by Chris Columbus
& Ned Vizzini
Amazon Description:
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 Thoughts:
When you pick up a book by the screenwriter of the movie, Goonies, you expect to read an action-packed and hilarious tale...Chris Columbus (with Ned Vizzini) did not disappoint. In addition to that, J.K. Rowling wrote the blurb for this upper middle grade novel, which is, as far as I know, the first time the author of the Harry Potter books has done so. (Although, Chris Columbus did direct the first two Harry Potter movies.)
The imaginative and magical story takes the reader on a roller coaster ride of twists and turns, with a variety of quips and quibbles by the Walker children along the way. In fact, the dialogue is stellar - which isn't surprising given the author's background. House of Secrets may be a bit weak in its character development, but it more than makes up for it with its humor, dialogue, and unpredictable plot. I would highly recommend House of Secrets - Book I to readers from the ages of eight to fourteen.
Learn about the creation of House of Secrets, by Chris Columbus:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-columbus/how-my-first-book-came-to_b_2878842.html
