The dollhouse

It's 1997, and 12-year-old Alice's regular life is in turmoil; a move to the countryside leads to supernatural adventure. Alice has an overactive, vivid imagination--at least, according to her mother. But is what she sees always imaginary? After telling her emotionally absent, workaholic husband that she's leaving him, Alice's mother takes her daughter to Blackwood House, where she has a live-in nursing job caring for a wealthy old woman while she recovers from a fall. Alice is befriended by teenage Lily, the housekeeper's daughter, who informs her that her bedroom is haunted. As Lily and Alice explore the house, they find a dollhouse in a locked room that becomes real in Alice's dreams. Who are Fizz and Bubble--the sisters who also appear in her dreams--and what is her purpose in their lives? In her everyday world, Alice hopes her parents will reunite, worries about her mother's flirtation with the local doctor, and tries to stay out of the way of her mother's cranky patient. This is a twisty tale that goes in many different directions but never loses the main thread. The author carefully lays out clues for readers who like to solve mysteries themselves. Both Lily and Bubble are developmentally delayed; they are described respectfully and are fleshed-out characters. The cast members default to White. A time-traveling mystery that will keep readers involved and guessing up to the very end. (Paranormal mystery. 9-13) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.