THE VIEW FROM THE VERY BEST HOUSE IN TOWN

Two friends and a unique house weather difficult changes in Trehan’s debut.

Asha and Sam, both autistic, are inseparable. Even while playing Househaunt, a delightfully detailed game combining home design, monster slaying, and plot symbolism, they complement each other; architecture-obsessed Asha builds, while Sam squashes Screech-Leeches. But when Sam is accepted to prestigious Castleton Academy, everything crumbles. Bullied by his new classmates, Sam rejects Asha, fearing that her quirks will jeopardize his chances of being accepted by popular kids—like Asha’s neighborhood bully, a girl named Prestyn. Prestyn lives in Donnybrooke, Coreville’s fanciest mansion, which Asha was banned from entering after an incident at a childhood party. In alternating third-person perspectives, Sam, Asha, and Donnybrooke offer multifaceted views as Asha and Sam’s bond unravels, Prestyn’s befriending of Sam appears increasingly suspicious, and Asha’s banishment is gradually explained. Arrogant but surprisingly compassionate, the sentient mansion provides a poignant window into loneliness, classism, and the fallibility of adults as it observes its troubled inhabitants. The growing pains of middle school friendships, peer pressure, and bullying are palpable; readers will ache for Sam and Asha as they grow distant and cheer their tentative steps toward new relationships. Though Asha sees therapists and takes an unspecified medication, Sam’s and Asha’s autism is firmly portrayed as part of their personalities. Asha is cued as Indian American; Sam appears to be White.

An unusual, insightful exploration of what makes strong foundations in houses, families, and friendships.