The Walker family is in a situation. Dr. Walker, the dad lost his job after cutting an eye shape into a patient’s chest with a knife at his hospital. Now they live in a small apartment, and are looking for a house. They find the huge Kristoff House, over-looking the Golden Gate Bridge, built after the San Francisco earthquake by Denver Kristoff, a well-known author. They move in, and they are in the middle of dinner when a woman knocks on the door that claims she is their neighbor. She then turns into a creature known as the Wind Witch, and tears the home apart. The three kids; Brendan, Eleanor and Cordelia wake up after the hurricane-like disaster with their parents gone; and so is San Francisco. In a fast-paced adventure story, the Walker kids are trapped in three of Denver Kristoff’s books. With pirates, a pilot from World War I and a colossus, the Walkers need to figure out how to defeat the Wind Witch and get back home before it is too late and they are the ones destroyed. Will the Walkers make it home safely, or will that be the end of them? What I thought about it: Wow. Two master storytellers coming together really does make an epic adventure. I really enjoyed House of Secrets; it keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time. You are pretty much drooling for more, thinking, What is going to happen next?!?! I loved the idea of being able to live in a book. I mean, who wouldn’t want to do that? Well, you would be able to be killed by, say, Voldemort, or in this case a very evil gang of pirates; that would not be good. I also love the cover illustration by Greg Call; it totally lives up to the book. The action was spectacular in this book, as was the suspense. I look forward to reading more adventures with the Walkers, and I want to give a shout-out to Ned Vizzini who generously sent me an ARC of this book to me in very cool promotional packaging that looks like The Book of Doom And Desire and is a gem on my bookshelf. Ned and Chris, your writing is fabulous together and I hope you write many more books as a team.
House of Secrets
By Chris Columbus, Ned Vizzini
| Interest Level | Reading Level | Reading A-Z | ATOS | Word Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grades 4 - 8 | Grades 3 - 5 | n/a | 4.6 | 88600 |
Hailed as “a breakneck, jam-packed roller coaster of an adventure” by J. K. Rowling, this New York Times bestseller is the first installment in the explosive tween fantasy series by famed Hollywood director Chris Columbus (of Harry Potter fame) and bestselling author Ned Vizzini (It’s Kind of a Funny Story).
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.
Book Reviews (35)
The Walker's family is in a "situation". Their father just lost his job, and they're on a tight budget. So, when they buy their new house, it's only natural that Cordelia, Brendan, and Eleanor (nicknamed Nell) are a little suspicious. But that's before they're put right into the middle of a book! And worse, a magical creature the "Wind Witch" wants to use them so that she can rule the world! With help from their new friend Will, will they be able to save their family?
My favorite character in this book was Eleanor, and I really enjoyed the mystery aspect of this book. I definitely want to read the rest of the books in this series!
My favorite was Eleanor too! She was the adorable innocent younger girl.
I thought that this book was really good. I could really relate to all of the characters. It’s about three siblings Brendan, Cordelia, and Eleanor who move to a Victorian mansion in San Francisco that used to belong to the author Denver Kristoff. But when their neighbor turns out to be a Wind Witch, things take a turn for the worse. After the Wind Witch wrecks their house the siblings find themselves in some of Denver Kristoffs books. While trying to find their way home, they encounter Pirates, a pilot from World War 1, and a bunch of bloodthirsty medieval warriors. I think that this book could make a really cool movie. I hope it becomes one eventually. The whole idea of going into the books was a lot like The Magic Tree House series, I personally like this book way better though. I want to know more about what happens after the end, so I hope that there will be a sequel to the story.
Here’s my review for House of Secrets. Enjoy! The Walker family is in a situation. Dr. Walker, the dad lost his job after cutting an eye shape into a patient’s chest with a knife at his hospital. Now they live in a small apartment, and are looking for a house. They find the huge Kristoff House, over-looking the Golden Gate Bridge, built after the San Francisco earthquake by Denver Kristoff, a well-known author. They move in, and they are in the middle of dinner when a woman knocks on the door that claims she is their neighbor. She then turns into a creature known as the Wind Witch, and tears the home apart. The three kids; Brendan, Eleanor and Cordelia wake up after the hurricane-like disaster with their parents gone; and so is San Francisco. In a fast-paced adventure story, the Walker kids are trapped in three of Denver Kristoff’s books. With pirates, a pilot from World War I and a colossus, the Walkers need to figure out how to defeat the Wind Witch and get back home before it is too late and they are the ones destroyed. Will the Walkers make it home safely, or will that be the end of them? What I thought about it: Wow. Two master storytellers coming together really does make an epic adventure. I really enjoyed House of Secrets; it keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time. You are pretty much drooling for more, thinking, What is going to happen next?!?! I loved the idea of being able to live in a book. I mean, who wouldn’t want to do that? Well, you would be able to be killed by, say, Voldemort, or in this case a very evil gang of pirates; that would not be good. I also love the cover illustration by Greg Call; it totally lives up to the book. The action was spectacular in this book, as was the suspense. I look forward to reading more adventures with the Walkers, and I want to give a shout-out to Ned Vizzini who generously sent me an ARC of this book to me in very cool promotional packaging that looks like The Book of Doom And Desire and is a gem on my bookshelf. Ned and Chris, your writing is fabulous together and I hope you write many more books as a team.