Reviews

Clash of the Worlds by Chris Rylander, Ned Vizzini, Chris Columbus

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sailorvaporeon's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

My middle school self was devastated after the end of this - it really pulled my heartstrings

fela_feli's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

what a complete letdown. i had read the first 2 books of the series when i was 11 and i absolutely loved the first 2 books. i never owned the 3rd one back then but i reread the first 2 (still as good and still as dear to my heart) and then i read the third one, finally. and i can say with certainty that i was very much let down! so much. that ending was the worst thing i've ever read and i absolutely hated it. 11 year old me would have absolutely hated it, nothing that she wanted happened in this book.

first of all, why the actual fuck are will and felix not in this book AT ALL? hello??? will was literally one of the main characters in both book 1 and 2, out of everyone, he deserved to be in this book. you can't just fucking make a loveable british handsome kissable loml main character and then toss him aside for the finale? it was like he didn't matter at all. what the fuck is up with that. you don't make a character relevant and then just suddenly make them irrelevant. i was so mad when i found out will wasn't in this book except for literally just two sentences at the end. and felix, one sentence at the end. i actually cried. because 11 year old me loved will so bad and i still do and he was just??? nonexistent in the third book. so was felix. and i know, at the end of book 2 they both decided to stay back in the book world but come on??? there had to be a way to include them in book 3? they were so loveable. literally, gilliam, wangchuk, celene and fuckass KROM appear before will and felix do??? are you fucking serious?

and don't even get me started on the new characters we were introduced to,

and the audacity to introduce new characters to me? no. bring will and felix back.

all of them were boring as fuck, except for gilbert. gilbert was honestly very endearing. for the whole book, i was just kinda mad but i loved gilbert a lot. he's so cutie patootie.

and i burst into tears when he died and was touched to be called brendan's friend ☹

i will say, though, that this book managed to shock me a lot with all the plot twists and just? the very unexpected stuff happening. it was like hearing the vine boom in my head every time something shocking happened.

i was so caught off guard by how randomly lefty died. i genuinely thought he'd stick around for longer and bro just dies. and i already saw a spoiler about zoe being the wind witch so that didn't shock me but it probably would have if i didn't know. jumbo being the wind witch and especially him shooting sir ed also shocked me. something about anapos was suspicious from the beginning so her being the wind witch didn't surprise me. also adie being based off dahlia and her and brendan having a crush on each other, what the fuck. that was so weird. like was that really necessary.

and i thought eleanor, brendan and cordelia seemed closer in this book

up until eleanor turns evil out of nowhere and then just goes back to being good?? that shit was so stupid. and the fact it's just casually overlooked.. like, okay..

and that ending was absolute ass. seriously, i could not have been more disappointed.

will and felix not being in it was the giveaway to knowing this book would suck ass. but the ending... you have got to be kidding me. i know this is a kid's book but what the fuck was that ending. cordelia gives some stupid ass speech about family love and the wind witch goes back to being dahlia like??? ok. that's all it took? sissy ass villain. i swear, the bad guys in the first two books were actual bad guys. like captain sangray, slayne, that guy in rome (i forgot his name, octopus or something). either way, yeah, REAL villains. and also, the one time felix and will appear in the book, their appearance is so brief and out of nowhere? like the author was like oh here's will and felix just because! as if the two (especially will) weren't main characters? literally go backflip into a landmine. and then celene kissing brendan, just to, what, never see him again? and when they go through the door of ways, they can't see ANY of them ever again? not will? not felix? fucking nobody? and it's the way they just move on like HUH??? will was literally described as an older brother figure to eleanor and brendan and cordelia's potential love interest and best friend and they're all perfectly content with just never seeing him again? girl what. like ok, ik, what else are they supposed to do. but come on? the author could have just made it so the walkers could still travel back and forth between the two worlds somehow anyway. and idc if will and the others are "fictional" they're still real as long as they exist. they're just from different worlds, idc what anyone says. and then fat jagger is in the real world in the form of a boy around eleanor's age so at least she gets that, one happy ending that i actually enjoyed. and then in the end, dahlia and denver's ghosts just chilling around kristoff house is so fucking weird tbh. like yeah it's their house but idk it just irks me. and cordelia (likely) ends up with some boy from her english class like actually shut the fuck up rn. i do not care if that ending is "realistic" for her. fuck realistic. this is fiction i'm reading, i expect unrealistic endings. 11 year old me was rooting for will and cordelia, and they had the POTENTIAL to be so so cute and they ended up being fucking nothing (although, i do believe will deserved better). they literally never see each other again.

overall, the book was bad and it sucked and it was bad. idc. the only thing i enjoyed about it is that the jokes were still kinda funny and gilbert was cute. other than that, the whole book felt dumb overall. i have never felt this strongly about a book and ik i need to chill but this book was everything to 11 year old me and a bad finale is the worst thing ever. it didn't give me anything i wanted and i actually have personal beef with the authors now, or editors,

basically whoever decided it was a good idea to not include will and felix in it. i hope you stub your toe on every piece of furniture you walk by.

at least ranting about how bad this book was helped me relieve some stress.

y'know how it should have ended? (in my very intellectual opinion) first of all, will and cordelia's relationship should have developed gradually, from simple crushes into an actual loving romance. will would have been quite the bf for her, especially given that throughout book 1 and 2, he's like an older brother figure to eleanor and brendan. next, a third book was quite literally not necessary! it could have ended with the book of doom and desire disappearing and the wind witch fucking exploding idgaf what happens to her. then they find a way to get back home and will and felix come back with them, adjusting to living in the real world together. or, there could be a way for will and felix to go back and forth between the two worlds without any problem. either way, an ending with the walker siblings never seeing will and felix again is downright evil. it's fucking horrible. i swear, a third book was not necessary and with some tiny adjustments to the 2nd book, this series could have been wonderful. for the sake of my sanity, i will just come up with my own ending and pretend the third book doesn't fucking exist.

sabrinajansen's review against another edition

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I liked the wind

michellewords's review against another edition

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4.0

The entire House of Secrets series is so much fun. I have to give it a high rating. If my 11 year old nephew can enjoy it and I can enjoy it at 30; that's worth all the stars.
While reading this book I told my husband how fun it was to read the series. It sparked my boring adult brain with imagination and carefree happiness. It inspired me in surprising ways.
I continue to love the characters of Brendan, Cordelia, and Eleanor. The kids are growing up and things are changing, but they grow differently and their voices are different and refreshing.
My only issue was with the ending. It felt pretty over the top and didn't really line up too well with the over all attitude/personality of the series.
Really fantastic series, full of fun, fantasy, and dad jokes that still make me laugh. I don't know why this series doesn't get more attention. It's fantastic. I'm so glad my nephew pushed it on me in true bookworm fashion. Read it and laugh, pretend you're a kid again, you might find your younger self again.