• click here to return to the homepage •
Home > Categories > Books > Fantasy > The House With a Clock in Its Walls review
Lewis Barnavelt doesn't have time on his side...When Lewis Barnavelt, an orphan, comes to stay with his uncle Jonathan, he expects to meet an ordinary person. But he is wrong. Uncle Jonathan and his next-door neighbour, Mrs Zimmermann, are both witches! Lewis couldn't be happier. What's not to like about seeing his uncle practise spells and eating Mrs Zimmermann's famous cookies?
At first, watching magic is enough. Then Lewis experiments with magic himself and unknowingly resurrects the former owner of the house: a woman named Selenna Izard. It seems that evil Selenna and her husband built a timepiece into the walls - a clock that could obliterate humankind. As the clock can be heard ticking away in the house all the time, sometimes louder, sometimes quieter, sometimes faster, sometimes slower, it is up to the Barnavelts to find where it is hidden in the walls - and stop it. A true race against time...
Gravity's Chain
The Mirage Makers 2: The Shadow of Tyr
Piggity-Wiggity Jiggity Jig and the Camping Holiday
Daughters of the Sea - 2 - May
The Hobbit
Freak Street - Meet the Werewolfsons
Get Into Art: People
Father Christmas Comes Up Trumps
Dustlands #3: Raging Star
Really Professional Internet Person
Ella Diaries #7: Friends Not Forever
Alfie Bloom #2: Alfie Bloom and the Talisman Thief
Katipo Joe: Book 2: SpycraftProduct reviews...
Review by: mizim (Miriam)
Dated: 30th of September, 2018
I've been interested in the film adaptation since my kids and I saw the first trailer, I hadn't any interest in seeking out the original story but when I saw it in the back room at work I thought I'd grab it and give it a read. The film jumps straight into Lewis having been freshly orphaned and moving to live with his uncle in New Zebedee. Lewis is a young, overweight boy who quickly comes to love his new home. There are very few characters in this book and we don't really get to know any of the particularly well, they're all easy to figure out and no one changes or grows personality wise. Infact, when it came down to the final confrontation, I didn't find myself particularly caring about any of the characters.
The plot itself is nothing stunning and I kept finding myself hoping for more to happen, it was only the fact that it was a short book that had me continuing to read till the last page. I liked the basic premise of the book, moving into a new house with a secret that has to be discovered before things go catastrophically wrong. This book was praised when it came out but I find that it hasn't aged well and I'm expecting a lot more action in its big screen version as there was very little here. I expect Lewis is meant to be a likeable character and there was a good subplot revolving around that yearning to fit in but I didn't feel sorry for him, despite that being the aim.
In the end, the premise intrigued me but the story didn't entertain me.
Random listing from 'Books'...
Love hurts... but should it hurt this much? Reeling from her mum's sudden departure, Anna finds the comfort she needs in her blossoming relationship with Will. He's handsome and loving, everything Anna has always dreamed of. He's also moody and unpredictable, pushing her away from her friends and her music.
He wants her to be his and his alone. He wants her to be perfect. Anna's world is closing in. But ... more...
All trademarks, images and copyrights on this site are owned by their respective companies.
KIWIreviews is an independent entity, part of the Knock Out News Group. This is a free public forum presenting user opinions on selected products, and as such the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinion of kiwireviews.nz and are protected under New Zealand law by the "Honest Opinion" clause of the Defamation Act of 1992. KIWIreviews accepts no liability for statements made on this site, on the premise that they have been submitted as the true and honest opinions of the individual posters. In most cases, prices and dates stated are approximate and should be considered as only guidelines.
"How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?"
unattributed
