Morning everyone!

Today, I have a very exciting thing for you all… or rather TWO exciting things!

About a year ago now, the gorgeous humans of Chicken House approached me to write some resources around a brand new book they were publishing, and I HAPPILY agreed! Then, a few months ago, Nina (publicist extraordinaire) asked me if I wanted to be on the blog tour for a book… and lo and behold they are the very same book! So I read The Ash House more than a year ago, and you guys FINALLY get your hands on it!

A new boy arrives at the Ash House. He can’t remember his name – or why he’s been sent there.
Given the name Sol, and troubled by a mystery pain that no medicine can cure, he joins the gang of children living in the shadows of the secretive house. Soon, however, there’s more for him to face: the darkness that descends with the arrival of the Doctor ..

Here’s the link to the resources I created for The Ash House. It’s a brilliant book that would be perfect for Year 6+. It’s really dark and really unique – it’s one of those really thought-inducing books that I adored!

AND…

The gorgeous author, Angharad, is here today to tell us a little bit about Ash House and to give us some recommendations about other books set in cults/institutions (because as we all know, I LOVE A CULT BOOK).

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Thanks for having me, Steph!

The Ash House is about a boy named Sol who arrives looking for a cure to his mysterious illness. But instead of a healing refuge, he finds a house made of ash and smoke, and a group of children who live in its shadows, following the strict rules of their absent Headmaster.

I’ve always been drawn to stories about institution, cults and the warped ways societies can evolve, for better and for worse. Here are my top 5 recommendations for readers who find themselves seeking out those stories too…

Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children – Ransom Rigg

I feel like this world captures all that can be good about being part of a society that’s cut off from the world. When Jake discovers this community of children with ‘peculiarities’, he’s plunged into a world of adventure, monsters and loyal friends. The Ash House is just as much about friendship and belonging as it is danger, and so is Miss Peregrine’s.

Lord of the Flies – William Golding

A classic for a reason. When a plane crashes in a Pacific Ocean, the schoolboys who survive it must make their own society on a desert island until help arrives. The process of creating their own society is ugly, emotional, gripping. It was one of my favourite books when I was growing up.

After The Fire – Will Hill

This YA read feels really unique and has a can’t-put-down quality. It’s full of conspiracy, lies and authority that our heroine, Moonbeam, shouldn’t trust. She’s lived under the control of Father John inside The Fence, never allowed to speak to Outsiders. Now she has to find her way through the lies and find freedom.

The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood

A dystopian world where women live under a terrible, patriarchal society that makes them serve a ruling class of men. The way Atwood uses flashbacks to show how the women started in a world a lot like ours and found themselves in the Republic of Gilead and without any freedoms is so unnerving. 

Never Let Me Go – Kazuo Ishiguro

At first, readers will think they’re reading a traditional English boarding school novel, but Never Let Me Go soon turns into a sci fi masterpiece. We follow the journey of Kathy and her friends as they look back at their time at their school, Hailsham, and begin to understand its true purpose.

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It’s so lovely to see After the Fire on this list because it’s one of my fave YA books of ever!

Please check out the resources in the link above, and get your hands on a copy of Ash House now. It really is a brilliant book!

Thank you so much to Chicken House, to Angharad and to Nina for having me on the blog tour! Check out the rest of the tour (information below) and get yourself a copy of Ash House (out now!)

S x