The Death House - Horror Novel by Sarah Pinborough | Haunted Asylum Thriller & Supernatural Suspense | Perfect for Halloween Reading & Dark Fiction Fans

I found out about this book by searching for some must-read YA novels lists. The novel is beautifully written and even though it is written for a younger audience, the author does not "write down" to the reader like some YA authors do. When I first read a synopsis of the novel, I thought it would be very depressing and disturbing but that is not the case. It is a love story and is about living, not dying (as the title might imply).The novel is about a young man, Toby, who is "Defective" and will eventually die. He is taken from his house soon after the test he was administered to in school and brought to the "Death House," an isolated mansion presumably on an island somewhere. There are some subtle hints that this novel takes place somewhat in the future (there was a line about no snow falling in England for the past 100 years). We are not given much information about this disease (it seems to present differently in everyone who has it) but it will inevitably lead to each young person (if you make it to 18 without testing positive, you are safe for life) becoming ill in some way and then in the night, will be taken up to the sanatorium to die.Despite the grim nature of the novel, it is surprisingly light-hearted even if Toby starts off as [understandably] depressed, sleeping during the day and up at night. Then one day, new "Defectives" arrive and that's when things change for Toby.I won't go any further into the plot summary as to not give anything away but I will say there is a twist in this novel (I sort of saw it coming) and the ending, while beautiful, is sad (but you'll see it coming).If I could change one thing, it would be nice if the author added an epilogue at the end with some explanations. There are a lot of unanswered questions, but maybe sometimes some things are better left unexplained. A sequel would be nice as well.Overall, I highly recommend it.