The House Where Nothing Hurts by Ali Fountain

2022: I need your help. It’s happening again. When she gets the call, Leah is in the midst of her second pregnancy, haunted by the sense that the daughter she carries ought to be one of a pair of identical twins. She knows what “it” is—and knows she must return.

2002: In high school, Leah and her best friend, Christian, lead their volleyball team to victory. But when the team breaks into their town’s haunted mansion to celebrate a win, everything changes. The girls discover that in the house, wounds heal, haircuts grow back, even death can be undone—for almost all the girls.

As the visits to the house turn more dangerous, Leah remains untouched by the house’s magic. Desperate to hide her differences, Leah begs her twin, Laura, to impersonate her for one night. But the house won’t be deceived. One girl is lost, and in the weeks that follow, another dies on the house’s grounds.

Nuanced and propulsive, The House Where Nothing Hurts is a masterful portrait of girlhood in all its messiness.