The Peshik family moves into a strange old house that has tilting floors and writing all over the walls. Jake isn’t sure if he’ll be able to live in such an eccentric house. How is he going to have friends over? But he and his little brother, Aaron, find out through a few misadventures that the house has secrets. The previous owner’s mysterious life and death is evident in the writing on the walls and other things he left behind. Jake comes to realize how cool his new house really is.
This book was a real page turner. I read it in less than a day. But it was a little out of my age range. It’s probably better for someone aged 9-11, but I still liked it and would recommend it to anyone. The tone of the book was kind of goofy and cheerful, despite some of the more morbid bits. In the part that directly deals with death itself, the author adds over the top accents and coffin shaped men to keep the goofiness going. The first person was okay, but I think third person would have worked better for the whole theme, especially since Jake was not a very interesting character, but it didn’t really hurt the book. The book was like a collection of short stories united by the ending, which was an effective technique and seemed to get the job done. The plot was the strongest point of the book, but I think the characters weren’t terribly interesting or sophisticated, although it didn’t end up being fatal to the book. The ending was quite satisfying and tied up a lot of loose ends that those previously mentioned short stories left hanging. Overall, it was very satisfying and I would recommend it because it’s a fun read for just about anyone.
Reviewer Age:13
Reviewer City, State and Country: Fairfax, Virginia, USA
