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rjdenney's review against another edition
5.0
Re-read in 2020 for John Bellairs Month!
One of my favorites of his and a great winter and year-round read :)
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One of my favorite books by John Bellairs!
One of my favorites of his and a great winter and year-round read :)
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One of my favorite books by John Bellairs!
posies23's review against another edition
5.0
John Bellairs' current reputation rests pretty squarely on his first YA book, THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN IT'S WALLS. It's too bad, really, because many of his later books are much more satisfying. In fact, his books would be GREAT source material for a TV series or movie series. Now that I think about it, all his books would be an excellent series to adapt into graphic novels, considering the mood and gloom that permeates his novels.
THE CURSE OF THE BLUE FIGURINE is the first of the JOHNNY DIXON books, and it's a well-written, spooky, supernatural mystery. There are some genuinely scary moments in it, and some wonderfully realized scenes and character bits. His protagonist is a 12-year-old outsider, who finds himself dealing with forces far beyond what he expected when he accidentally steals a blue figurine from the basement of a church. As usual with Bellairs books, Johnny has an adult companion to help him with his circumstances, this time in the form of an old family friend.
Highly recommended.
THE CURSE OF THE BLUE FIGURINE is the first of the JOHNNY DIXON books, and it's a well-written, spooky, supernatural mystery. There are some genuinely scary moments in it, and some wonderfully realized scenes and character bits. His protagonist is a 12-year-old outsider, who finds himself dealing with forces far beyond what he expected when he accidentally steals a blue figurine from the basement of a church. As usual with Bellairs books, Johnny has an adult companion to help him with his circumstances, this time in the form of an old family friend.
Highly recommended.
amlibera's review against another edition
4.0
Bellairs is scary and yet comforting. But genuinely scary. I enjoyed these books when I was young and find them still exactly the same.
amyeewing's review against another edition
4.0
Loved John Bellairs when I was younger so I'm introducing my 7 year old to his works starting with this one. It was actually better than I remember it. We follow young Johnny Dixon in an appropriately Gothic New England setting (he attends a Catholic school and hangs out in the church of course) as he discovered a maybe/maybe not cursed object and begins experiencing some rather creepy maybe/maybe not supernatural happenings.
I didn't realize how great the language was at setting the scene until I was reading this book aloud. Bellairs does a fantastic job of setting the scene and keeping the tension high but also being approachable for young readers. My son gasped in all the right places and loved the suspense.
We also made a sacher torte as mentioned in the book. It was just as yummy as the book described.
We're going to move on to The Mummy, The Will, and the Crypt now with high hopes.
I didn't realize how great the language was at setting the scene until I was reading this book aloud. Bellairs does a fantastic job of setting the scene and keeping the tension high but also being approachable for young readers. My son gasped in all the right places and loved the suspense.
We also made a sacher torte as mentioned in the book. It was just as yummy as the book described.
We're going to move on to The Mummy, The Will, and the Crypt now with high hopes.
the_enobee's review against another edition
5.0
Gateway horror at its best! Read these when I was a kid, and it took me years to figure out John Bellairs was the author. For my money, the Johnny Dixon series is his best work.
sducharme's review against another edition
4.0
Johnny takes a mysterious figure from the local church and from there strange things begin to happen. Love all of the John Bellairs books.
cimorene1558's review against another edition
4.0
This book scared the heck out of me when I read it at age six or seven (yes, that was too young), but I went on to become a great fan of Bellairs at more like age ten or eleven, and I've never really stopped. They're quite well-written, full of actual historical fact, and full of funny and quirky characters. They are absolutely terrifying to the very young, and a few of them still make me a little uneasy if I read them at night, but then I am not a horror fan at all.
seelettybloom's review against another edition
4.0
My godbrother gave me this book when I was sleeping over with the intent to shut me up. And shut me up it did, because I was scared shitless. And kind of am to this day when I think about this book. So the fact that I can still recall this fear means that Bellairs did something right.
schwimfan's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Always love a good adventure with Johnny and the Professor, and this is the one that kicked them all off. A very pastoral look at life in the 50s, but very charming.