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The House Guest
'The pick of the bunch is Eleanor Nilsson's evocative, spine-tingling novel about loyalty, friendship and communication across the barriers of death...'
--The Sun-Herald When Gunno breaks into the quiet house with the big garden, he has no idea how it will change his life. Something about the place keeps drawing him its daytime silence, its solitude, and the mysterious upstairs bedroom that belongs--or belonged--to a boy very much like Gunno. As he unravels the mysteries of the house and the family that seems to half-live there, Gunno becomes less certain of his own place in the world--until his destiny is revealed in a chilling and transcendent conclusion. This award-winning, genre-defying ghost story is a classic of Australian young adult literature. Children's Book Council Book of the Year - Older Readers
Victorian Premier's Literary Award - Children's Books
SA Festival Award for Literature - Children's Books
--The Sun-Herald When Gunno breaks into the quiet house with the big garden, he has no idea how it will change his life. Something about the place keeps drawing him its daytime silence, its solitude, and the mysterious upstairs bedroom that belongs--or belonged--to a boy very much like Gunno. As he unravels the mysteries of the house and the family that seems to half-live there, Gunno becomes less certain of his own place in the world--until his destiny is revealed in a chilling and transcendent conclusion. This award-winning, genre-defying ghost story is a classic of Australian young adult literature. Children's Book Council Book of the Year - Older Readers
Victorian Premier's Literary Award - Children's Books
SA Festival Award for Literature - Children's Books
168 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 14, 2011
Life changes for Gunno when, together with a gang, he breaks into a big house. His fascination with the house and with the mysterious lost boy he finds there, leads him into a confrontation he least expected.
November 5, 2017
Different one. Like it
November 12, 2025
What were they thinking with this hideous cover?!
October 6, 2026
An ordinary house with a strange beckoning. A rebellious friend group. A missing boy. A mystery waiting to be unravelled.
This was a great read :) I loved the Aussie setting! The little dog Sam makes me miss my own little dog, Lilly 🫶🏻🥹
Page 40: “He’d loved that Swedish film. He was amazed that it had been built out of so little – not like the soapies he often watched at home – just the idea of the stand and the man’s persistence. The rest has been elaboration. Maybe persistence was more important than anything. He would like to feel as persistent as that about something. Persistence is when you keep on with something when everything, everyone including yourself, is screaming at you to stop. He wondered what the difference was being persistent and being obsessive. What if the man had lost?”
Not much I can say for this one except to give it a read if you can. 💙💙
This was a great read :) I loved the Aussie setting! The little dog Sam makes me miss my own little dog, Lilly 🫶🏻🥹
Page 40: “He’d loved that Swedish film. He was amazed that it had been built out of so little – not like the soapies he often watched at home – just the idea of the stand and the man’s persistence. The rest has been elaboration. Maybe persistence was more important than anything. He would like to feel as persistent as that about something. Persistence is when you keep on with something when everything, everyone including yourself, is screaming at you to stop. He wondered what the difference was being persistent and being obsessive. What if the man had lost?”
Not much I can say for this one except to give it a read if you can. 💙💙
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 29, 2019
It certainly didn't go where I expected it to. It was intriguing, and the end was worth getting through the start. I don't feel I can say much without spoiling the story. I liked it enough to keep it.
April 29, 2009
"Read" for year 8 English. Or not. :P Really not my kind of book at all, I could barely force myself to skim through it.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews