The House of Dies Drear

Reader reviewed by Jared

                This was a book about a ten year old boy named Thomas who moved to an old house once owned by a slave owner over 100 years ago. Throughout the book weird things keep happening to Thomas and he wants to figure out how it was happening and who (if it were someone) was doing it.

                I thought this book was a bit frightening when the mysterious events were happening to Thomas and his family. I also thought the book had the ability to hold the readers attention through the sequence of events that lead up to solving the big mystery/problem.

                I would recommend this book to kids in the 5^th grade who like mystery books up to preteens in the 6^th and 7^th grade because it isnt that hard to understand and it that is probably the only audience that would really enjoy the book instead of just reading it because they are told to.

                I really enjoyed reading the book and if you decide to read it I hope you enjoy it too.

Reader reviewed by Josh Lerner

The House of Dies Drear is an exciting mystery book for kids and adults of all ages.

Thomas Small is an ordinary boy that is moving to a new place.  Hes moving to a very old house thats a historical landmark from the Underground Railroad.  Thomas has a nightmare in the car and he wants to find out what it means.  This makes him want to solve the ghost mysteries his father told him about.  Will Thomas solve the mystery, read and find out.

I personally loved this book and I would read other books written by Virginia Hamilton.  I was hooked from the first few sentences till the last word.  Every single part was interesting, I felt like I was Thomas Small.  I would read this book one more time if I really wanted to.

I would recommend this book to anyone that loves mystery books.  If you have ever read the Hardy Boys series, the House of Dies Drear is just for you because there are so many things in common between the two.  I hope you liked my review!

Reader reviewed by Brooklynn Henry

Summery
The House of Dies Drear is about a 13-year-old boy named Thomas, who moves into a large old house which used to belong to an underground railroad conductor helping slaves escape to Canada. Thomas is suspicious about the house when he finds things unknown to most other people other than Dies Drear and the groundskeeper Mr. Pluto. The house is said to be haunted, making it even more mysterious.
Opinion
The House of Dies Drear is a mysterious and confusing book that can easialy lose it's reader's attention. A lot of the conversations are long, boring, and are off subject. The first few chapters and a couple of the middle chapters have the longest conversations. There are few interesting moments.
Recommendations
I would recommend this book for people who enjoy mysterys. Readers who are dedicated may also enjoy the book. As for age, the youngest I would recommend would be late fourth grade because it is so confusing and has high vocabulary. Any readers younger might get confused or lost in this book.

Reader reviewed by JC Clemente

    Thomas Small feels very melancholy as he moves out of his old home, with his parents and baby brothers, to an old, rickety house in the rural areas of Ohio. The only reason they moved into the house is it was part of he underground railroad, owned by the famous abolitionist, Dries Drear.  You see, Mr. Small is a civil war nut. Shortly after arriving, Thomas falls into one of the many secret caves inside the house. Combined with the darkness, and the icy temperature, it made one of Thomass most blood-curdling   experiences. After being frightened by a strange noise, Thomas runs out and finally exits the cave . Soon after asking his parents permission to investigate the hill, Thomas finds himself being chased by a mysterious man. It turns out the mysterious man was actually Mr. Pluto, the grounds keeper. Mr. Small explains. When the small family hits the hay after their unusual first day in the house, a strange, mysterious figure leaves behind a threat. The very next morning, the smalls find the threat, but decide to put it aside for a trip to church, which they meet yet once again with old Pluto. After a trip around the town, they discover more about the history of Mr. Pluto and his family. So, Mr. Small and Thomas decide to investigate the cave home of Mr. Pluto. They soon found out they bit of more than they can chew&                                      
    I would rate The House of Dies Drear a 4. This book deserves this rating from me because it wasnt the best book, but it was a book experience that I have not read in a while. DONT judge this book by its cover! It does seem like a horror story, but its way more than just that. It has some history. Also, its the kind of the edge of your seat, cliffhanger filled , dont know whats going to happen next, mystery book. If youre a person that likes mystery, horror, or being scared until you wet yourself, then read The House of Dies Drear.

Reader reviewed by Jonathan S.

The House of
Dies Drear Book Review

By
Jonathan S.

The
House of Dies Drear starts off with the Little family traveling from
Carolina to Ohio. The book tells the story of the families life in
their new house, The House of Dies Drear. When they arrive at the
house they find that there are many mysterious things about the
house, and the strange old care keeper named Mr.-Pluto. Trying to
figure out all the puzzles there new home presents is a delima itself
let alone the mysterious doings of their odd neighbors, the Darrows.

I
believe this book was a match for me because it has most of the
qualities that personally I love in a book. The strongest feeling I
get from The House of Dies Drear is a mysterious feeling not knowing
what will happen next, and when I do find out I never saw it coming.
I always felt like I might know what's next but not totally sure, and
it's the unexpected. It's like being in a unfamiliar place but so
familiar at the same time. In this book I have many times
experienced these feelings and opinions that I have expressed to you
now. I hope when you read the book you feel like it's a perfect
match for you like was for me.

I
would recommend this book for people who enjoy mysteries and
cliffhangers often. If you like or think you would like feeling how
I described this book you should read The House of Dies Drear.

Reader reviewed by Cade R

The House of Dies Drear is about a boy who lives in North Carolina. His father was a history teacher that wanted to move to Ohio in a house that is known to be hunted and owned by a man named Dies Drear. His house was an underground rail road station. In his house there are many secrets that you need to figure out yourself.

The House of Dies Drear is an overall great mystery. It leaves lots of clues, builds up suspense, and keeps you thinking.

The House of Dies Drear is a mysterious and suspenseful book that is hard to put down. There is a pretty good amount of action throughout this book. It leaves allot of clues and is very suspenseful. f you like action, mysteries, and suspense this is a good book for you.

Reader reviewed by Zane

Thomas has a dream of someone he meets in the future; who Thomas suspects is trying to scare them out of the house Thomas's dad buys. Dies Drear & 3 slaves lived in the house before Thomas & his family. No one really knew what happened to the 3rd slave. Thomas figures out the mysteries of his house.

I think this book was a little too slow. Each chapter was approximately 20 pages, also it seemed to take longer because the words were generally small. But it was still a great book!

I would recommend this book for people who like slow mysteries. But I personally don't like those types of books. It is full of the kind of suspense I like though, so I think over all this is a great book. If I had the chance to erase my memory & read it again, I would!

Reader reviewed by Jake Stephenson

The House of Dies Drear is a great mystery. It starts off with Thomas having a weird nightmare where he is chased through the woods by a man he feels like he knows. With time he learns the man was the keeper of the House of Dies Drear (the man was named Mr. Pluto). The main problem in the story is that clues show that Dies Drear was part of the Underground Railroad and Thomas thought that when he was murdered in his own house along with two slaves he was keeping they become ghosts and haunt the house. His dad refuses to tell the secrets behind the house. Thomas finds himself in some sticky situations thanks to his curiosity. Will he ever find the truth behind the House of Dies Drear? Read to find out.

  There were parts that I enjoyed more than others. I liked that the exposition was a nightmare, which is something I havent read in a book before. Although, something I didnt like was how in Plutos cave, Thomas and Plutos conversation got a little long and boring.

I recommend The House of Dies Drear for people who enjoy suspenseful mysteries.  

Reader reviewed by Isaiah B

In this book a boy named Thomas moves from his house to his new house in Oklahoma, where his fathers job is.The house he moves to is thought to be part of the underground railroad. Thomas finds a secret passageway in front of his house. One of the Darrow boys and a girl named Pesty come riding along on a horse and see he has found a door in the steps in front of his house. Thomas looked in and saw pitch darkness. He leaned forward and fell about four feet when the Darrow boy probably knew about the fall and didnt mention a word about it. Thomas finds his way to the kitchen in his house through the secret passageway. After dinner, he goes out to explore. He finds a mysterious man walking in the forest. He follows the man, until they finally reach a cave. The mysterious man figures out Thomas followed him, then starts chasing Thomas. Thomas finally reaches the house and goes in. Mr.Pluto comes a few seconds later. MrPluto says sorry for chasing Thomas, then he leaves. The Small family found parts of a Greeks cross in different parts of their house, the next day. They went to church that day. After church, they went to the college, but somebody beat them to it. They found out that nothing was stolen or broken, but someone had left parts of the Greeks cross in his room. When they got home, they found out that someone had broken into the house and wrecked the kitchen. They suspected that Mr.Pluto did it. They went into the forest and found Mr.Pluto walking. They followed him into his cave. They looked for him, but couldnt find him. They finally found a secret passageway that lead to where Mr. Pluto was. Mr.Small and Thomas find out that Mr. Pluto has a son named Mayhew. They find out the Darrows are the ones messing with them. They make plans to stop them. Will they stop the Darrows? Will they stop their problems?

    
I like Mr.Small, because he knows a lot and taught me some social studies.

    
I like this book, because it is confusing at first, but fits together when I keep reading. If you like mystery, this book is for you.

Reader reviewed by MP

Book Review
By: Maddie Pertuis
Book: The House of Dies Drear, Virginia Hamilton

Summary
Thomas and his family of five leave their old house in North Carolina and move into another in Ohio. But this is not just another house, it is the house of Dies Drear. A hundred years ago, Dies Drear was murdered along with two of the three slaves that he had saved. Thomas recognizes weird things about the house- mysterious things like the black chair, the triangles, and the passages. These strange occurrences lead them to the history of the house.
Review/Opinion
I think this book is strange and mysterious, but can easily lose the readers focus with long conversations off the point and can be drab and boring. This is a chink in the writers armor. In my opinion, chapter 16 and chapters 1-3 are chapters that have too much dialogue and may lose the reader. The parts when Thomas found the button and when there were triangles in the doors are two of the more interesting parts of the book.

Recommendation
I would recommend this book for dedicated readers that are ready to take on a challenge. I also believe that anyone under lets say, 11, is not ready for this sort of vocabulary and probably will get lost and confused in certain places.