Review Detail

Reader reviewed by Kierstin M.

   This book started as a boy named Thomas Small drives to his new house in Ohio, the House of Dies Drear. He finds many warnings to leave the town and the house over time, including triangles, a scattered room, and arranged furniture. Many hidden passages and an Underground Railroad Tunnel come into place. Thomas and his family discover hidden history and learn many secrets as well as valuable treasure and true identities. This book includes friends, laughs, and unfriendly enemies. The House of Dies Drear keeps all suspense and leaves unanswered questions.
   This is a full of action and fun mystery. Some of it's confusing or worse qualities are not explaining things, such as when Thomas has dream and a character he does not meet until later is in it; this never gets an explanation. On pages 1,2, and 25. Another thing is that it does not use some characters for much. They are just there. Examples of this are in pages 157 through 161: Mr. Carr only tells a story and does not appear again, only mentioned. Billy and Buster Small do not have any action that is in any way important to the story. Good things are that it has many literary divices and lots of suspense. Idioms, similes, and more are used throughout the chapters.
   I believe that this is a good, action-packed mystery. I recommend this book to people around 5th grade (10 or 11 years old). If you are looking for at least one of the three S's, (Scary, Suspenseful, or Solving Cases), this is the book for you. I also recommend this people who like the Nancy Drew novels or other mysteries. This is a great book!