Review: Figure "Sending Shivers Down My Spine"

Book review: The Figure in the Shadows

So I’m wandering through the book stacks looking at things that catch my eye when, all of the sudden, I saw it. It was as though there was a glow around it, beckoning my attention. If it were a movie, there would have been that push/pull zoom trick cutting between me and the book cover. It was The Best of John Bellairs, a hardcover compilation of the books The House with a Clock in Its Walls, The Figure in the Shadows, and The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring. And I wanted it.

John Bellairs was my favorite author as a kid, and The House with a Clock in its Walls was my favorite book. This particular collection of young adult gothic novels follows Lewis Barnavelt, an orphan (…always an orphan…) who goes to live with his mysterious Uncle Jonathan. He quickly discovers that Uncle Jonathan is a wizard, and next door neighbor Mrs. Zimmerman is a witch. And magic and mystery ensues.

For over 25 years, I’ve been carrying around in my head the unforgettable image of Lewis trying his hand at magic in The House with a Clock in its Walls. To try to impress his new friend, Tarby, Lewis attempts to raise the dead.

Amy Kraft 

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