The Ghost House by Bill Nagelkerke

‘What are you doing here, house?’

I’m old, says the house, and starting to disintegrate. Help me. Save me.

The Ghost House follows the life of David, a young boy who lives on the outskirts of Christchurch’s Red Zone (the area deemed unliveable following the 2011 earthquake). The book is set immediately following the outbreak of COVID-19 which adds an element of challenge to David’s life as he is recovering from acute lymphocytic leukaemia.

David loves cricket and is struggling with being unable to play due to his illness, so he explores the nearby Red Zone as a way of passing the time. He comes across an old villa and a woman living there called Agnes. The two form a kind of friendship and David starts to learn more about the Red Zone.

Bill Nagelkerke writes in his explanation at the end of the book that he grew up in a house in the Red Zone, and “when it disappeared, some of [his] childhood history vanished with it. The Red Zone of this story is a landscape both real and imagined”. As someone who grew up in Christchurch myself and lived through the earthquakes, I could clearly see his inspiration as I read the book.

The publisher recommends this book to readers aged 8-13 and I agree. As a secondary school teacher, I would probably only recommend this to my year 9 students. This is not a complex book and it is written in an approachable manner, so it could be useful for reluctant readers. There are also a few drawings incorporated throughout which add some charm to the story. Conversational snippets of Māori language appear throughout the book.

For students who grew up in Canterbury this could be an interesting way for them to learn a bit more about their local history. The inclusion of the COVID-19 pandemic adds further relevance to the lives of our young people, but for students who need a break from all the pandemic noise, this may be a book to avoid.

This isn’t the best or most interesting book you will ever read, but it is approachable for young readers and most young people will be able to relate to many elements of the story.