Off the Bookshelf: THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS, by John Bellairs

Another book read through Audible -- which makes going to the gym a whole lot easier to take, at 7 in the morning ....

I watched the movie first, so it was interesting, and sometimes a little disorienting, when things happened that didn't happen in the movie -- and vice versa. Or people showed up and did things who weren't in the book -- or weren't in the movie.

FUN book. A fast read (even though I wasn't reading, technically). Somewhat reminiscent of Harry Potter, with an orphan boy who goes to live with a relative and falls into a world of magic. But in this case, the magic is resident in the relative, instead of the relative trying to stop magic from happening. Uncle Jonathan is a lot of fun, and Mrs. Zimmerman ... well, I kept seeing Jack Black and Kate Blanchet. The narrator did a good job of changing his voice to make each speaker distinct. Our hero's cleverness makes sense. He's a boy who loves books and loves learning, so his response to problems make sense. It isn't a case of "Wesley saves the ship again," if you get the ST:NG reference. And the way he gets into trouble makes perfect sense, with all the stupidity that kids get into, especially kids who want so very much to be liked, and say things they regret very quickly, and do things they regret even more quickly ... with all the attendant consequences!

I will have to look for more of this author's books. And hope that my YA is as popular and fun!