In the realm of adolescent narratives, de Lint masterfully weaves fantastical elements to craft allegorical tales that pierce the uneasy truths of the human condition. "In the House of My Enemy" unfolds the haunting repercussions of child abuse, teenage pregnancy, and neglect through the eyes of Jilly, a survivor, and Annie, a forsaken fifteen-year-old lost in the depths of despair, eight months pregnant and bereft of hope. Despite the enchanting touches of magic and ethereal beings, the narrative remains uncompromising, relentlessly probing whether a youth like Annie can ever be rescued from the clutches of her own self-doubt.