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roxane_titaina's review
2.0
Bien que le synopsis du livre semble alléchant (trois enfants envoyés dans l'univers fantastique des romans d'aventure de leur bibliothèque) j'ai été plutôt déçue à la lecture. Tout va trop vite, on saute de scène d'action en scène d'action sans avoir le temps de se poser avec les personnages pour apprendre à les connaître. Personnages qui m'ont parus bien fades et clichés.
De plus la tendance des auteurs à balancer des références à la pop-culture toutes les trois pages devient très vite agaçante.
C'est dommage car cela aurait pu être un livre pour enfants/jeunes ados vraiment sympathique.
De plus la tendance des auteurs à balancer des références à la pop-culture toutes les trois pages devient très vite agaçante.
C'est dommage car cela aurait pu être un livre pour enfants/jeunes ados vraiment sympathique.
roxane_titaina's review against another edition
2.0
Bien que le synopsis du livre semble alléchant (trois enfants envoyés dans l'univers fantastique des romans d'aventure de leur bibliothèque) j'ai été plutôt déçue à la lecture. Tout va trop vite, on saute de scène d'action en scène d'action sans avoir le temps de se poser avec les personnages pour apprendre à les connaître. Personnages qui m'ont parus bien fades et clichés.
De plus la tendance des auteurs à balancer des références à la pop-culture toutes les trois pages devient très vite agaçante.
C'est dommage car cela aurait pu être un livre pour enfants/jeunes ados vraiment sympathique.
De plus la tendance des auteurs à balancer des références à la pop-culture toutes les trois pages devient très vite agaçante.
C'est dommage car cela aurait pu être un livre pour enfants/jeunes ados vraiment sympathique.
connorfrankss's review against another edition
1.0
(1.5) This was bad. Chris Columbus directed the Harry Potter and the Percy Jackson films so I'm not surprised he wanted to write a fantasy. But, what he produced was a disappointment. I only read it because J.K Rowling described it as "a breakneck, jam-packed, roller coaster of an adventure".
The Walker siblings were great, I liked their characters. However, they had slight inconsistencies, for example, Eleanore is dyslexic and can't read simple things, yet, later in the book, she reads 50 pages of a book for adults and understands it. Also, this book is a children's book, but it had references to things like Homer that children probably won't understand, whereas, other parts it was clearly written for children. And, the events that occurred were so vaguely linked to together for the most part. It had potential. 1 or 2 parts of the story were enjoyable the rest was rather boring.
The Walker siblings were great, I liked their characters. However, they had slight inconsistencies, for example, Eleanore is dyslexic and can't read simple things, yet, later in the book, she reads 50 pages of a book for adults and understands it. Also, this book is a children's book, but it had references to things like Homer that children probably won't understand, whereas, other parts it was clearly written for children. And, the events that occurred were so vaguely linked to together for the most part. It had potential. 1 or 2 parts of the story were enjoyable the rest was rather boring.
lrwlee's review
4.0
This book had lots and lots and lots of action and adventure to keep the reader's interest.
However, I thought some of the adventure was a bit far fetched and unbelievable. As well, parts seemed overly repetitive - kill the bad guys already... Don't have them keep reappearing. This continual reappearance of the bad guys made the book overly long. The story line could have been concluded as effectively in probably 3-4 fewer chapters.
That said, if the reader is after just action, this is the book, for it dispenses that in ample measure.
However, I thought some of the adventure was a bit far fetched and unbelievable. As well, parts seemed overly repetitive - kill the bad guys already... Don't have them keep reappearing. This continual reappearance of the bad guys made the book overly long. The story line could have been concluded as effectively in probably 3-4 fewer chapters.
That said, if the reader is after just action, this is the book, for it dispenses that in ample measure.
michellewords's review
4.0
You know what I love about middle-grade fiction? It's not usually incredibly layered and they can be FUN!
House of Secrets was a recommendation from my bookish nephew. When he talked to me about the story, he lit up. I wanted to give it a try.
I was not disappointed. The Walker family, which includes three kids move into this house nicknamed the Kristoff house. Supposedly all the original Kristoffs are gone, but surprise the daughter, Dahlia is still alive. Oh, and she's a witch trying to get to a cursed book. She sends the kids and the house into books to find the book for her.
It's such a fun story! I loved the genre bending and the clever dialogue between characters.
A good time for old and young.
House of Secrets was a recommendation from my bookish nephew. When he talked to me about the story, he lit up. I wanted to give it a try.
I was not disappointed. The Walker family, which includes three kids move into this house nicknamed the Kristoff house. Supposedly all the original Kristoffs are gone, but surprise the daughter, Dahlia is still alive. Oh, and she's a witch trying to get to a cursed book. She sends the kids and the house into books to find the book for her.
It's such a fun story! I loved the genre bending and the clever dialogue between characters.
A good time for old and young.
anberel's review against another edition
The characters are completely unlikable. They’re the kind of obnoxious, self absorbed children you resent having to be near in public, with the equally self absorbed and oblivious parents. I couldn’t relate to any of them and didn’t want to spend another second listening to their entitled whining.
rdyourbookcase's review
4.0
Whoa, what an adventure!
I could totally see the house in my mind and I think my favorite character was the sister with dyslexia.
That being said, it's probably obvious that this is a good book for fans of Harry Potter and Percy Jackson.
It did get to be a little long, but the characters and worlds were so vivid and colorful that I didn't mind. The witch was crazy and I really wanted to see that house - especially the library. It was so cool that the authors combined three of Denver Kristoff's books to make another world. I'm excited for the next one. It'll be a long wait!
(There's a lot of violence, destruction, and death. It might not be best for young readers who don't like that sort of thing.)
I could totally see the house in my mind and I think my favorite character was the sister with dyslexia.
That being said, it's probably obvious that this is a good book for fans of Harry Potter and Percy Jackson.
It did get to be a little long, but the characters and worlds were so vivid and colorful that I didn't mind. The witch was crazy and I really wanted to see that house - especially the library. It was so cool that the authors combined three of Denver Kristoff's books to make another world. I'm excited for the next one. It'll be a long wait!
(There's a lot of violence, destruction, and death. It might not be best for young readers who don't like that sort of thing.)
pifferdiff's review
2.0
I really enjoyed this book for a while - there was a bunch of cool fantasy stuff happening that felt like watching a Goonies-esque awesome 80's movie. Then it all just sort of fell apart in terms of plot, and was seriously marred for me by surprisingly gruesome violence (A bad guy who threatens and partially carries out vivisection on one of the characters? Not appropriate for a kid's book and not even something I want to read about as an adult).
3dmelg's review against another edition
Good story, intriguing concept. The writing is really disjointed and confusing, switching narrator and perspective interchangeably, including jumping to minor characters. It reads like a great movie, but it's not a well written book. Came highly recommended by my 10-yr-old niece.