It sits in the middle of the woods, shrouded in the
shadows made by the canopy of trees. It creaks, it groans, it breathes. It sits
abandoned, waiting for a family to brighten its halls, to uncover its secrets,
to discover its mystery.
Xander King isn’t at all thrilled about the big move
to a small town. He can’t understand why his dad would have taken a job as the
principal of a school in Pinedale. The only thing he knows for sure about his new
home is that it is nowhere as cool as his old home in L.A., where he and his
friends would make amateur films with the hope of someday making it big.
While the Kings are house-shopping, they happen upon
an old abandoned Victorian mansion out in the woods. A talk with the real
estate agent reveals the rumor that the previous family was killed in a
murder-suicide. Lovely. Excellent place to live. But Xander’s dad certainly
seemed excited about it.
As Xander, his brother David, and sister Toria, go
about exploring their new and unique house, the quickly realize that not all is
as it seems. Voices come from places they shouldn’t, sounds are all mixed up in
the place. Xander finds giant bare footprints. And strangest of all…when David
gets in the linen closet, he ends up in locker 119 at the school Mr. King is
now principal at.
All those weird things are nothing though, compared
to when they find a secret hallway that takes them to hidden rooms. And hidden
rooms that take them to…well…anywhere. The house is basically a giant time
machine, that can throw the traveler into very real and very deadly situations,
as Xander finds out when he enters a portal that takes him to the glory days of
the Roman Colosseum.
Xander is determined to unravel the mystery of the
house. But his dad seems to know more than he’s letting on. What does his dad
know about the secret rooms? And who is making the giant footprints in the
dust? What secrets does this House of Dark Shadows keep? Is this
Dream House the Kings’ worst nightmare?
Robert Liparulo sets up a creepy and well-written
story of a house with a mind of its own. Written for young adults, it is the
first installment in the six book Dream House Kings series. But don’t let the YA
genre fool you. Adults as well as children will enjoy this enthralling story as
the Kings struggle to uncover the mystery of the house – something made all
that more important by the climactic cliffhanger ending.
My only recommendation for readers of this series is
this: Have the next book ready. Those that know have told me the ride only gets
better. And while I admittedly and ashamedly am beginning my own foray into the
Dream House Kings rather late, I can smile smugly as I realize that I will not
have to agonizingly wait for the next book to be released. As a matter of fact,
I’m holding book two, Watcher in the
Woods, in my hands right now. And I can’t wait to see how or if or when the
Kings figure out exactly what this house is.
2 comments:
As with all of Robert's books, this series is a wild ride. And, yeah, adults get enthralled right along with kids. Robert's used these books to minister to kids in schools all over this country simply by discussing reading, writing, and who he is as a man, Christian writer, family guy.
Good review.
I got the first book as part of Thomas Nelson's book blogger program. Let me tell you I read this book in a couple of hours then made the mad dash to the bookstore for the next one.
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