colinandersbrodd 's review for:

The House with a Clock in Its Walls by John Bellairs

5.0

---

Good stuff! OK, so, I first read Bellairs because [b:The Face In The Frost|295803|The Face In The Frost|John Bellairs|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347467818l/295803._SY75_.jpg|1394275] was on the famous Appendix N of Gary Gygax (the books that inspired the creation of Dungeons and Dragons), and I loved it - it was so wonderfully creepy and atmospheric and deeply allusive! I knew Bellairs had written lots of children's books, too, but never read any until now. A few years ago, when I was in the hospital caring for my son, we watched the Jack Black movie based on this book and he loved it, so I wanted to read it with him at some point. The movie is quite a bit updated from the book (which is set in 1948), but although the book is very dated, it is still a good time, and Bellairs is wonderful at producing an atmosphere of creeping dread that is wonderful . . .