Kirkus-Type Review

Flynn, Gillian. The Grownup. Hardcover. Crown Publishing. 2015.

64 pages. ISBN 978-0804188975. $9.99.

A woman goes from being a prostitute to a medium in this haunted house novella by Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl, Dark Places).

The protagonist, a woman who grew up poor with a mother who introduced her to jobs such as prostitution and begging, uses the tools her mother gave her to survive. She resigns herself to her job by stating, “I would rather be a librarian, but I worry about the job security” until, one day, she gets a promotion – to spiritualist. In her new position, she meets Susan who lives in a haunted house nearby. When Susan finally talks her into coming to the house to “clean” it, she arrives to a Victorian mansion that seems “alive, calculating”. She also meets Susan’s step-son who Susan believes is possessed by the house; the step-son who is so abusive that his younger step-brother must stay locked in his room. As the unnamed protagonist spends more and more time in the house, she becomes increasingly more frightened and finds she doesn’t know who in the house she can trust. Flynn knows how to write a good story as is apparent in her earlier novels. She doesn’t disappoint with her signature twist at the end. The Grownup showcases Flynn’s ability to pull the reader in from the first sentence, take them to the past and back to the present to experience all the character-driven twists and turns that keep the reader moving at a pace that is swift, only to find themselves at a standstill – the end. Flynn shows her incredible talent and takes the reader on a wild ride that makes the reader wonder who is reliable; is the narrator even reliable? This woman, who has had plenty of excitement in her life from day one, endures more danger that one should be allowed in one lifetime. Flynn’s theme of trust throughout the novella will weigh on the reader much as it does the protagonist.

Like the woman in this story, you will feel as if you’ve been taken on the ride of your life. Will you know who to trust as the end draws near?