The House With a Clock in Its Walls by John Bellairs book thoughts

Title: The House With a Clock in Its Walls
Series: Yes (Lewis Barnavelt #1)
Author: John Bellairs
Published Date: 1973
Publisher: Puffin Books
Source: I bought it
# of Pages: 179
Format: Physical
Genre: Middle Grade/Mystery/Horror
Days to Read: 3
Rating: 4.25 / 5 stars
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Goodreads Synopsis

Orphaned Lewis Barnavelt comes to live with his Uncle Jonathan and quickly learns that both his uncle and his next-door neighbor are witches on a quest to discover the terrifying clock ticking within the walls of Jonathan's house. Can the three of them save the world from certain destruction?

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed my first John Bellairs book! First off it only took me 3 days because on day 2 I had wanted to finish it but I was in so much pain, I tried but I couldn't do it. Trying to read in that much pain wasn't doing me or the book any favors. Also while it says it's part of a series it reads like a standalone to me. I believe it's a series of standalone mysteries..

I really enjoyed the character of Lewis. Well I enjoyed his uncle Johnathan and his next-door neighbor Mrs. Zimmerman too. Lewis felt like a real 10 year old to me. He wants to have a friend, he gets teased for being fat, he cries and it's ok. Uncle Johnathan is a good uncle too and I enjoyed seeing their friendship between him and Mrs. Zimmerman.

I also really liked how, yes there is evil people using magic but Johnathan and Mrs. Zimmerman use magic too and are good. I've seen a lot of "all magic is evil" stuff and it gets on my nerves, so I like seeing how it can be used for good or bad.

It was a nice easy read that flowed pretty well. I know it would have scared me had I been a kid, and I would've loved it, and I still very much enjoyed it. It made me smile, laugh, and even surprised me at times. I also really liked the illustrations as they really fit the story.

If you are looking for a quick middle grade mystery/horror novel i'd definitely recommend this, and I look forward to reading more John Bellairs books!