Book Review: House of Secrets

Hello All!

This week, I'll be reviewing an amazing, action packed book by Ned Vizzini and Chris Columbus: House of Secrets.

While you're all oohing and aahhing at that awesome cover (which promises an action-packed roller coaster complete with pirates [hello, top left corner]), allow me to just say that this has literally rocketed to the top of my favorite book list. Catapulted, ya'll. It was so good.

Why I read this book: I was over at my friend's house and she just shoved it into my hands and was like, "read this." And I'm just like, "okay."

Publication Year: 2013    Number of Pages: 480

Author(s): Ned Vizzini and Chris Columbus

Summary (from HarperCollins): 

Siblings Brendan, Eleanor, and Cordelia Walker once had everything they could ever want. But everything changed when Dr. Walker lost his job. Now the family must relocate to an old Victorian house, formerly the home of occult novelist Denver Kristoff—a house that simultaneously feels creepy and too good to be true. By the time the Walkers realize that one of their neighbors has sinister plans for them, they’re banished to a primeval forest way off the grid.

Bloodthirsty medieval warriors patrol the woods around them, supernatural pirates roam the neighboring seas, and a power-hungry queen rules the land. To survive, the siblings will have to be braver than they ever thought possible—and to fight against their darkest impulses. The key may lie in their own connection to the secret Kristoff legacy. But as they unravel that legacy, they’ll discover that it’s not just their family that’s in danger . . . it’s the entire world.

Six things to love about House of Secrets:

• Never a dull moment. Seriously. Never. In every single chapter they were always running from something, fighting something, or discovering something. J.K. Rowling wasn't kidding when she called it a "Breakneck, jam-packed roller coaster of adventure." 
• The characters. Average siblings turned world-saving heroes. A creepy villainess. A WWI pilot. This book has it all.
• The plotline. A desperate family moves into a creepy old mansion for an insanely low price and all furniture included. A creepy lady catapults the siblings into a world of an even creepier guys' books. They must fight to save the world!! Does it get any cooler, people? I think not.
• Creepy....but not too creepy. Gave me chills, but not nightmares (thankfully).
• The illustrations. Which are pretty awesome!

My thoughts: This was an amazing book. Action packed and creative, I feel like it's summed up in this review from J.K. Rowling: "A breakneck, jam-packed roller coaster of adventure about the power of books, House of Secrets comes complete with three resourceful sibling heroes, a seriously creepy villainess, and barrel loads of fantasy and fear." Spot on, J.K. Rowling. Spot on.

My rating: 8 1/2 out of 10 stars. I would like to say here that, due to some violence and intensity, I would recommend it to readers in the 5th grade and up.

Wanna read my super fantabulous post about meeting the one and only Avi? Click HERE.

Want a super cool behind-the-scenes look at House of Secrets? Click HERE and scroll down until you see "Top Ten Secrets Behind House of Secrets."

Comment and tell me about your favorite book where ordinary kids become heroes!

Thanks for reading,

Paige

Author Spotlight: Shannon Hale Intro

Hi Guys!

I am so very excited to write on pretty much my very favorite, super talented, incredible, outstanding author....

Shannon Hale!!

Here's a lovely little photo, if you don't mind....



Here's the bio, from her website:

New York Times best-selling author Shannon Hale started writing books at age ten and never stopped, eventually earning an MFA in Creative Writing. After nineteen years of writing and dozens of rejections, she published The Goose Girl, the first book in her award-winning Books of Bayern series. Book of a Thousand Days, a standalone novel for young readers, is a Cybils award winner. Princess Academy won a Newbery Honor and is followed by best seller Palace of Stone and upcoming Forgotten Sisters. Her Ever After High books have been runaway bestsellers.

Her books for the adult crowd are Austenland (now a major motion picture), Midnight in Austenland, and The Actor and the Housewife. With her Husband Dean Hale she has written two graphic novels: Rapunzel’s Revenge and Calamity Jack, and illustrated the chapter book The Princess in Black. Shannon’s books have been translated into many languages and studied in classrooms from elementary schools to universities. She spends her days as a stay-at-home mom to four young children in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Not only is this author totally amazing, but I got to meet her (squeeeeee!!). She has written several books, such as....

• Princess Academy
• Princess Academy: Palace of Stone
• The Goose Girl 
• Enna Burning
• River Secrets
• Forest Born

Graphic novels, such as....

• Rapunzel's Revenge
• Calamity Jack

And a ton more. I'm not even kidding--those are only, like, half her books. The ones I listed are geared more towards a middle-grade level.

When I was younger, Shannon Hale was my idol. I've read a few of her books more than once, which is really saying something because I hardly ever read a book more than once. I remember the first time I read one of her books (Princess Academy) and I just fell in love. With the characters, the writing, the setting. It is really, truly beautiful. As I read more of them, she officially became my favorite author. 

I love Shannon's writing because of how poetic it is. A lot of the time, it really is like reading a poem. This mainly applies to her medieval-time novels. Despite the (sometimes) fancy words and sophistecated-ness of it all, she still manages to make it fun and really very interesting. 

I will be doing separate reviews for most of the books mentioned above in the days/weeks/months to come. I would encourage you to read some of them and tell me what you thought!

For more info on Shannon and her great works of literature, click here.

Happy Reading!

The Paige Turner

LINK: Shannon Messenger

Hey! You came back!

If any of you have read Shannon Messenger's super amazing books, Keeper of the Lost Cities, you know that she is a totally incredible author.

Like, incredible.

I really get into her plotline, setting, and most of all: the characters. There are few series that have made me fall head over heels for the characters, and this is one of them. They make me laugh out loud, they keep me guessing, and they make me want to cry. Her plotline is complex and detailed, so I never know what's coming next. Hopefully I'll have time to put up some reviews for these awesome books later in the week. In the meantime.....

So, Shannon Messenger happens to have a blog, which I totally love. She does really cool giveaways (there's another coming up this week!), updates and teasers for upcoming releases, and MMGM links (Marvelous Middle Grade Monday). MMGM is where Shannon posts links to book review blog posts that adults and kids have sent in. It's a fun way to promote blogs and find some fun new books to read, so check it out next time you visit her site.

Also, Shannon recently announced that the 4th book of the Keeper series will be released in 2015. Here are the first three: Keeper of the Lost Cities, Exile, and Everblaze.


Once again, I'll most likely be doing reviews later in the week, so check back soon!


Click here to visit Shannon Messenger's blog.

Enjoy!

The Paige Turner