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The Agony House

by Cherie Priest

Subject
Mysteries & Detective Stories
Age
9-12 years
Format
Trade Paperback
Pages
272
Publisher
Arthur A. Levine Books
Size
14.0 cm × 20.8 cm
ISBN
9781338582178
A haunted house, a killer ghost, and a long-lost comic come to life in another spectacular package of novel and comics from Cherie Priest, author of I Am Princess X.

Denise Farber has just moved back to New Orleans with her mom and stepdad. They left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and have finally returned, wagering the last of their family's money on fixing up an old, rundown house and converting it to a bed and breakfast.

Nothing seems to work around the place, which doesn't seem too weird to Denise. The unexplained noises are a little more out of the ordinary, but again, nothing too unusual. But when floors collapse, deadly objects rain down, and she hears creepy voices, it's clear to Denise that something more sinister lurks hidden here.

Answers may lie in an old comic book Denise finds concealed in the attic: the lost, final project of a famous artist who disappeared in the 1950s. Denise isn't budging from her new home, so she must unravel the mystery-on the pages and off-if she and her family are to survive...

About the creators

Cherie PriestAuthor

Cherie Priest is the author of I Am Princess X, her debut young adult novel which earned three starred reviews and was a YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. She is also the author of more than a dozen adult science fiction, fantasy, and horror novels, including Boneshaker, which won the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel. She lives in Seattle, Washington and can be found online at www.cheriepriest.com and @cmpriest.

Tara O'ConnorIllustrator

Tara O'Connor is a comic maker and illustrator currently residing in the New Jersey wilderness. When she's not drawing or teaching comics, she's probably working on an illustration of some sort. She is the author of Roots and The Altered History of Willow Sparks. You can find more of Tara's art online at www.taraocomics.com.

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What reviewers said

"Priest pairs with O'Connor to neatly weave together the history of comic books and contemporary concerns about gentrification into an eerie ghost story set in a ramshackle house that's as much a character as the people living in it.... Priest does a great job of skillfully including the important conversations Denise and her family have with their new community. At its heart, though, this is a ghost story, and Priest excels at building palpable atmosphere: Denise's parents' anxiety about their shoestring budget, the sweltering New Orleans summer heat, the disrepair of the house ("soggy…
Kirkus Reviews
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© 2026 Peekabooks Inc. All Rights Reserved.