The House that Wasn't There by Elana K. Arnold

 Every family has secrets but as a child one usually doesn't know this. Indeed, part of the process of growing up is when children learn family secrets either by accident or by design. Sometimes it is only when one has sufficiently matured that one can see why some secrets are better left buried.

In The House that Wasn't There we meet Alder, a rising sixth grader who lives with his mom in a comfy house in a comfy neighborhood. His biggest worry is how to navigate the transition to middle school.  For the most part, his life follows some predictable patterns and then one random day a girl moves in next door and her family commits what to Alder's, is an egregious act. Because of this both families get off on the wrong foot. However, some curious events keep happening to both kids and because of this they will have to decide if to work together to figure out the weird events.

Deftly mixing some coming-of-age drama with some fantastical,  this story explores the definition of family and the ties that bind people together across generations. Arnold uses many vivid images in the book and in one section she describes an impromptu feast and I could almost taste the food shared. One takeaway for young readers is that things have a way of working themselves out if given enough time.

This is a wonderful feel good story that I recommend for grades four and up. Some read alikes are Shouting at the Rain by Lynda Hunt, Sharon Creech's Moo and The Season of Styx Malone by Kekla Magoon.