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A review by daphx00
House of Secrets by Chris Columbus
3.0
Final rating 3.5/5
Being blurbed by JK Rowling really sets high expectations for this book. While the setup and storyline were interesting, I wasn't blown away.
I love the idea of the magic in this book. The world is built by mister Kristoff, the former owner of the house and I loved that idea and the interpretation of it. It was creative and very imaginative, almost cinematic at certain parts.
While I liked the three main characters, I felt like I was reading about siblings that reminded me an awful lot of Harry, Ron and Hermione. There was a brave kid, a smart kid and a third one who kept them together.. I wish there was a little more originality there. It wasn't necessarily that they looked like the Harry Potter characters, it was more the feel that I got from them. I mean, they are siblings instead of friends the same age, but I couldn't help but feeling this way.
I really enjoyed reading this book. I really liked the rollercoaster ride aspect of it and I loved the fictional world in the book. Having said that, I think the book dragged on too long. At 560 pages, it's a long book, especially if you consider it's the first book in a middlegrade series. I found it dragging in certain parts and I really wish it hadn't. But to compensate that, the ending felt rushed, predictable and an easy way out. It was terribly obvious and I would have thought that after 500+ pages of adventure and mystery and the characters being thrown into situation after situation, the ending could have been more surprising.
I quite enjoyed myself reading House of Secrets. It sure is exciting and interesting -- I just wish it was a little shorter and the main characters were a little more original. The other characters, however, were excellent. I love how they were portrayed and I really enjoyed reading more about them.
I'm not sure how this compares to Vizzini's other work, as I have not read it, but if you're into exciting and adventurous middlegrades, you might want to give House of Secrets a shot.
Find this review and others on Loving Books.
Being blurbed by JK Rowling really sets high expectations for this book. While the setup and storyline were interesting, I wasn't blown away.
I love the idea of the magic in this book. The world is built by mister Kristoff, the former owner of the house and I loved that idea and the interpretation of it. It was creative and very imaginative, almost cinematic at certain parts.
While I liked the three main characters, I felt like I was reading about siblings that reminded me an awful lot of Harry, Ron and Hermione. There was a brave kid, a smart kid and a third one who kept them together.. I wish there was a little more originality there. It wasn't necessarily that they looked like the Harry Potter characters, it was more the feel that I got from them. I mean, they are siblings instead of friends the same age, but I couldn't help but feeling this way.
I really enjoyed reading this book. I really liked the rollercoaster ride aspect of it and I loved the fictional world in the book. Having said that, I think the book dragged on too long. At 560 pages, it's a long book, especially if you consider it's the first book in a middlegrade series. I found it dragging in certain parts and I really wish it hadn't. But to compensate that, the ending felt rushed, predictable and an easy way out. It was terribly obvious and I would have thought that after 500+ pages of adventure and mystery and the characters being thrown into situation after situation, the ending could have been more surprising.
I quite enjoyed myself reading House of Secrets. It sure is exciting and interesting -- I just wish it was a little shorter and the main characters were a little more original. The other characters, however, were excellent. I love how they were portrayed and I really enjoyed reading more about them.
I'm not sure how this compares to Vizzini's other work, as I have not read it, but if you're into exciting and adventurous middlegrades, you might want to give House of Secrets a shot.
Find this review and others on Loving Books.