Book review: The House with a Clock in its Walls...I read John Bellairs’
The House With the Clock in its Walls and it was kind of a great little Horror/Mystery book. It is the first in the Lewis Barnavelt books and introduces us to Lewis as he moves in with his (kind of weird) uncle Jonathan after the death of his parents. Uncle Jonathan turns out to be a wizard, whose BFF is his next door neighbour, the awesome witch Mrs. Zimmerman. Lewis is a lonely boy, with low self esteem, bullied for being the fat kid who doesn’t play sports. The story follows two main threads: that of the mystery of Uncle Jonathan’s house with the ticking clock (OF DOOM) behind its walls; and that of Lewis’ developing friendship with a popular boy name Tarby whose attention and friendship are everything Lewis ever wanted.
The two threads interweave when, to keep Tarby from drifting apart, Lewis starts lying and tampering with powers he doesn’t know. Shit hits the fan, things get scary and Lewis realises that Tarby might not be real friend material after all.
The House With the Clock in its Walls shares some similarities with [Roald Dahl's]
Matilda actually because it is about self-acceptance and finding people who love and admire you for who you are. In the end, Lewis too makes a new friend and has grown up a little bit.
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