All about action

Three siblings get sucked into a fictional world of mashed-up books where they must find a tome of great power in order to get back home.

House of Secrets Chris Columbus and Ned Vizzini

Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins, 490 pages

IT’S kind of hard to escape cinematic comparisons when one of the co-authors of this book is a well-known Hollywood director and producer.

Co-written by Chris Columbus, who directed the first two Harry Potter movies (which probably explains the “rah-rah” blurb by Potter author J.K. Rowling), and young adult fiction author and television writer Ned Vizzini, the House of Secrets reminded me in passing of the movies Jumanji (1995) and Zathura (2005) – both coincidentally also based on children’s books.

It has the classic “group of young kids getting thrown into a fantastical situation” plot, while having to battle an evil presence, which forces them into moral dilemmas that they have to overcome (or not).

Come to think of it, Columbus also wrote the screenplay for the popular 1985 kid’s action adventure comedy The Goonies, which exudes a similar vibe, storywise.

Now, if this sounds a bit too “been there, done that” to you, then let me assure you that the book is really quite an entertaining and absorbing read, due to its fast-paced action.

We meet the Walker family as they are about to view a potential new home. The family isn’t in the best of circumstances after father and surgeon Dr Jake Walker recently lost his job and is being sued for blacking out and carving a strange symbol on his patient’s abdomen one day during surgery. With most of their money going to their father’s legal defence, the Walkers have to downsize from their comfortable upper middle-class lifestyle, which includes finding a new place to live.

So, things seem almost too good to be true when they are informed that the magnificent and historical Kristoff House, situated in an exclusive neighbourhood overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge (in San Francisco) is for sale, lock, stock and barrel, for a fraction of its worth.

Never mind that the Walker children – 15year-old Cordelia, 12-year-old Brendan and Eleanor, eight – all experience a rather eerie moment when they first enter the grounds, and Brendan actually has a frightening encounter with a threatening old crone.

Naturally, the Walkers buy the house and move in straight away. A bad move, I hear you say? Definitely, because on their very first night, the old crone, who turns out to be the evil Wind Witch, as well as the daughter of mysterious writer and original owner of the house Denver Kristoff, shows up and tries to destroy them all. In the process, the Walker siblings get thrown into an alternate world that seems to be a mash-up of some of Kristoff’s books.

The only way out is for them to fulfil the Wind Witch’s command to find and give her The Book of Doom and Desire – a seductive tome of great power. It doesn’t help that the main way to find the book is by giving in to their “selfish desires” (can you say “moral dilemma”?).

Along the way, they encounter several of Kristoff’s fictional characters, including World War I fighter pilot Will Draper, a gang of ruthless warriors and a ship of evil pirates. They also discover more about Kristoff House, which is transported with them into the alternate fictional world.

Now, the best thing about this book is the fast-paced action and realistic sibling dynamic between the three young Walkers. The short chapters and good descriptions are also likely to make it a more appealing read to tweens and teens with shorter attention spans.

There are however, some rather vividly scary descriptions in the story, including one of a room full of bones that come alive, so parents of kids with overactive imaginations might want be aware of this.

It might come as no surprise to find out that this book actually started life as a movie script. For some reason, the authors also made the characters do some quite stupid things, like, for example, Brendan blowing up a grenade “just because”. And the ending was just a bit too neat for belief.

I was also not a fan of the book’s deckleedge.

But these are mere eye-rolling minor annoyances than full-blown thorns-underthe-skin irritants in my opinion.

House of Secrets is by no means a great read but it is an entertaining one. I would recommend it for younger readers (tweens upwards) who enjoy action-filled adventure stories.

And for those who really enjoy it, you will be glad to know that it is the first in a planned series, so you will be reading more about the Walker siblings.