House of Yesterday

September 15, 2022
Through anguish and grief, a 15-year-old is determined to uncover the secrets haunting her Afghan Uzbek family. What Sara knew, before everything changed, is now only a memory: "the present and past wrapped up so tight until there's nothing left." Bibi jan, her beloved maternal grandmother, has dementia. Madar and Padar, her parents, are separated and living apart. She's estranged from Sam, her former best friend and neighbor, who is cued White. As a coping mechanism this summer before sophomore year, Sara counts the beads on her bracelet to help remember the past. Madar has roped her into taking photos for the family business, flipping houses. Their latest project is the dilapidated Sumner house, where an apparition of her Bibi jan as a young woman, singing and dancing, appears to Sara. Getting to the truth behind the house, the ghost, and her family's history becomes her new obsession, alarming her friends and family, including an army of aunts and cousins, with her increasingly risky behavior. Is the house truly haunted, or have the sleepless nights and stress taken a toll? Set on a post-pandemic Long Island, the place the Amani family has called home since fleeing Afghanistan, this debut features rewarding character development and complex family dynamics centered in a revelatory cultural lens. Though Zargarpur depicts Sara's unraveling with compassion, the stellar prose is hampered by the haunted house mystery, which becomes tedious. A suspenseful, artfully written paranormal drama exploring the ghosts of intergenerational trauma. (Fiction. 13-18)

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October 31, 2022
On Long Island, an Afghan Uzbek 16-year-old uncovers family secrets while navigating grief in this paranormal ghost story by debut author Zargarpur. Sara Amani’s life is unraveling: her parents, Madar and Padar, have moved into different houses in preparation for a divorce, and her beloved maternal grandmother, Bibi Jan, has dementia. Sara used to confide in Bibi Jan, but now feels as if she has no one with whom to share her inner turmoil, so she buries her emotions and retreats from her cousins and friends. As a distraction, she assists with the family’s real estate business, photographing and helping Madar to flip an abandoned home. There, she sees an apparition of a young Bibi Jan. Desperate to uncover facets of her grandmother that she never knew, Sara delves into Bibi Jan’s past, but her new obsession sows worry within her community. Inspired by her own family history, Zargarpur pulls from multiple literary traditions, including Central Asian fairy tales, Western gothic novels, and contemporary immigration fiction, employing lyrical prose and harrowing ambiance to craft an eerie supernatural debut. The result is a dreamlike novel that engagingly examines grief, healing, and preserving the stories of the past. Ages 14–up. Agent: Elana Roth Parker, Laura Dail Literary.

December 1, 2022

Gr 9 Up-Fifteen-year-old American-born Sara Rahmat lives on Long Island, where her Afghan-Uzbek family has lived since fleeing Afghanistan. However, the summer before her sophomore year is different as Bibi jan, her maternal grandmother, was diagnosed with dementia; Madar and Padar, her mother and father, are separated; and she is on the outs with her best friend and neighbor, Sam. When Madar ropes Sara into taking photos for the family house-flipping business, the Sumner house is not what she expected. Instead of creating a much-needed distraction, it brings a family mystery to light. In the house, Sara sees what appears to be a younger version of beloved Bibi and a mysterious little girl. As Sara tries to figure out what secrets the Sumner house holds, she starts to unravel, causing her family great worry. Inspired by her own Afghan-Uzbek heritage, Zargarpur has beautifully written a mysterious and haunting story about family. Sara's ability to see ghosts and some of the events that take place provide a bit of magical realism to the story. However, those who don't enjoy fantasy won't be turned off by this book. Aspects of Afghan-Uzbek culture are wonderfully presented throughout the book, and the message of family is marvelously delivered. This well-written story will have readers turning the page to uncover the secrets of the Sumner house along with Sara. VERDICT An excellent choice for libraries, particularly those looking for intriguing books for discussions.-Amanda Borgia

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Starred review from November 1, 2022
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* When Sara wanders into her mother's latest fixer-upper, her life is in turmoil: she's estranged from her best friend; her parents are on the verge of a divorce; and her grandmother is gradually losing herself to dementia. But as is tradition in her Afghan family, that pain is kept buried deep down where it is all but forgotten . . . or is it? In that house, Sara is struck with visions: faces of her family from decades past, including a little girl she doesn't recognize who calls out to her for help. Soon after, Sara's grandmother begins to insist that she has a son and 11 daughters--one more daughter than the family believes she has. Sara believes it is her duty to piece together her family's secret history. But how much of herself is she willing to give up for the truth? Zargarpur has penned a dazzling debut that combines a complex intergenerational immigrant-family drama, a story of a teen dealing with sweeping life changes, and a genre-bending ghost story. Sara and her family members are wonderfully realized, as is the tension that their secrets create between them. The supernatural elements are deftly woven into the story, leaving readers uneasy and guessing at the true nature of Sara's visions. A gripping tale from start to finish.

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