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We Have Always Lived in the Castle
By Shirley Jackson
Penguin Classics, October 2006, 160pp.

The Short of It:

An odd little read.

The Rest of It:

Two sisters, Merricat and Constance Blackwood live in an old, dilapidated house called The Castle. They live there with their disabled Uncle Julian. Disabled from a freak poisoning “accident” that killed their entire family.

This family is hated by the villagers in town. The Blackwoods are odd, unable to fit in and ostracized whenever they show up in town for supplies. Merricat, the youngest endures the bullying with a watchful eye. As nasty as the townspeople are, they’re also a little bit afraid. No one wants to be around a family that damned near killed everyone at dinner. Do they?

The house is surrounded by Merricat’s idea of protection. Buried items, idols of some sort posted on a fence, all to keep the townspeople away. It’s rather “witchy” in nature and will keep you guessing.

To shake things up, Cousin Charles makes an appearance. An unwelcome appearance. Merricat despises him. Julian, not all together there, also takes to disliking him; continuously calling him the wrong name and insisting that people are dead when they are clearly alive. This is when we learn of Constance’s insufferable nature.

She really needs a good slap across the face. Cousin Charles mows over her, tries to sell the house out from under her and she just smiles and goes about her day. It’s all too much. Clearly Charles is not there to support their lives in any way.

Then, tragedy strikes. Yes, more tragedy. Here, the story gets very weird. I questioned whether these characters were even alive or if they were actually dead, but refused to leave The Castle.

Here’s what’s true:

Jackson does an amazing job depicting the isolation of these characters.
She creates some really strange characters. Annoying ones with quite the air of mystery about them. You wanna know more.
The house is a main character. Falling in on itself, damaged later on, in disrepair yet still called home.
Jackson’s handling of the villain/s in this story piqued my interest.
There is no cut and dry way of interpreting this story.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a literary classic. It should be experienced but not everyone will love it. In fact, I think most won’t like it at all. It was adapted to the big screen. I am curious to see how they interpret the story. I am discussing this with a group and my interpretation is quite different.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Bookshop.org affiliate links.

Dear Debbie
By Freida McFadden
Poisoned Pen Press, January 27, 2026, 336pp.

The Short of It:

Whoa, Nellie. What a wild ride.

The Rest of It:

Debbie is a small town advice columnist whose career is going nowhere. Like, really nowhere. Most of the “advice” she provides can only be saved to a private file because it’s NSFW or life. I am being slightly dramatic. Her advice is GREAT but probably not legal. When she finds herself let go, she doesn’t immediately panic since her husband Cooper is the real breadwinner anyway.

But…Cooper’s career is a real mess too. Desperate for a promotion but really, really not wanting to ask for one, he is left without a choice when Debbie tells him to go in there and demand what he wants. This doesn’t end well.

While their careers hang in the balance, other things hit the fan like their eldest daughter’s loser boyfriend causing trouble, and their younger daughter getting kicked off the soccer team. An athlete with incredible talent. Debbie is appalled and goes off the rails dealing with all of it. That’s the thing with Debbie, you really don’t want to be on the wrong side of her.

Debbie is a real go-getter so when her husband isn’t, it’s easy as a reader to read between the lines when other people get involved. Let me tell you though, McFadden pulls some surprising punches that I did not see coming. It’s wild!! I read one chapter again, just to be sure I was understanding it correctly.

This is a fun, dishy read. My first McFadden. If you want a page turner that makes you laugh at loud in places, and gasp in others, then this is the book for you. It took me right out of my day and entertained me in a way I had not been entertained in a while.

Recommend.

Source: Review copy sent to me by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Bookshop.org affiliate links.

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