HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWSRobert Liparulo
Scholastic
2008
Available: paperback,
Fifteen-year-old Xander King's family has just moved from Pasadena to live in a small town in the middle of nowhere. Its only claim to fame is that it has more Bigfoot sightings than any other area in America. That doesn't impress Xander. Pinedale is the last place he wants to be. After searching to find the perfect house, he and his family move into an old Victorian fixer-upper. It very well could be
haunted.
Or maybe not, but the house has secrets and
Xander is determined to uncover them. Odd things begin to escalate and there's no doubt now that something strange is going on with the house. Eerie noises. Fresh footprints in the dusty unused rooms. It becomes even more weird when he discovers the house's real secret. Portals to other times and places. And not happy ones. When the house's threatens the safety of his family, he knows he has to act.
This is the first book in a trilogy and it is the beginning of a life and death quest for Xander. He is a strong believable character. The story is a cross between horror, time-travel and mystery. It would make a good Halloween read.
Target audience: Grades 8-11
Mystery /suspense: well done
Kid appeal: good
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