The House Next Door, by Richie Tankersley Cusick

The House Next Door, by Richie Tankersley Cusick
By Joseph Stutzman

The House Next Door, a novel, set in contemporary times centers around 17-year-old twin teens Emma and Charlie Donovan. Despite their telekenic ability to sense what the other is going through and to experience each others' dreams, they have a particular contentious relationship.

The twins' battles, early on, verge on being almost too mean, and it might be easy for some readers to dismiss Charlie as a bully and Emma as a wimp.

New to town, Charlie's had no trouble meeting and making friends - and attracting girls, who are drawn to his easy good looks and charming manner. Emma, on the other hand, has only one friend, Val but she happens to be the most popular girl. Val, unsurprisingly, has a secret crush on Charlie, which Emma knows about, but doesn't let on to Val Later, also unsurprisingly, the readers learn the attraction isn't unrequited.

Charlie faux-reluctantly agrees to a bet in which his loss means he has to ask Val to the winter dance. The bet, however proves considerably more creepy for Emma - she has to spend the entire night in the creepy old house next door.

Tankersley Cusick does use some conventional ghost-story tactics, including a spirit from the past -- when recovered from newspaper/library archives, the twins discover the original neighbor's have a daughter who looks just like Emma.

Charlie relents on the bet somewhat, but Emma stubbornly insists on going through with her part of the deal.

She's scared, terrified, even, but pushes through the rubbled remains and hunkers down in the house, determined to make it through the night. But while she's there, with every eerie convention surrounding her (dark, noises, cobwebs, etc, ec.) she has a rather queer supernatural experience in which she morphs into one-time resident - a young girl also named Emma (last name: Farmington).

""Our" Emma finds herself embroiled in a secret imbroglio with Daniel, a farmhand, and at the mercy of her relentless bible-thumping father.

Emma eventually confesses what actually happened to Charlie and Val and the trio embark on a quest to discover what happened to the real-life one-time residents. They find themselves having to meet and befriend two scary spinster sisters from down the street - and grow closer in the process. Can they stop the pending (in the past) tragedy? Whose ghost are they dealing with - the young girl who mirrors Emma? The lovelorn ranch hand? Or, the tempestuous preacher?

This novel is, ultimately, good spirited and certainly appropriate for young adults - there's no swearing, no gruesome scenes and certainly nothing sexual. "The House Next Door" takes on some derivative conventions, creates simply drawn characters, but injects enough eeriness to satisfy an audience that likes to be (a little) scared.

Along with enjoying a good book, Joseph enjoys working in his flower and vegetable gardens. Garden Harvest Supply is one of his favorite gardening web sites which offers vegetable plants for sale, including cucumber plants.

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