Meet my new favorite middle-grade, second only to A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness.

When I heard that this was a middle-grade retelling of The Yellow Wallpaper, I knew I had to pick it up. I wasn't sure how the author would translate it to the new age range since the original is about post-partum depression and the rest cure, but she chose the perfect method: invisible illnesses. Our MC, Violet, may not have post-partum depression, but she does have something else doctors don't understand. Something they dislike simply because they don't understand it.

And, of course, she has a figure in her ugly yellow wallpaper.

It's a bit of a slow burn to get to the horror, but it's intentional. You're never bored, though, with the beautiful writing style, friendship struggles (speaking of, we need more friendship breakups in fiction), and character dynamics. All the characters felt human and real, even the ones you're supposed to hate. When the horror comes in, it feels earned.

Speaking of characters we're supposed to hate, allow me to rant about Dr. Reynolds. When he said something along the lines of, "You should stay away from Google," I felt Violet's mom's fury. There was a mother researching what might be wrong with her daughter and asking a doctor some harmless questions. And not only does he ignore her concerns, but he berates her. Some doctors won't listen to anything they don't understand. It's infuriating.

The author's note sheds more light on the invisible illness aspect of the book and the author's experience with it. I really enjoyed that detail!

Overall, I highly recommend this to anyone interested in The Yellow Wallpaper, middle-grade horror, or invisible illnesses.