Chris Columbus

Off to a bad start when I pulled it off the shelf and spotted it was blurbed by That Woman. I tried not to let that prejudice me unduly.

I am not the target audience. It was fine for the genre, but not a great fit for me personally. Kids move to a creepy house, magic happens and they're isekai'd to deal with monsters and hazards brought right out of books - specific books they have available. There's a plot here about an evil tome of temptation which they could give to an evil witch to get show more home, if they just act selfishly enough for it to manifest.

So it's an okay teenage adventure book, a genre where it isn't reasonable to expect wildly original plots or extreme subtlety. Characterisation is very thin given the hefty page count of the book - then again, there's a lot of adventure to cram in. So much, in fact, that they have no time for much reflection, even when they get a vision of their home with indication their parents are dead - there's a brief scene of sadness but we're quickly back to the next big action scene. All a bit flimsy, honestly, with little time for any particular set of problems to sink in. We leap from mundanity to witch to banishment to evil raiders to giant to pirates to witch again to weird supervillain battle in a conveyor belt of action sequences with no breathing space. In fairness, the premise of "three books mashed together" and magic makes me willing to accept the implausible way these all link together. Similarly, they're in a book world, so some things working on book logic does make sense. A stronger writer would have perhaps made it more obvious what was working on *diagetic* book-logic, what was working on book-logic we're meant to accept within the genre, and what was meant to be convincing.

Given the theme of temptation to bad impulses, it's a bit hard to tell in places whether characters are doing unwise things because they're human, because they're teenagers with poor impulse control, because of the Evil Book's influence, or if the writing's just unconvincing. Do we really stop to eat the obviously enchanted evil food that little sister is warning us explicitly not to eat, while we are supposedly trying to rescue our two friends from being tortured to death? Do we give a grenade to the tween in case he happens to need a grenade?

It's quite cinematic, to the point that at times I felt scenes weren't really working when written down, but would on-screen. I see other reviewers have pointed out that Columbus is a director and that makes sense - I suspect they are fishing for a film adaptation.

I haven't read a book for this age group in a while, and I do remember there being lots of menace and fairly detailed threats even in decades-old books, so "I'm going to cut off and eat your fingers" isn't too out there, nor is the room made from human bones or the references to torture. However, there's an explicit description of an eye being ripped out (and several mentions of eye-violence), and I was surprised by the actual on-page murders. There's one line that vaguely felt like a hint at sexual violence, but on rereading I think it's meant to be more generic menace but at the girls specifically. So I don't think it's more *violent* than other modern books of the genre, but it did feel more gory. Maybe I'm just out of touch.

The ending of the book is a bit weird, in that it turns out the solution to all their problems is simply to use the evil book of evil to bring them safely home and restore their parents from the dead. I might have missed something, but it was specifically stated that the original Evil(?) Guy got horribly disfigured from overusing the evil book - our heroes have no such downsides. It does make sense that they might resort to it given the desperate situation.

I can't help but notice also that while wishing for things to be restored, they bring back from the "dead" the *entirely fictional* boy that Girl A had a crush on, but don't bring back the *actual living woman* who had been murdered *twice*. I mean, it's a children's book, but that feels like one heck of an oversight. show less

There is so much to say because a LOT of things happened.

Did you ever want to live inside a book? Did you ever want to take your house along with you like a turtle, for your adventures? Do you want to do the above-mentioned adventures with your siblings? Do you want to battle bloodthirsty knights and mad medical pirates? Do you want to nearly die multiple times? Do you want to see ur friends die?

NO. Not anymore. Not after reading this book. Not unless I am equipped with magic and hundreds show more of weapons. And a book that makes all wishes come true.

Even then, I don't want my brother tagging along because I don't want to die saving him or worry myself to death thinking about his safety. Although I have to agree that he is a very good companion and is honed with better survival skills than me.

Coming over to the book, there was no lack of action. Something was always happening in this book. There was literally no breathing space. God. I love action and adventure, but this book just did not snare me.

This was a sibling adventure book, and coming over to that genre of middle-grade adventure, I have a serious problem with it. I have always felt that the sisters are always put down, especially the elder ones. These girls always felt.... sissy?

For example, let's take The Chronicles of Narnia. The 4 siblings, I don't recall their names, though I think the girls were Susan and Lucy. Even though Susan was good at archery, the way she played out was kind of disappointing, right? I had so much hope for her. But she was overshadowed by both her brothers? I don't recall much of that series. I read it back in 2015 or 2016.
However, I remember feeling extremely put down and angry about how Susan (or was it Lucy?) turned out and was seething inside about those stupid patriarchal societies of old ages.

Coming over to this book, it was kind of very similar. Cordelia, the elder sister, at once took interest in the pilot Will and kissed him in what? Within 15 chapters?? I mean, what the hell?? Why not bring a female character, let's say a deadly she-pirate or a female assassin and make Brendon fall for her?? Why is this done to the older sister?? And why were the girls so captivated by the book? Why was Cordelia manipulated and taken control of so easily?? Yea I can see that the witch took advantage of the rage Cordelia was feeling- angry at Will for being egoistic, angry at the fact that she was undermined because she was a 'female'. Cordelia was at her weakest, but so was Will. He was on top of his head, from being the captain and the oldest, all the time thinking less of the strengths of little girls, and on the brink of sinking into power. The witch could have just as easily brainwashed Will. It would have made things far easier for her, in fact. And why do we even need that boy Will? Just throw him along with the pigs.

Now, now, now. I agree, Brendon might have had a crush on that girl, but why don't you compare? Who is being the least likeable from the beginning and the no-fun?
The elder sister, of course! the bookworm, the second mother, oh-my-God-is-that-boy?-let-me-fall-in-love kind of girl, the always-angry, you name it.

I agree, elder sisters are like that. I am one too. We just can't stop finding faults in what our brothers say, we always want to be in charge and sadly, also a worrywart. But is that all there is? There are cool older sisters, tomboy ones, childish ones, etc., Why keep this cliche elder sister personality? And for heaven's sake, stop making the girl fall in love first, especially at the very start of the book. please.

Now, after writing all these, I have realised that all four characters are literal rip-offs from Narnia. Will here is the elder brother from Narnia, Cordelia is Susan, Brendon is Peter(?), and Nell is Lucy.

Ok, let's take a deep breath and relax. Enough of this angst. Let's talk about something much better.
Which book would you want to live inside?

I realised all my favorites was very.... messed up, or dangerous, or at constant restlessness.

let's see..
Harry Potter? hmm yes maybe
Percy Jackson? only if i took a bath in river styx.
Bunny? i want to exist bro, as human, not mud.
The poppy war? hell no.
...
....
.....
You know what? I found the one- the faraway tree.
Judge me all you want, i just want to be alive and happy.
yup.

Haiku that i came up with-
Old house full of books
Wind witch and bloody battles
Please book, make it stop show less

A perhaps surprisingly good film that mostly avoids being too hamfisted with its lessons and morals, and only really falls a bit apart in the (purposefully) farce-esque finale at the restaurant, which could probably have been handled with a bit more of the pseudo-realism the movie otherwise successfully strives for without losing too much of the raised stakes and comedy. Feel-good, funny, charming and only a bit cheesy (which is very impressive considering the ridiculous premise). And show more Williams is, as ever, amazing. show less

Thanks to the publisher and Goodreads for a fere copy of Clash of the Worlds!

Clash of the Worlds is one of those books that makes me remember what I love about middle grade fiction... and makes me wonder why I don't read it more.

There are larger-than-life, lovable, snarky, and terrifying characters. There's a heck of a lot of genre hopping (zombies! aliens! cowboys!). There are plot twists and turns left and right. And most of all, there's a sense of adventure and reckless abandon. It show more reminds me of Indiana Jones in a lot of ways, but less archaeology, and more... everything else under the sun.

I will admit that I didn't read the first two books, so I spent the first few chapters feeling a little confused. But I got the gist of what was going on, and now I desperately want to check out the first books in the series.

So, if you love middle grade books -- and especially the sort of middle grade that's a wild romp through fantastical situations -- then I highly recommend the House of Secrets series. show less