Book Review Tuesday - House of Dark Shadows

House of Dark Shadows
Robert Liparulo

I’m not one to read YA. If I do, it would be romance.
But I like horror and House of Dark Shadows by Robert Liparulo seemed pretty close to horror.
I haven’t been scared reading a book since I read It by Stephen King. I was truly scared reading the book.
The King family moves from Los Angeles to a small town. Xander, 15, does not want to move. He has a girlfriend and friends who he makes movies with. He likes his life in LA.
But move they do and the Kings find this odd house. Xander doesn’t like it from the beginning. He hears strange noises and sound travels in odd directions. When he confronts his father, the man agrees there is something about the house, but at first isn’t willing to consider moving.
Xander’s mother finds a set of large footprints in the house. Then Xander and his younger brother, David, see a strange figure on the second floor and decide to follow it. They find odd rooms in the attic. Each one has a different theme and an outside door. In order to go through the door the person must be wearing some of the items in the room.
After Xander is almost killed in a gladiator fight, their father makes David and Xander agree not to enter the rooms and not to tell their mother.
But David can’t resist.
This sets off a series of events which lead quickly to the end of the book.
House of Dark Shadows is the first in a series.
I could not put the book down. When I did finish it, I couldn’t sleep because my heart was pounding. Part of why it was scary to me is that I so identified with Xander and David. Having two boys myself, I found the relationship between them realistic. David especially had the push and pull that a 12 year old faces between being a child and being a teenager.
If you like horror then I highly recommend House of Dark Shadows.