The Smell of Other People's Houses

I thoroughly enjoyed The Smell of Other People's Houses (as well as chatting about the title with kids walking into the library). In a nutshell, Hitchcock portrays the harsh realities and frank beauties of Alaska, deftly weaving together the lives of four adolescent narrators. It's a spider's web

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that manages to be lovely rather than cliché, and makes me want to explore the North.

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Another great realistic fiction books about relationships set in Alaska during the 1980s. Told from alternating points of view, the final product is one shining example of a whole story brought to life. Each character brings a very different perspective and insight about the culture of society,

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norms, abandonment, poverty, and Native American prejudices. Recommendation tags: teens, pregnancy, poverty, adoption, death, abandonment, Alaska, 1980s, realistic fiction,

I would recommend this to teens in high school, those who can handle a (sometimes) dark story, those interested in Alaska during the 1980s, and those who enjoy realistic fiction--for both teenagers and adults.

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I can see this book being very popular for the young adult audience for which it was intended. The book is about four young Alaskan kids who are trying to overcome roadblocks in their lives (family instability, desire to dance in an unaccepting environment, etc.). And, of course, there is the

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desire to nurture relationships with the opposite sex. The author's easy style makes the book fast paced and very readable. Alaska is an untapped setting and I bet that more than a few adults will like this book.

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Narrated by Jorjeana Marie, Erin Tripp, Karissa Vacker, and Robbie Daymond. This work is a love letter to life in Alaska and its people, good and bad. (The author lived and worked there for many years.) You get the sense of being suffocated in a small town yet being fully of the wilderness and wide

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open spaces. Bonus points for finding an actress who's an Alaska Native to read Dora's story.

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Six Degrees of Separation- 4.5 stars...

Have you ever heard the theory that we are all separated from everyone else in the world by fewer then six steps or degrees? Well that's really the underlying theme in this story. We meet four different characters from 1970's Alaska- Ruth, Dora, Alyce and

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Hank. They each live different lives but as they are all struck by either tragedy, luck, love or salvation their stories and lives become intertwined. 
 
I have to admit when I first started reading this last night I put it down after the second chapter because I wasn't getting into it. I think it was probably just the mood I was in because when I picked it back up today I fell right into it. It's not a fast paced story though - it builds slowly with gradual reveals along the way which I think worked rather well.  I loved the Alaska backdrop and I think the author did a great job of portraying the characters and the small town way of life. It's not a light read though and it will tug on your heartstrings! 
 
 

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A special thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF 27%

The synopsis of this book had me so excited, but at 27% I got bored. I didn't like the execution of the story. I'm fine with changes in point of view, but it didn't work in this story,

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at least not how it was written. The changes in points of view were sudden and they didn't seem to merge together into a seamless story. As soon as I got interested in one character's life, the point of view changed and then I had to readjust.

The characters weren't interesting enough for me. I just didn't care about them.

The writing seemed to have a lot of fluff. There were parts that didn't add to the story, so it didn't feel like it was moving forward.

I tried my best to love it and I'm sorry that I didn't.

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4.5 stars but I'll bump it up to 5. I picked up this book because the title was intriguing. It ended up being quite lovely! I'm glad I found it.

I thought that the title reflected the book. That you just caught a wisp of each character, a single smell that you couldn't really place in context. And that when you reached the end of the book, you could at least begin to name people, you could see what made up one part of their identity. Ditto

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Alaska.
I definitely loved the text and the imagery. It contains some titbits of magic realism, that feels not so far from the possibilities of chance and our natural world.
I couldn't find a copy of the poem that was referenced, "If you cut me open". I liked the idea of a stone skipping, making ripples/waves of jealousy underneath someone's skin.

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Fairbanks, Alaska is a pretty small town, all things considered, and everyone knows a lot of every one else's business. This story is told from the point of view of four different teens, living four different lives, and how they all come together in one place.

Holy insta love, my eyebrow got a good workout throughout this book. Luckily it wasn't the main focal point of the story.

This book covers the lives of four teenagers living in Alaska in the 1970s after it became a state. Ruth lost her father in a tragic plane accident that left her mother mentally

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insane and put her and her sister in the care of her strict Catholic grandmother. That doesn't stop her from experimenting teenage rebellion and getting pregnant with the child of a popular boy at school. Dora is a Native with an absentee mother and an abusive father. Her father ends up in jail for a time while her mother goes off with her friends and spends all their money on alcohol. The only good thing that came out of it was that she got to live with a nicer family that took her in when no one else would. Alyce loves ballet but she loves her father more which is why she forfeits any chance at getting good roles and skips the dance conditioning every summer for the chance to help her father during fishing season. But this year is different and she has never figured out a way to tell her dad that she would much rather be dancing than cleaning the fish they catch. Ever since Hank's father disappeared he's decided to be the man of the house to protect his brothers. When things escalate with his step-father the three boys decide to move in hopes of finding a better home.

I liked the connection between all the stories. They all wanted to find a place they could call home and feel that sense of comfort. Though there were many points of views the story didn't drag and not one story was better than the other. It's both a good and bad thing because in the end I didn't feel especially drawn to one character. But it was a nice story with a pretty ending.

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I received this one prior to it's release and sadly just got to it yesterday! It could have been the title holding me back or the massive TBR pile, but I finally read it and did so in just one day. It was an awesome short read that had powerful words, inspiring metaphors, and a storyline that made

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me open my eyes, heart, and mind.

Each character played an intricate role in the overall picture. It was intriguing to follow their lives and put the pieces together to see how they were all connected. I felt for each character in a different way... Whether it was the fact they didn't have a strong family structure or that they were left to deal with life on their own at an age you need someone most... Each story pulled me in and captured my heart.

It's a book filled with emotion, broken hearts, tragedy, hope, and new beginnings. It is rich in Alaskan feels and vivid in overall atmosphere. The Author did an excellent job making me feel like I was in the story. I could feel the bitter cold on my face and the wind rip through my hair as they floated on top of the water. I felt romance bloom, friendships thrive, and families mend. It was truly a unique story that kept me glued to the pages.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book and the change of pace it provided. The title was a tad odd to me, but in the end I understood the meaning behind it and could relate in more ways than one.

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It's like reading a boring (although well written) diary of a young girl growing up in Alaska. It gives an idea of what growing up in Alaska could/would be like, I've never read a historical fiction set in Alaska before.

Someone who really wants a contemporary novel based in Alaska may really like

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this, especially since the author writes in a way that is easy to read.

However, and this is more based on my preferences of books, I found this boring and uneventful.

Marked it as DNF as I started to rapidly skim the further I read due to lack of interest.

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I remember that I enjoyed this as I read it, but I've forgotten everything about it, even though it's been only two months.

I was not really sure what I was in for when I started The Smell of Other People’s Houses. I have heard that it was a one of those books that will be your favorite without you even knowing it. I definitely get that thinking.

This story follows four different teens: Ruth, Dora, Alyce, and Hank.

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When this started it was almost like four separate stories. However; the stories all come together in the end. I did like some of the characters more than others. Some of the stories dragged on and I was ready for them to move on.

Overall, this was pretty good. It did not blow me away as I was expecting it too.

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teen/adult fiction (coming of age, historical Alaska 1959-1970)
I would classify this as more of an adult story than teen--the narrators are teenagers, but there's little to do with school or the usual angsty topics like boyfriends and more to do with living in, or escaping, homes with varying

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levels of stability. Though the cliff-hanger of Sam's falling off the ferry is left dangling for SEVERAL CHAPTERS before the story winds back over to his rescue, all the characters' threads weave together nicely and all ends happily, with the teens all finding stable homes, new friends, and happy endings.

Parental notes: I don't remember any swearing, but one teen gets pregnant (by a boy who turns out to be a jerk) and is sent away to have her baby at a convent (the adoptive family seems nice and reminds the teen of the family she used to have before her dad died in a plane crash and her mom was sent away for mental health reasons). There is kissing but nothing explicit and an abusive father who molests one of the teens (but not explicitly).

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