Robert Liparulo has visited the Dregs a few times. That alone makes him a great guy. Here is a link to all his visits. You can visit his website, click on the book covers to visit Amazon and here to read the first chapter of House of Dark Shadows. Suspense lovers of any age are going to want to click and check some things out. My Review of:
Shadows.....
If you are thinking about buying House of Dark Shadows, you may want to go ahead and grab Watcher in the Woods because once you reach... "Not the end" you are going to want book two within reach. These books are quick reads, too. Don't say you haven't been warned if you have to wait for the next book, and don't expect a resolution of the King family problems in book two either. I may have to have a word with Bob or the publisher about possibly speeding up this series.
Robert Liparulo respects the YA genre by refusing to dumb down his storytelling mastery. House of Dark Shadows delivers rich characters, intense action and crisp setting along with a strong vocabulary. Adults are going to love these books as much as the teens they're written for.
Centered around a family that has "no secrets," the story starts with foreboding and provides bang after wham after sucker-punch as the reader discovers one secret after another along with the characters. More questions are left than are answered.
Shadows introduces the King family, all named after royalty, as they are moving from city to country...make that backwoods. Not only does Xander, the 15-year-old point-of-view character have to deal with leaving friends and a girlfriend, his dad is now his principal in the smallest school he's ever attended.
Xander's folks then find a house they fall in love with. Lots of room, and full of character, creepy noises, shadows and odd acoustics. What's not to love?
Xander discovers how very strange the house is as the entire family is plunged into the truth of the secrets.
The intensity of the themes may be too much for younger or easily frightened readers.
My Review of Watcher...
Watcher in the Woods is the continuing story of the King family.
David King, 12-years-old is facing huge traumas while attempting to keep the outside world from destroying his chance of happiness.
Grasping hold of the King family legacy of bravery, David dives into the unknown to save his family at great cost to himself.
From the first word to the final "not the end" I cheered and cringed for the Kings.
I hope the next book releases very soon. This is book two in the series I'm going to recommend regardless of age or gender. I'd also love to see it turned into a movie.
Easily frightened readers might struggle with the intensity, otherwise, this is a powerful story well told.
