Published May 1, 2012 by Walker Books Australia
Source: the publisher
Rating: 4 paws
From the blurb: Freya Jackson Kramer has done some stupid things before, but this is the first time they?ve been splashed across Facebook. When she escapes to Vinegar House for the holidays, she thinks she?s leaving her troubles behind. But Freya?s troubles are just beginning.
How will she deal with her manipulative cousin, Rumer? How can she avoid the ex-love of her life, Luke Hart? And what secrets lie in the locked attic?
Love Notes from Vinegar House by Karen Tayleur is set in a seaside village called Homsea. Freya Jackson Kramer has lived there all her life. Unfortunately her Nanna, who lives overseas, becomes ill and her mother and father take off to visit her. Freya gets sent to stay with her Grandmother Florence at Vinegar House, the creepy old family home up on a cliff, just outside of town. While there Freya has to put up with her bossy cousin, Rumor, and the boy she used to love, Luke as well as odd occurrences.
I knew was going to enjoy this book from the very first page. Freya?s personality leapt out at me and I found her to be funny and entertaining. She?s a middle child and has grown up visiting Vinegar House for family occasions with her parents, siblings and extended family. When she was little she couldn?t wait to grow up so she could play with the big kids, her older sister Isabella, as well as her cousins, including bossy Rumor. The adults have always referred to Rumor as having ?special circumstances? but Freya has never known what that meant, other than something to do with Rumor?s mother dying when she was young.
Freya refers to a recent incident that occurred at a party recently so she?s not too upset that Vinegar House doesn?t have internet as she wants to stay away from Facebook, sure that everyone hates her. Unfortunately it means she doesn?t have a lot to do while staying with her Grandmother. The house is very old and felt incredibly creepy. It?s cold, damp, creaky and odd things start happening while Freya and Rumor are staying there; taps running and splashing sounds coming from a bathroom, as well as flashes of light in the attic which is always kept locked. Freya is also upset because Luke, her old crush, is working at Vinegar House and she is sure that he and Rumor are back together, once again making her feel left out.
We learn a lot about Freya, Luke and her cousins via flashbacks to previous holidays at the beach and at Vinegar House. Rumor has always been vying for control and comes across as quite mean; I kept picturing her as Sasha from the new tv show, Bunheads.
I kept waiting for this to be really scary but instead it was creepy, thrilling and I was in suspense for most of the novel. I liked the intricacies of the relationships between different family members and felt that the mystery came together well at the end. I thought the setting was really well done, I could easily picture the beachy town of Homsea and I felt like I was staying in Vinegar House with Freya, walking down dark passageways and breathing in that old house scent.
Love Notes from Vinegar House is a wonderful blend of contemporary and gothic fiction, with an intriguing mystery and an adorable main character, it?s sure to please readers of YA.
Thank you to the wonderful people at Walker Books Australia for my review copy.
Source: http://veganyanerds.blogspot.com/2012/09/love-notes-from-vinegar-house-by-karen.html
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