Welcome to an unusual tale of a girl, a boy, and a mansion. Best friends and both autistic, Asha and Sam have known each other since they were wee. Asha adores Donnybrooke, a grandiose mansion at the highest point of town, but she is banned from going there, making it all the more attractive. The story is told in alternating points of view (with a running commentary from the mansion), and readers learn why Asha isn't allowed on the property; how these friends become disconnected after Sam's mom pushes him to attend the elite Castleton Academy; and about the cruelty of Prestyn, whose family inhabits Donnybrooke. When Prestyn and her minion terrorize Sam, Asha comes to the rescue, but will she be in time to save him? And will Donnybrooke survive the disgrace of it all? This debut novel from Trehan presents intriguing, achingly real characters in the persons of Asha, Sam, and Prestyn, though the adults are somewhat less genuine. That quibble aside, the original presentation and complex young characters carry this compelling exploration of friendship and home.

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. (Fiction. 8-12)

Gr 46 Middle school friendships, discrimination, bullying, and the pressures of meeting parental expectations are all examined through the triple perspectives of middle-schoolers Sam and Asha, and the mansion that looms large over their neighborhood. Sam and Asha have always been friends, drawn together by their unique personalities, and possibly because they are both on the autism spectrum. Asha adores architecture, especially the quirky and imposing features of Donnybrooke, the mansion that borders her yard, but from which she was barred after just one visit. Sam is obsessed with space and with the Househaunt game on his phone, which combines Asha's love of buildings with his own fondness for killing monsters. Their easy friendship is tested when Sam is admitted to the prestigious Castleton Academy, where he becomes known as the "Miracle Boy" and is constantly bullied. Asha has to start middle school alone, and when she sees Sam going to Donnybrooke with Prestyn, her enemy (whose family also owns the mansion), she feels angry and abandoned. She doesn't realize that Prestyn torments Sam and only pretends to be his friend, both as a source of amusement and to annoy her mother. Sam goes along because it makes others at Castleton Academy bully him less, but Prestyn's evil games get out of control. Short chapters and easy vocabulary give readers multiple perspectives of how bullying starts, its devastating effects, and how adults can unknowingly pressure young people into behavior that causes pain. Asha is Hindu and possibly South Asian, but other characters are assumed to be white. VERDICT A thought-provoking look at bullying and social pressures through the eyes of its victims and of an inanimate, yet opinionated, mansion that will ring true with many readers. MaryAnn Karre, Binghamton, NY