House of Secrets by Chris Columbus and Ned Vizzini (review)

When the Walker family purchases an enormous house in San Francisco for a low price, they believe it to be the first bit of good luck they've had in a while. Suddenly, though, a crazy old witch lays claim to the house and drags them into a century's old family feud. As the house is magically swept away, their parents vanish, and the three Walker children, eight-year-old Eleanor, twelve-year-old Brendan, and fifteen-year-old Cordelia, find themselves and their house dropped in the middle of a mysterious primeval forest. The children realize that they are trapped in the novels of Denver Kristoff, the author who once owned their house, and as fictional worlds come to life around them, the house is thrown into the sea by giants and attacked by pirates, and the children are captured by knights and dragged into the presence a deadly queen. Their only hope is the dangerous Book of Doom and Desire, a magical tome that could save them—or could hold a fate worse than death. The story is a engrossing page-turner with a parade of near-escapes, hilarious mishaps, and courageous face-offs with terrifying villains. The nonstop action will keep readers on the edge of their seats and likely keep them from noticing or caring about occasionally inconsistent writing and tone. The family relationships are delightfully real, as the siblings manage to rally together one moment only to be bickering again in the next, and that authenticity more than makes up for a half-hearted romance between Cordelia and a fantasy pilot. A good step up for fans of the Spiderwick Chronicles (BCCB 7/03) who are looking for a longer read, this adventure is also likely to please those with fond memories of Van Allsburg's Jumanji (BCCB 9/81), while adventure-film lovers will revel in a novel that reads like a movie. An epilogue creates new loose ends, a kind of post-credits set-up for planned sequels.