House of Yesterday

Written by Deeba Zargarpur

Narrated by Ariana Delawari

Struggling to deal with the pain of her parents’ impending divorce, fifteen-yearold Sara is facing a world of unknowns and uncertainties. Unfortunately, the one person she could always lean on when things got hard, her beloved grandmother
Bibi jan, has become a mere echo of her former vibrant self. And so Sara retreats into the family business, hoping a summer working on her mom’s latest home renovation project will provide a distraction from her fracturing world.

But the house is not just a structure made of plaster and stone. It holds secrets that have Sara clinging desperately to the memories of her old life. Secrets that only her Bibi jan could have untangled. Secrets Sara is powerless to ignore as the
dark truths of her family’s history rise in ghostly apparitions—and with them, the realization that as much as she wants to hold on to her old life, nothing will ever be the same.

Told in lush, sweeping prose, this is a breathtaking journey into the grief that lingers through generations of immigrant families, and what it means to confront the ghosts of your past.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 29, 2022
• ISBN: 9781705078778

Reviews for House of Yesterday

[sennebec · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I went back and forth between thinking Sara had lost her marbles and believing she really was seeing family ghosts. In either instance, you had to feel for her because she was in emotional agony almost every moment. If the quandary surrounding her grandmother and why no one was willing to talk about family history wasn't bad enough, the toxic back and forth between her parents would be sufficient to drive any teen insane. What was saddest of all was how all this took over so much of her mind that she cut the only real caring person out of her life and darn near lost him. The circumstances might be different for many teens in dysfunctional families, but the emotional turmoil will feel familiar to them.

[mishker-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Sara Rahmat's life is slowly falling apart at fifteen years old.  Her parents are going through a divorce, her Bibi Jan's memories are being taken by dementia and there is a huge rift between Sara and her best friend, Sam.  Sara is hoping to get through the summer uneventfully and is forced to help with her mom's house flipping project. Upon entering the abandoned house on Sumner, Sara is overtaken with emotion. Then, Sara spots a young girl who bears a strong resemblance to her family, only to have the young girl disappear.  As summer continues, Sara is drawn to the Sumner house and the family mystery that she feels destined to uncover there. However, in her obsession, Sara pushes away her family, her friends and even some parts of herself. Told in a lyrical prose, House of Yesterday is a haunting, contemporary young adult story that covers so much more than coming of age.  The overarching theme seems to be the question of 'who am I?' Sara asks this constantly as she tries to unravel the mystery of Sumner house.  As Sara says: " Who am I?I am Sarah Rahmat and not.I am American and not.I am Afghan-Uzbek and not. I am the product of a grand love story and not. I am and I am not. "  The writing so perfectly captures the lost, unknown, angry and in-between feeling of being a teenager through Sara's point of view.   While Sara is trying to heal her own internal wounds, it seems like she is making a mess of everything in the outside world, but all she really wants to do is pay homage to the past and her families roots.  I'm glad that both Sara's parents, large extended family and friends were supportive, understanding  and had her back through everything that she was trying to deal with.  I loved the mystery of Sumner House and how the memories of Sara's family played out as she brought the house objects from her grandmother's past.  I also loved the heritage of Sara's Afghan- Uzbek family.  Without it being the center point of the story, traditions, values, language and the immigrant experience was weaved throughout.  I absolutely devoured this book and loved the mix of paranormal and very real issues of growing up. This book was received for free in return for an honest review.