I couldn't read this as an ebook for some reason so will get it when it comes out! Sorry! (Leaving a 4 star review to be fair.)

This book was surprisingly good and unexpectedly really creepy. I love cult horror and creepy house books so this novel was just right. Impossible to put down once started. Beautifully written, striking and visual. Parts of it drip with tension and built in terror, there's only so much of it as a reader I could take before needing to stop. And that is rare for me as a reader. I really liked the characters, loved the mystery and the setting. I've read this author before and this book put the author on my auto buy list. Highly recommended for horror fans and lovers of ghost stories.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I loved the story and was gripped the whole way through! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.

It starts and ends with a bang, drag a bit in the middle but it's never boring or let your attention wander.
Chilly and disturbing, excellent storytelling and an interesting MC.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I enjoyed this! I hope there’s going to be a sequel. We are truly in an era of brilliant spooky Halloween books and I’m here for it. Really enjoyed the characters and the premise of this!

Sophia Galich was twelve when she starred in her older sister Layla’s amateur horror movie 'Vermillion' filmed in the house their parents were renovating. The family were staying in Cashore House, a mansion on the Californian coast which was originally owned by a rich couple who held wild parties & seances until the tragic death of the wife, a former ballerina. The Galich family moved in to renovate it after it stood empty for years &, although Sophia can only remember parts of what happened, her older sister told her that the strange things that happened onscreen were all special effects. The movie gained a cult following online alongside a website which people use to travel 'The Path'. Layla disappeared two years ago & it seems that she was still obsessed with Cashore & Vermillion & the last known sighting of her was at the house. Now seventeen, Sophia agrees to star in a remake being filmed at Cashore in the hope that this will lead her to the truth of what happened to Layla.

This had a slow start but once it got going it was a good read. The narrative is told from Sophia's point of view mostly in the present, although the reader experiences Sophia's returning memories as she starts to film the remake. Suspicious of everyone & their motives, including Arthur the director's son, as they start to film scenes Sophia starts to remember more of what happened five years before & realises her sister wasn't telling her the complete truth. She also realises that she is now travelling The Path - but what or who is at the end? It wasn't terrifying but it was a spooky unsettling read. 3.5 stars (rounded up)

My thanks to NetGalley & publisher, Macmillan Children's Books, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

This book is truly captivating. I got a copy via Netgalley, and it was a little hard to get into (formatting issues), but was so worth it!! I don’t think there’s any issues with the actual book (just the file I recieved), and I got absolutely engrossed approximately 15% in.

When Ghosts Call Us Home is an eerie, evocative and enchanting book.

This book epitomises haunting. It is a surprisingly gorgeous exploration of family, loss and trauma. Becerra uses such stunning imagery, but warps it through a dark mirror to deliver these arresting moments. The writing is just everything. It is informed by Gothic traditions and the tropes of found footage media, particularly those that built a media sensation around themselves. For me, it encapsulated that theory mad section of the internet, dissecting our favourite films and weaving new stories out of them.

I loved how much of this narrative is steeped in a meta textual and knowing grasp of horror. There is this cult film from the past, with moments being re-enacted in the present through the documentary and other more nefarious means. The entire concept of the Path is unique and interesting in the way it ties into the deeper themes of grief and trauma. This is a book marked by its scars.

It is also one deeply interested in the way in which we present narratives. There is a visual focus on performance and how we view ourselves and others, particularly through a filmic lens. The other view that characterises the book is that of fame. There is a sense of entitlement in the perception of Layla’s film and the way Sophia is forever crystallised as an object of fascination because of her role within that film. People constantly project their own feelings onto her through this. The disassociation of her humanity within these theories and those around Layla is sickeningly real and reminiscent of tabloid rumourings around ‘the stars’.

When Ghosts Call Us Home is a quietly beautiful, yet horrific, tale of fleeting stardom, familial loyalty and the echoes of the past that keep reaching out to us.

This book is good but too mature for my students. I think that it would be great in a secondary school library and fans of spooky stories would really enjoy it. It has a sense of mystery and intrigue running through the book in the form of Sophia's missing sister Layla. It also touches on the impact that viral video footage can have on the lives of those involved as Sophia has to deal with fans of Layla's horror movie. The group of people Sophia is working are fans who are making a documentary to celebrate the anniversary of Layla's first movie. This means that it is hard to Sophia to work out who she can trust and who she should be afraid of. The ending was not at all what I expected and left me wondering what might happen next. I enjoyed the story and would recommend it to older mystery lovers.

I can see why comparisons to The Haunting of Hill House have been drawn, and this is a good YA horror.

There were parts that really dragged, a slightly jumpy plot and a severe lack of character development for a lot of the supporting cast.

That being said, it was a good read with enough mystery and suspense to keep the reader interested.

When ghosts call us home was a surprisingly terrifying example of the horror genre.

Sophia was the star in a found footage paranormal movie directed by her sister 5 years ago that became a cult hit. During filming, her screams are real, which is part of the appeal of the movie, but her memory of filming is hazy. When her sister disappears, Sophia agrees to be part of a documentary on the movie to gain access to Cashore, the coastal mansion where the movie was filmed, as to find her sister she knows she needs to go back to where it all began…

This book was genuinely scary in parts and the unreliable narrative left you wondering whether the character was mentally unstable or genuinely seeing things right until the end. I enjoyed the idea of “the path” and message boards online about the movie, that was a nice touch. One thing I will say is that there was some disjointment - the book itself was quite adult and definitely not for younger teens, but the main character actually read younger than what she was.

3.5 stars

Not going to lie I nearly didn’t finish this, I found the beginning really slow and a little confusing at times however I was determined to stick with it until at least 50%, and I’m really glad I did. The second half of the books was the complete opposite, quick paced, lots of twists and dark turns, the rest of the story was amazing and the ending was great!
Took off a star just due to the beginning.

Getting ready for Halloween with a spooky book is my favourite thing, and although I read When Ghosts Call Us Home in August, British Summer time this year is practically winter anyway!

When Ghosts Call Us Home is found-footage style content meets the haunted house genre. Sophia is on the hunt for her missing sister; acclaimed director of the home-made film ‘Vermillion’ which has become a cult-favourite since they shot it as children in the atmospheric Cashore House.

I was surprised to see that this book is published by Macmillan Children’s Books and is marketed as ‘young adult’. The writing is beautiful, the setting atmospheric and although the main character is 17 and there’s a small romance element to the plot, I didn’t really think it was particularly ‘Young Adult’. I’m sure teenagers would enjoy this book, but equally adults would as well!

I enjoyed the mystery element of ‘The Path’ which is documented on a creepy website which seems to have a mind of its own. Although Sophia’s journey on The Path made sense, I didn’t really understand how other people, not linked to the house or the film were seeing the signs and what they were seeing, and this is never really explained. Sophia is easy to empathise with and a strong character to lead the story along. I also enjoyed the scenes which were trying to recreate that film in the house with the new Director. I felt sometimes the book had the tendency to not give backstory on the film and I would have perhaps appreciated a little more information about some of the scenes earlier in the narrative, so I didn’t feel as lost when the shooting was happening.

Overall, When Ghosts Call Us Home is the perfect Halloween read, creepy and well written, for Young Adults and Adults alike. Thank you to NetGalley & Macmillan Children’s Books for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.