Review: The Glass House by Suki Fleet

At seventeen, Sasha is a little lost and a lot lonely. He craves friendship and love, but although he’s outwardly confident, his self-destructive tendencies cause problems, and he pushes people away. Making sculptures out of the broken glass he collects is the only thing that brings him any peace, but it's not enough and everyday he feels himself dying a little more inside. Until he meets Thomas.

Thomas is shy but sure of himself in a way Sasha can't understand. He makes it his mission to prove to Sasha that he is worthy of love, and doesn't give up even when Sasha hurts him. Little by little Sasha begins to trust Thomas. And when Sasha is forced to confront his past he realises accepting the love Thomas gives him is the only way to push back the darkness.

This book is basically Suki Fleet doing what Suki Fleet does best. That is taking broken characters and helping them mend. Making us, the readers, love them enough that they heal. I swear I am the WORST unicorn friend sometimes, because I barely give the others a look-in when a Suki Fleet novel comes in for review. The Glass House is another example of this author at her finest. So, sorry uni's, I think I gave you like five seconds to claim this one for review but...as Ann says, better ask forgiveness than permission and so please forgive me (I feel no guilt so guilty at claiming this fab read).

By the end of the first sentence I knew I was going to love Sasha hard. The wall he has surrounding himself is so thick and cold, like the glass he sculpts with, it's pretty much impenetrable. Sasha is the kind of person you know has so much depth if you can just get under his layers and I love how Suki manages to do this. It's not easy insta-reveal, but a slow, natural uncovering of this hurting being. 

We can tell his past is complex and hard and this has helped form the attitude he faces the world with. It would be so easy to make a character like Sasha a stereotype, but Suki Fleet manages not to do that. She makes him real. Every aspect of him...this is a trait she manages for all her characters. Whether I as a reader like them or not, they are all very real.

Again Thomas is a wonderful MC. He has warmth and light, and I love that he fought his natural shyness to get to know Sasha. I love that he wanted to see more than the superficial outer layer of Sasha, but instead needed to see through to the real him. As their friendship developed and slowly became more I relished how protective they became of each other. For neither of them was this an easy relationship - as friends or lovers - but they were invested in it and I loved that.

In his own way Thomas experienced loss of love as much as Sasha. The shiny, homely house and warm loving nan couldn't quite hide the fact that he was alone too in many ways. We look at Sasha and his circumstances and judge him as poor Sasha, look at the crap hand he's been dealt - and it really is. Thomas on the other hand, you see the good and not the pain of loneliness and parental absence. It feels like neglect to me, just in a different guise to usual.

I always like the setting of Suki's books and this was no exception. I find the cold, damp flat Sasha and his sister occupy so easy to imagine. The cold concrete and ugly seventies exterior. Soulless. Desolate. It fit so perfectly the character of Sasha and I could virtually smell the dampness and see the mould. This applied to to the warm little estate house Thomas and his nan occupy. Cosy, homely and full of love. In both cases the setting matched the character beautifully.

Talking of Thomas' nan - I ADORED her. With her paper-cutting and love. It's more than I can say for the parents' of the piece. Thomas', their important jobs (and they were important but still, they chose to have a child) and Sasha's sorry-excuse for a mother. I had no pity for her. Some people generate their own bad luck, and the healthy dose of self pity with every sentence she uttered made me hate her all the more.

It all fitted together so well - the characters, the setting, the storyline. Suki Fleet writes books with heart, with characters to love and to root for. The kind of book that stays with you long after you've read the last page. Recommended to everyone.

A copy of this book was given in exchange for an honest review.

To find out more, check out Goodreads.