This highly ambiguous picturebook presents a sophisticated and atmospheric narrative about relocation and identity within time and space. A girl views a new home with her parents. While the parents are led by the estate agent, the girl wanders on her own through the house. Through the detailed line drawings, the house begins to reflect her attitude towards it, as floral wallpapers turn into monstrous designs, a darkened room becomes a haunting space, and the intricate patterns of the walls turn into the same pattern as her dress. The effect of this is of instability and identity impermanence: how much do our surroundings, and the clothes we wear, interact with who we are, and indeed shape who we are? How can readers relate to moving house, moving towns? How is this similar, and different, to moving from country to country, border to border, state to state?
