Absorbing read mixes myth, fairytales, and Gothic horror.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Violence & Scariness
a lot
Before the book begins, four sisters and a mother in one family are already dead. Two sisters died from falls, another from an illness, and another drowned in the bath. The mother died in childbirth. More family members die in the story from fire, in a very bloody childbirth, and by freezing to death, and others close to the family die from falls and in their sleep. Fighting with a knife and screaming while drunk. Two sisters are threatened and psychologically tortured by visions of their dead sisters, with many creepy details about how they looked in death and how they threaten to kill more or turn the rest of the family against them. Vision with a dead sea turtle on a banquet table writhing with maggots.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.
Triplets drink heavily at their 16th birthday party. Teens and adults drink before and at balls and family functions. Characters drink to drunkenness and become angry, demanding brandy. A man at the docks chews tobacco; a man at a ball smokes a cigar.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.
Kissing among young adults. Married couple heard in bedroom issuing "cries of ecstasy." A married woman talks about how she seduced her husband. Innuendo from teen girls who like romance novels and are looking for handsome partners.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.
Messages about the toll of the grieving process and how everyone grieves differently. Also, the importance of family and trusting your own instincts.
Positive Role Models
some
Annaleigh exhibits perseverance as she tries to find out who killed her sisters and courage when the pursuit begins to affect her mind. She loves her family and even shows compassion for her stepmother, who often doesn't deserve it.
Educational Value
very little
Some of the story is based on the fairy tale of The Twelve Dancing Princesses. Readers can compare this dark version with the Brothers Grimm version and other versions from around the world. Readers also get to ponder the life of a lighthouse keeper of yesteryear.
Diverse Representations
very little
In Salann, the oldest child inherits the family fortune and title, regardless of gender. All characters appear to be White.
Parents need to know that House of Salt and Sorrows is the first book in the dark fantasy series Sisters of the Salt. The story begins with a family funeral for a sister who fell off a cliff, the latest of five family deaths. And the body count just goes up from there. Family members die from fire, in a very bloody childbirth, and by freezing to death, and others close to the family die from falls and in their sleep. Two sisters are threatened and psychologically tortured by visions of their dead sisters, with many creepy details. Triplets drink heavily on their 16th birthday, and teens and adults drink at balls and family functions. One character drinks to drunkenness and becomes angry. Language is pretty light, with "damn" rarely and "bitch" used once. There's kissing between sweethearts and sexual noises are overheard in a married couple's bedroom. Annaleigh, the main character, exhibits perseverance as she tries to find out who killed her sisters and courage when the pursuit begins to warp her mind. She loves her family and even shows compassion for her stepmother, who often doesn't deserve it.
Very, very good! I am a 12 year old, and I read this earlier this year (around March i think..?) and IT was way better than expected. It is pretty clean, which made me very happy as it is really hard to find clean YA books sadly. The romance is perfectly balanced, and the sexual content literally is a married couple heard making sounds of ecstasy, and the main chracter taking a bath, but nothing explicit or unnerving. In the second kiss of the main couple, it is desscribed that they insert a toungue into the others mouth, but I don't think that is a huge huge deal. The plot was amazing! I loved that it was ahorror/thriller/mystery combo, and what is amazing, is that the horror part isn't terrifying at all, it simply explains that one of the chracters are having eerie visions. I loved this book so much, I read it FOUR times, and was still experiencing the emotions on the same level. I totally reccommend it!
What's the Story?
In HOUSE OF SALT AND SORROWS: SISTERS OF THE SALT, BOOK 1, the Thaumas family of Salann performs funeral rites in their crypt for the fifth time in six years. This time it's for eldest daughter/sister, Eulalie, who fell from a cliff. Her sister Annaleigh is the only one suspicious about what really happened -- and the only one still set on another long year of mourning to honor her. The rest of her sisters can't take it anymore, and when their stepmother, Morella, announces that she's pregnant, they have an easy excuse to burn years' worth of black shrouds and mourning attire on the front lawn. It's on to living life again and hosting the triplets' 16th birthday party. But excitement fizzles when no gentleman other than old friends will dance with them. They hear whispers that they're cursed and are worried that their family name will scare away all marriage prospects. That is, until they learn of a secret passage in the family crypt, one that magics them far away from gossiping Salann to all the best balls around the world.
With notes of fairytale, mythology, family drama, and Gothic horror and romance, there's so much to pay attention to in this debut novel, and most of it is utterly absorbing. The elements don't always meld perfectly -- like the introduction of the mythology and the duke's hasty bet -- but they always add another delicious mystery for readers to solve and so many more questions to be answered. Who killed Annaleigh's sisters, and how many more will she lose? Why can only she and her youngest sister see them haunting the house? Will Annaleigh learn the truth, get kissed by the handsome son of a sea captain, wear out all her dancing slippers, or descend into madness first? The Gothic horror really kicks into high gear at the end, which may not be to everyone's taste, but your jaw will definitely drop open as the pages fly by. Another guarantee -- this author is building a fan base that will be swooning for more.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Annaleigh's compassion toward her stepmother in House of Salt and Sorrows. Why do you think she has more to spare than her other sisters? What does that and her love of sea turtles tell us about Annaleigh's character?
There's a lot of death here, many in one family. What was the impact of so many deaths on your reading of the story? For example, did it turn you off, or were you more invested after each perplexing tragedy to get to the bottom of the mystery?
How does this story weave in a unique mythology of gods and goddesses and the fairytale of The Twelve Dancing Princesses? Which fantasy element interested you more?
What do you think is next for the Sisters of the Salt?
Available on:
Paperback, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
Last updated:
August 16, 2023
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
suggesting a diversity update.
House of Salt and Sorrows: Sisters of the Salt, Book 1
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
By Carrie R. Wheadon
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
