leslielikesthings's review against another edition
4.0
Five stars for the audiobook narration, and three for the story (which was a lot of fun, it was, but I don't think I would have gotten as much out of it if I had read the book version), so averaging it out to four. I'm perhaps a little biased, since I love the narrator from his work on The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, but I was truly impressed with his narration. He must have used dozens of distinct voices, and although I was a little unconvinced by his 8-year-old girl voice, aside from that they were all brilliant. If he does the narration for the next book in the series then I'm sold.
sarahelainereads's review against another edition
4.0
Book Title: House of Secrets
Author: Chris Columbus and Ned Wizzini
Number of Pages: 496
Genres: Fantasy, Comedy, Action-Adventure
Books like it: A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snickets, Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
My favorite quote: "Sometimes you can't get your life back. Sometimes you have to take it back."
Brief Synopsis from Goodreads:
The Walker kids had it all: loving parents, a big house in San Francisco, all the latest video games . . . but everything changed when their father lost his job as a result of an inexplicable transgression. Now the family is moving into Kristoff House, a mysterious place built nearly a century earlier by Denver Kristoff, a troubled writer with a penchant for the occult.
Suddenly the siblings find themselves launched on an epic journey into a mash-up world born of Kristoff’s dangerous imagination, to retrieve a dark book of untold power, uncover the Walker family’s secret history and save their parents . . . and maybe even the world.
My Summary:
" A breakneck, jam-packed rollercoaster of an adventure about the secret power of books, House of Secrets comes complete with three resourceful sibling heroes, a seriously creepy villainess, and barrel loads of fantasy and fear."
-J.K. Rowling
J.K. Rowling, the queen of all authors, does not lie. This book was a rollercoaster of magic books, a haunted house, and the power of reading. I usually love fantasy books, and this one was just wickedly awesome! I have not read a fantasy this amazing since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. This book was like The Series of Unfortunate Events and Harry Potter mashed into a blender to create something truly epic.
It is about three siblings who are sucked into storybooks; Cordelia, a fifteen year old girl who loves to read, Brendan, a twelve year old boy who loves videogames and speaking the wonderful language of Sarcasm and Witty Comebacks, and Eleanor, an eight year old dyslexic who has a heck of a lot of spirit. The book begins when the Walker family buys an old house after their dad looses his job. It's a creepy old house, once home to a crazy old witch: that comes back for revenge. She needs a book called the Book of Doom and Desire..... and she's going to use the Walker children to get it.
Except the stone angel wasn't there.
DOCTOR WHO! (Only Whovians will understand)
The witch steals the Walker children and transports them to a world where three different stories have come alive. Now, in order to save their parents, Cordelia, Brendan, and Eleanor must fight a sadistic pirate, befriend an English pilot, and discover the dark secrets of selfish desire. Full of humor, magic, action, and adventure, House of Secrets will show you the meaning of "There is no place like home."
"I'm not confusing anything! Dolphins are man-eaters! Killers! Predators!" screamed Gilliam. But all the other pirates were now looking at one another and mumbling and raising their eyebrows.
"What are yez lookin' at?" Gilliam demanded.
One of the pirates cleared his throat. "We've been meanin' to tell ya, Gilliam."
"What, Scurve?!?!"
"Dolphins are sweet, good natured, intelligent-like creatures. It was a trick Kit and Phenny played on you, to give you that instead of a shark-"
My favorite character in this book would have to be Will Draper. He is a character from one of the books the Walkers are trapped in. He is a British pilot from World War I, and Cordelia has a HUGE crush on him. I do admit he has a little bit of British charm with a touch of sarcastic humor. His bravery and sense of leadership shaped him into a perfect knight in shining armor. (And with a cute accent, too!)
This book was amazing! Riding in a floating house, seeking out an evil spell book in order to get home, this story enchanted me from beginning to end. I would definitely recommend it.
Cautions for Parents: A few fatal stabbings, including a stabbing to the eye. Mild language. Recommended age: 9 and older.
Review: 4.5 stars
anneaconda's review against another edition
4.0
Glad I got my hands on this ARC! This book is definitely a wild ride! Kind of like The Wizard of OZ on steroids. Lots and lots of adventure and mystery, not to mention pirates, giants, a WWI pilot, witches, wild Viking/medieval-ish warriors, magic and mayhem. It's a crazy mish-mash, but somehow it all works together pretty well. I thought the Walker kids' personalities and relationships with each other were fun and young readers should be able to relate to them in many ways. However, it is fairly violent and graphic at times, so depending on the reader, it might be a better choice for the older end of the "tween" set. I'm also curious if "product placement" exists in books the way it does in movies...there were so many specific references to products, people and pop culture that it was kind of distracting. I could almost see the strategic placement of soda cans and candy wrappers in the foreground. :p But over all, a really fun book...short, quick chapters with crazy twists, turns and cliff-hangers should keep kids engaged!
lynnmarie78's review against another edition
3.0
there is some rather gratuitous violence for a kids book. It reads like the movie it will probably be....guessing pg-13.
_izzy_thorne_'s review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
annbleone's review against another edition
3.0
It got better the more that I read. It reminded me of some parts of the first Land of Stories book because it incorporated characters that were from other stories.
m_kayk's review against another edition
3.0
As a children's book, this is very well done and reads quickly. The action is fast-paced, so a young reader would not get bored with the story; I did find one or two descriptions that seemed a little too graphic to me, so I may personally categorize this book as closer to a tween/teen level than age 9 and up.
weaselweader's review against another edition
1.0
Childishly insulting to an intelligent young reader!
A random collection of criticisms of a book that has earned many more than I care to take the time to write:
Even without referring to a poorly conceived, wandering plot line that seems to be headed simultaneously in several different directions without any single plot direction ever really reaching adequate resolution, it has to be said that the writing in this story is at best stilted and outrageously amateurish.
Apparently the story is directed at young readers in grades 4 to 8 but it is difficult to imagine anyone in that age group understanding musical references to Mick Jagger or Styx, American cultural references to the cartoon Scooby Doo, or British historical cultural references to such terms as "above stairs" and "below stairs".
The use of random Latin quotations as magical spells sounds rather familiar and derivative at best (or should one call it actual plagiarism?) from another young adult series we're all familiar with. The device of simply saying the words backwards to undo the spell was trite and ridiculous even for a child's novel.
Strongly recommended against. There's little enough precious reading time in this world.
Paul Weiss
A random collection of criticisms of a book that has earned many more than I care to take the time to write:
Even without referring to a poorly conceived, wandering plot line that seems to be headed simultaneously in several different directions without any single plot direction ever really reaching adequate resolution, it has to be said that the writing in this story is at best stilted and outrageously amateurish.
Apparently the story is directed at young readers in grades 4 to 8 but it is difficult to imagine anyone in that age group understanding musical references to Mick Jagger or Styx, American cultural references to the cartoon Scooby Doo, or British historical cultural references to such terms as "above stairs" and "below stairs".
The use of random Latin quotations as magical spells sounds rather familiar and derivative at best (or should one call it actual plagiarism?) from another young adult series we're all familiar with. The device of simply saying the words backwards to undo the spell was trite and ridiculous even for a child's novel.
Strongly recommended against. There's little enough precious reading time in this world.
Paul Weiss
layanjou's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
diana_eveline's review against another edition
2.0
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't glad this is over. I pushed myself to still finish it because the basic concept is literally getting stuck inside a book. That is a great idea. It just never really worked out the way it could have. The characters were shallow, the plot was preposterous at times and it became downright annoying about halfway in.
What I also really don't understand is this tendency that some young adult writers have to use reference to pop-culture. Trust me, if the foundation for your story isn't solid and your characters are all over the place, a little Lady Gaga and Johnny Depp referencing is going to do your book more harm than good. And honestly, young adults themselves often don't even use these references. It only interferes with the story and feels like a desperate attempts from the writer to connect with the reader by a badly made reference. Rubbish!
What I also really don't understand is this tendency that some young adult writers have to use reference to pop-culture. Trust me, if the foundation for your story isn't solid and your characters are all over the place, a little Lady Gaga and Johnny Depp referencing is going to do your book more harm than good. And honestly, young adults themselves often don't even use these references. It only interferes with the story and feels like a desperate attempts from the writer to connect with the reader by a badly made reference. Rubbish!