Reviews

The House on the Cliff by Franklin W. Dixon

megmro's review

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

5.0

Listened to this with my kids, and we all loved it. The narrator was a little dull, but he got better as the book went along. 

There are some old-fashioned words and phrases like, "do you suppose father's message could be on the level?" :) But the plot totally holds up! We were transfixed! My husband and I even talked about it alone one night: "Wait, so who do you think the nephew is?"

Frank and Joe delighted us with their preparedness for any situation; they never failed to have a pocket knife, screwdriver, rope, flashlight, match, hammer, or anything else needed on hand. It was like a cross between an Eagle Scout and MacGyver. So fun. Lots of awesome vocabulary words, too. 

Highly recommend! 

pammysue1957's review

adventurous dark lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

astenson's review

adventurous lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

2.75

optimaggie's review

2.0

Read aloud to Jon P.

pjworsham99's review

adventurous lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

2.75

I didn't read The Hardy Boys growing up, this is a fun read in hopes of reclaiming my boyhood. 

stale_reviews's review

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

jagiusti's review

adventurous dark funny mysterious 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? No

4.25

nancidrum's review

3.0

I read this for a challenge. Growing up in the 60's I read the Nancy Drew series, but I never read a Hardy Boys book as they were considered "for boys" in that time period. I thought it would be fun to finally see what the boys were reading and as corny as it was, I have to say it was rather fun to read.
I can see how kids of a certain age (especially boys) would love the almost non-stop action with the high school book characters getting to participate in activities that are high risk. Some of the language used made me giggle. Referring to criminals as "scoundrels" and "hoodlums" and when good things happened it was always "swell". Obviously these books were written in a less dangerous time than today. If you've never read one from the series, I would recommend reading this one just to experience a classic from the 1940s-1970s. It's a really fast read!

govmarley's review against another edition

3.0

I hopped into my time machine for another Frank and Joe caper. Back later with a real review.

vkara4191's review

adventurous lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5