The House With A Clock In It's Walls by John Bellairs

What a great little book. The House with a Clock in it's Walls is the first book in a trilogy written by John Bellairs. They are all collected in a book I'm reading called "The Best of John Bellairs" but I decided to review them individually. I'm reading the second book in the trilogy, The Figure in the Shadows, for the Banned Book Challenge.

The House with a Clock in It's Walls is about a young boy named Lewis who's parents have died recently and has now gone to live with his uncle Jonathan. His uncle Jonathan is this wonderfully strange man who lives in a wonderfully strange mansion with a wonderfully strange neighbor by the name of Mrs. Zimmerman. Lewis soon learns that Uncle Jonathan and Mrs. Zimmerman both dabble in magic...he also learns of a clock buried in the walls of the mansion, and of his uncle's strange obsession with clocks.

Lewis is also going through a rough adjustment process. He's in a new town with new relatives and is trying to make friends. But he's a little chubby kid who's horrible at sports. When one of the popular boys at school shows an interest in him, he does everything he can to keep him as a friend. He goes as far as jumping into aspects of magic and necromancy that he knows nothing about. In doing so, Lewis may have awakened something that can't be put back to rest.

I really enjoyed this first book in the trilogy that was illustrated perfectly by Edward Gorey. This would be a perfect selection for anyone looking for something for the R.I.P. challenge. This book is a hardcover book that contains 3 full novels for $9.99 so it's a great deal. I found my copy at Barnes and Noble and you can click on the link above to get it through their website. The first novel is illustrated by Gorey, the second by Mercer Mayer, and the third by Richard Egielski, who I'm not familiar with.