The Death House

This is an excellent book, something like a 50s boarding school romp meets Solzhenitsyn's Cancer Ward. The shadow of death hangs over all the children we meet, but the novel is shot through with love and hope. It's engrossing and involving (I read it in an afternoon), and packs a strong emotional punch (I had to walk around on my own for a bit once I'd finished it). The young characters ring as true as I can remember at my advanced age, and I really cared what happened to them.

It doesn't quite get the full five stars thanks to a piece of authorial obfuscation over a crucial part of the ending that is a) far too obvious and b) doesn't ring true when the narrator has previously been so candid with us, but it's still one of the best books I've read in recent months.