context of a greater story. It honestly had some good plot twists, and it's something surprisingly engaging for a wide age range of audiences. Besides the dialogue, I won't even lie; I loved this.


SPOILERS AHEAD


I also liked that everything didn't go "perfectly". It wasn't a situation where everything went exactly how Aidan wanted with Kai, but they were still friends, and he ended up finding someone else. It felt more realistic than saying "And I got everything I wanted just how I wanted it!".

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book for its "kids on bikes solve mysteries" vibes, its slightly more realistic than usual portrayal of young teens, and for a last chapter twist that was both surprising and well telegraphed. But hoo boy was it a mess. The tone lurches from Disney-level wackiness to sincere teen drama to gothic horror. The LGBT+ themes were generally well handled, but giving the strongest material to two adult characters in the last third of the book rather than our main teen protagonists is a really strange choice. And I did not like at all the way Aidan's mom became suddenly pivotal in the climactic chapter; deus ex parentis should not be a thing in middle grades fiction. But, again, despite all that I enjoyed the characters and story overall.

[Jessica Schwartz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, this is so much more than a middle grade haunted house novel! Yes, it's got a lot of genuinely creepy elements, but it's way more about the friendship dynamics between the characters, especially when the MC is outed by a bully. I wasn't expecting how emotionally intense things would get, especially when the truth of the ghost(s) is finally revealed (IYKYK). I'll be recommending it to middle schoolers but possibly hand selling only as there are some trigger warning elements. This was truly touching--the kids are so emotionally mature and it was refreshing to read a book about middle school boys that depicts them as caring, kind, and deeply feeling.

P.S. The characters log on to a parent's old Myspace account to search for clues which absolutely delighted me.

[Lyon.Brit.andthebookshelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

The House on Yeet Street felt like a MG TJ Klune meets John Fram.

What a fun MG to read heading into the Fall season. First off a cast of 13 year old boys 👏🏻 mixed with a neighborhood haunted house… which introduces a ghost!

We get a glimpse into the main character, Aiden’s stories/journals which made for fun tidbits that added to the story! Great rep of queer characters and allyship. I’m excited for this one to be made available for the target audience!

Thank you Brilliance Audio & Union Square Kids
Releases 8/27

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Lyon.brit.A...

[libreroaming · Rating 3 out of 5]

The tone feels very "Milennial writing Gen Z via memes" which has strengths in its quirks but also immediately dates itself (like a LGBT book with that many Harry Potter references, but also the Neil Gaiman comment that immediately soured). I will also say the epilogue really feels like something that should have taken a whole other book to develop, such as Aidan and Zephyr's relationship from friends to dating, and Bea's redemption being unearned and immediately getting with Kai. A bit of an awkward book with lots of strong points and weak transitions. 

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved everything about this book. Honestly it's hard to put into words without spoiling things. The characters, the themes, the flow of the writing, the horror descriptions, the comedy moments, everything was just so smooth! My only complaint is that the event was a little rushed. I just wanted more from inside the house as everything was going down. It's not enough to knock a star. It just shows how invested I was and not wanting it to end so soon!

[Zach · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly poignant and hilarious read that is one part Stranger Things and one part Monster Squad—but all parts heartfelt. From the dedication at the very beginning of the book, to the terrible awful in the middle, and the heartwarming, feet kicking, giddiness that is the end—the House on Yeet Street will have you laughing and crying in equal measure. Be sure to grab a copy of this fantastic book, you won’t regret it.

[Angela Sandoval · Rating 4 out of 5]

A unique ghost story with a demon and a curse. Yes, please. A touching coming of age and friendship story. Thank you very much. A heartbreaking yet hopeful story of the progress made over 3 generations in how society treats LGBTQ+ individuals. Nice touch. This was a delightful and slightly scary tale that I will highly recommend to our middle school students. (Note: this one reads more like younger YA than Middle Grade).

[Josie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little creepy, a little scary, a little sweet. I didn't buy the boys' relationship...too much, "I love you" and hugging for 13-year-old boys. I picture more punching (as a sign of love), but maybe my brain is still in the 1990s.

Review said that 3 of the boys "cue as white," but I'd say a kid named Kai with a mom named Kalani cues as Hawaiian or Polynesian to me. But as with other cues in the book, you had to read between the lines to get there. And maybe I'm wrong.

[Shauna Morrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great mystery for young readers. I love how the mystery unfolded and the ties that present characters had to the house's past.

I love that Aidan did not give up on the mystery and that his friend group grew closer after his notebook was stolen.

Michael Crouch did a great job narrating this story.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

When reading this book, it played like a movie in my head. Norton covers many middle-school topics. He captured the humor and dynamics of seventh-grade boys. Aidan may only be thirteen, but he has the heart and soul of a writer. This book pulls readers in with its paranormal adventures and storyline.

[Sophia Luna Lim · Rating 4 out of 5]

peak middle school literature. the characters were very cute, altho some bits felt a little too cheesy for my taste. very emotional, which was surprising. how this wet socked personality teenaged boy has a better romantic life than me, i have no idea. the only thing i really disliked was the ending with Bea. i suppose thats
what happens in middle school grade books tho.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was just so damn cute. I'll need some feedback from the kids on how accurate the kids were...but as a grownup reading how much hate and censorship is in the news, getting a story with queer characters and supportive allies <3

Thank you so much to Union Square for sending our library an arc.