The House of Dies Drear

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 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 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.

Reader reviewed by Khalil L.


The House of Dies Drear
        Book Review



      The Small famliy decides to move without knowing where the house even is except Mr. Small. They find themselves at the house of dies drear where they happen to meet Mr. Pluto. The house was used as a slave get away, but the story shows that dies drear and 3 slaves were killed in the same week. As the weeks go on warnings to leave are found. This books takes twists and turn into an unsuspecting ending which will keep you guessing the whole way through.
       I really enjoyed this reading book because of how you can't stop reading after some chapters, but the only reason I rated this a 3 is because of how long it took to lay out the story which sometimes made me have to reread many pages to understand what the author was trying to say.
    If you like a mystetry book that keeps you wanting to turn the pages I would recommend this book to you.

Reader reviewed by AliciaCLAIRE

The Book Was partly interesting..i liked it in some and i didn't like it in some parts.Virginia Hamilton is a GREAT writer..i love the book's she writes
..iloveyou-Alicia<3

Reader reviewed by BM

In chapters 1-7 the story was very exhausting. while I was reading these chapters i fell asleep,my mom had to wake me up. in chapters 8-13 the story got perhaps a bit more intresting,they kept me up.In the rest of these chapters the book once again got dull, so if you ask me this book deserves serious help as soon as possible.

Reader reviewed by Amanda

Thomas moves into a very large and mysterious house with his family, his mom, dad, and twin brothers. As soon as they arrive, strange things begin to happen. Just as they are first into the home, someone has unpacked their things for them. Also, the positioning of all their furniture is odd, especially in Thomas’s room. It is the weirdest of all. Then, the citizens of town don’t like them much and are quite crazy. After many mishaps, you’ll know something is up in the house of an abolitionist, Dies Drear.


The House of Dies Drear is very hooking thriller that you’ll love. It has won the Edgar Award, ALA Notable Children’s Book, gotten great reviews, I really liked the ending, my favorite part. I thought it was twisting, gripping, and wild I recommend it for ages 10 and up along with 3 stars for thrills and chills.