The House With a Clock in It's Walls

Rating:
Summary: THE HOSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS
Review: ..Lewis, the main character in the book, is FAT....just like me bhwahahhahaha. Seriously, i adore this book ever since i read it awhile back ago. It scare me alot like no other book ever did. I had nightmare where a clock is ticking inside the house and i was chubby Lewis, trying to find a way to save the world from destruction. I think i hid under the bed in my nightmares but that is another story. I saw the made for saturday movie based on the book but it was nowhere as scary. Read the book and be forewarn... it will scare you senseless. I am scared just by thinking about it.

John Bellairs knows how to write a good scarefest with exact detail and heartfelt suspense. I have read his other books on the Lewis saga and enjoy every one but this one started it all. Check out Edward Gorey's illustration...this guy is good!

Well that's enough...now give it a read....and be terrified!!!

Rating:
Summary: Bellairs' Best
Review: It was his first Gothic chiller for the younguns, and was his best.

Orphan Lewis Barnavelt moves to the town of New Zebedee, MI, to live with his uncle Jonathan, only to find himself in the middle of eerie goings on. Why does his uncle behave so oddly? Why do things change around the house? Why does the front hall mirror show images of faraway places? And...what is the reason for the ticking sound heard in the walls of the old Victorian mansion they live in?

All this is contrasted with some of the everyday problems that Lewis faces. He's a fat, bookish kid who's no good at sports and also fairly depressed, so of course he worries about bullies and about making friends.

Supernatural chills abound as Lewis discovers that his uncle is a wizard (although not a very powerful one) and that another, evil wizard is using the clock for a nefarious purpose. The story ends happily and has a good message about courage.

Bellairs maintains just the right balance between scares and whimsy in this terrific little book, great for middle readers and for adults looking for an afternoon's amusement. I would like to see the return of the original Edward Gorey cover, but his illustrations are still there and are sublime.

Rating:
Summary: One of my childhood favorites
Review: Lots of reviews here recount the plot, so I'll skip that.

This book is great fun for younguns who enjoy a good eerie tale. I first read this about 1978 and enjoy revisiting it every so often. Lewis is a great character, smart but also emotional and prone to making bad decisions. He's also fat, bookish and not good at sports although he keeps trying and trying. His Uncle Jonathan is a great parental figure, loving, nonjudgemental but also seemingly baffled sometimes by dealing with his nephew, someone who's a lot like him.

The plot is full of chills and thrills. It does amble somewhat and there are lots of scenes that have nothing or little to do with the main storyline, but this book is also a primer for Bellair's world of wizards and supernatural chills.

The book has a good message about courage that lots of kids like Lewis would benefit from hearing. It helped me as a bookish kid who was no good at sports (although I wasn't fat...that waited until I was an adult!). The writing is brisk and Bellairs is a master of atmosphere. He creates a great feel for the old house and the town of New Zebedee.

As an adult, I enjoy this book immensely, and highly recommend it to kids. Parents whose kids enjoy a good chill may enjoy sharing it with them. Kids who enjoy Harry Potter are likely to enjoy this as well. Bellairs' books are basically gothic horror for the younger set, and this was his first in that genre and his best.

P.S. Hollywood, if you're reading...these books would make great movies, or maybe a TV series!

Rating:
Summary: One of my childhood favorites
Review: Lots of reviews here recount the plot, so I'll skip that.

This book is great fun for younguns who enjoy a good eerie tale. I first read this about 1978 and enjoy revisiting it every so often. Lewis is a great character, smart but also emotional and prone to making bad decisions. He's also fat, bookish and not good at sports although he keeps trying and trying. His Uncle Jonathan is a great parental figure, loving, nonjudgemental but also seemingly baffled sometimes by dealing with his nephew, someone who's a lot like him.

The plot is full of chills and thrills. It does amble somewhat and there are lots of scenes that have nothing or little to do with the main storyline, but this book is also a primer for Bellair's world of wizards and supernatural chills.

The book has a good message about courage that lots of kids like Lewis would benefit from hearing. It helped me as a bookish kid who was no good at sports (although I wasn't fat...that waited until I was an adult!). The writing is brisk and Bellairs is a master of atmosphere. He creates a great feel for the old house and the town of New Zebedee.

As an adult, I enjoy this book immensely, and highly recommend it to kids. Parents whose kids enjoy a good chill may enjoy sharing it with them. Kids who enjoy Harry Potter are likely to enjoy this as well. Bellairs' books are basically gothic horror for the younger set, and this was his first in that genre and his best.

P.S. Hollywood, if you're reading...these books would make great movies, or maybe a TV series!

Rating:
Summary: Time Really Flies with This Ghost Story
Review: Poor Lewis...He's recently lost both parents, he's fat, and he's going to live with Uncle Jonathan, a relative he's never met. Lewis discovers that Uncle Jonathan is basically a nice guy, but a little weird. And something about his house is weird too. It's full of clocks, but one of them in particular keeps ticking...and ticking...and ticking...and no one knows where it is.

'The House with a Clock in its Walls' is a genuinely creepy story with strange, likable characters. Several humorous, light touches run throughout the book, but the scary scenes really deliver. Any kid (or adult) who enjoys the Harry Potter books will find this book a welcome addition to their reading while they wait for the next J.K. Rowling outing. Although the book is for both boys and girls, the book will especially attract boys who may not be interested in sports. Highly recommended.

179 pages with great illustrations by Edward Gorey

Rating:
Summary: TIME FLIES BOOK: THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS
Review: Some of the best children's books out there today deal with the mysterious nature of walls. Walls are an essential element to any house, and therefore they're privy to all kinds of secrets. In "The Woman In the Walls" by Patrice Kindl a girl lives within the walls of her own house to escape from prying eyes. In "The Wolves in the Walls" by Neal Gaiman, walls turn out to contain fearsome violent snaggle toothed beasties. But I think that the book that best captures the fear that something horrible is lurking inside your otherwise safe and cozy home is the delightfully gothic, "The House With a Clock In Its Walls" by John Bellairs.

Lewis is perhaps the most unlikely hero you could hope for. He's pudgy and shy. He likes to study old battles and he can't swing a baseball bat to save his life. Unfortunately for Lewis his parents have recently died in a car crash and he has been sent to live with his hitherto unknown Uncle Jonathan. To Lewis's relief, however, Uncle Jonathan is a wonderful fellow, as is his neighbor Mrs. Zimmermann. Before you know it, Lewis has discovered that the two old friends are wizards as well and that the house in which Jonathan and Lewis live once belonged to warlock of evil leanings. Lewis isn't particularly upset by all this until a Halloween spell he casts goes horribly awry and it appears that Lewis has released a particularly nasty power. And then there's that clock in Lewis's house that can be heard ticking in every room. But what's it ticking for? Lewis learns soon enough that the clock in the walls not the kind of thing you'd want to hear chime. It could easily be the last thing you ever heard.

The brilliant hiring of Edward Gorey as the illustrator of this book is to be commended. Bravo! Well done! With its dark undercurrents and creepy goings ons, Gorey adds just the right touch to this already spooky affair. This isn't to say that the book isn't amusing as well. Jonathan and Mrs. Zimmermann have a delightful patter of insults between one another that's as natural and cheery as can be. He calls her "Frumpy" and she calls him "Weird Beard". Characters in this story (the good ones anyway) are apt to eat a lot of delicious chocolate-chip cookies while proclaiming loudly, "Poop, it would!" when denying something. You can't help but love the two wizards, and Lewis grows on the reader as well. He isn't particularly brave or attractive as a hero. He doesn't have Harry Potter's driving sensibilities or the jauntiness of a Peter Pan. He's just your average joe, trying not to draw too much attention to himself while hoping desperately for a friend. Fortunately author John Bellairs never makes Lewis too pitiful, so you end up rooting for him at the end rather than feeling sorry for the little cuss. I was also amused at how different this type of boy-messes-with-powers-over-which-he-has-no-control-and-things-go-horribly-wrong book this was. If you look at "The Wizard of Earthsea" or "The Amulet of Samarkand" both these books contain cocky boys who think they can handle the dark forces they unleash. As for Lewis, he hasn't got a clue, poor ducky. He's just doing it to hold onto his only pal. At least his intentions are pure.

Gothic children's books like this one are all the rage these days. I am thinking, of course, of "The Series of Unfortunate Events" and all that that entails. If you happen to have a kid that likes the creepy dark nature of antiques and wild spells, "The House With the Clock in Its Walls" is definitely for them. I wouldn't recommend giving this book to any kid with parents that find books like "Harry Potter" to be evil, though. I mean, this book actually has a bit of necromancy in it. So keep that in mind. Otherwise, it's great for all those children who enjoy magic, mystery, and Victorian style mansions. A fabulous spooky tale for everyone you know.