Margaret peter Haddix explores delicately the idea of family, loyalty, and forgiveness in her novel, The House on the Gulf.
Things seem too good to be true when Britt’s 16 year old brother gets the offer to house-sit a home four blocks from the Florida beaches for a family who spend the summer in New York.
Bran and Britt have watched their mother work hard to barely support them. With the opportunity of free rent for a whole summer, she can quit her waitressing job and be a full time student making her eligible for a scholarship opportunity for single mothers.
But Britt who has always idolized her brother and trusted him to take care of everyone begins to get suspicious that they don’t belong in that house. When Britt and Bran accidentally meet up with the owner of the house, Mr. Marquis, Bran cuts off Britt’s attempts to introduce herself and sends her away. After the family moves into the house Bran instantly puts away the Marquises’ plates after she comments on how old they are. He asks them not to use the air-conditioning, despite the Florida heat, or the washer and dryer. And a neighbor comments that Bran had secretly moved boxes into the Marquises’ shed before they moved into the house, which explains why there are no pictures inside.
The only comfort in an otherwise frightening summer is the elderly neighbor Mrs. Stuldy who befriends Britt and helps her to reach out to the elderly community by creating a job where she runs errands for those to whom it has become too difficult. Many of the explorations into guilt and forgiveness are dissected over freshly baked cookies in Mrs. Stuldy’s kitchen.
“Haven’t you been listening?” he asked. “Where do you think we’re going to move to? How would we pay for another place? Mom took out loans to go to school this summer. She’d have to drop out if we couldn’t stay here. And she wouldn’t get that money back. We’d be worse off than ever.” He reached into his pocket and came up with a crumpled twenty-dollar bill that must have been his tips from the day from work. “This would be about all we’d have to keep us from living on the street.”
This is a story with many unexpected twists. The reader can’t help but feel Britt’s certainty that things are not what they seem and if they just turn the next page they will be able to unravel the illusive mystery. And yet, the more the mystery gets revealed you empathize with the burden Britt must carry with her and wonder what you would do differently.
This is an excellent stand alone mystery for readers in fourth grade and above!
GENRE: Mystery
Discussion Guide—The House on the Gulf
Questions that can be used in classrooms and book group- How did this book turn out differently than you expected?
- What would you do if you were Britt, after she found out what her brother was doing?
- The title of this book refers to the fact that the house in Florida is located on the Gulf of Mexico. But there is also a gulf between Britt’s mother and her grandparents. And there’s a gulf between what Britt thinks is going on, and what’s really happening. Can you explain that gulf?
