64 pages 2 hours read

Lisa Jewell

The House We Grew Up In

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2013

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Character Analysis

Lorelei Bird

Lorelei is the book’s central character. She has one living sister, Pandora, and her sister Athena was stillborn. Her father was aggressive, and Lorelei endured sexual abuse from a family friend. As a result, she started collecting items, including her family members’ hair. Lorelei marries Colin and starts a family because she wants to create childhoods different from her own. They have four children: Megan, Bethan, Rory, and Rhys. However, this project is not enough to heal her trauma, and her hoarding and childlike behavior continue into parenthood.

These behaviors become increasingly problematic after Rhys’s death and when Vicky moves out. She becomes increasingly isolated as her children move away, and her collections become intrusive, covering most surfaces in her home and preventing her from using her bathroom and kitchen. She begins to change when she meets Jim Lipton online, and his friendship and compassion allow her to open up for the first time. Lorelei is a static character for most of the book but develops rapidly during this correspondence, getting rid of items for the first time in decades and making plans to leave the house. In the end, she begins healing from her trauma but dies from tuberculosis without having reconciled with her family.

Related Titles

By Lisa Jewell

Study Guide

logo

Invisible Girl

Lisa Jewell

Invisible Girl: A Novel

Lisa Jewell

Study Guide

logo

None of This Is True

Lisa Jewell

None of This Is True: A Novel

Lisa Jewell

Study Guide

logo

The Family Remains

Lisa Jewell

The Family Remains

Lisa Jewell

Study Guide

logo

The Family Upstairs

Lisa Jewell

The Family Upstairs

Lisa Jewell

Study Guide

logo

The Girls in the Garden

Lisa Jewell

The Girls in the Garden: A Novel

Lisa Jewell

Study Guide

logo

The Night She Disappeared

Lisa Jewell

The Night She Disappeared

Lisa Jewell

Study Guide

logo

Then She Was Gone

Lisa Jewell

Then She Was Gone

Lisa Jewell

Study Guide

logo

Watching You

Lisa Jewell

Watching You: A Novel

Lisa Jewell