THE TILTING HOUSE BY Tom Llewellyn

Publisher: Tricycle Press
Date published: June 2010
ISBN: 978-1582462882
Young Adult, Horror, Fantasy
Hardback
Reviewed by Gina
Obtained via: Publisher


At long last the Peshik family is moving out of their cramped apartment and into a house. A real live house. Excited they venture to 1418 and the Tilton house and what they find holds endless surprises.

Despite the fact that floors of the house all tilt, every one of them, Josh's father insists the house is a treasure and a real find. Curious writings cover each wall and the furniture is fashioned to fit the odd tilting of the floors. Mom, dad, brother Aaron and grandfather all move in, with Josh, of course. In no time they find that while the rest of the neighborhood has an array of fascinating people including Purple Door Man and The Talker, what is inside the house is even more astounding. In short order the Peshiks tick off long time resident, Mr. Daga by killing one of his sons. Oh, Mr. Daga is a rat and he resents the appearance of humans in his special domain. Before long strange things begin to happen to the Peshiks, in particular Josh and Aaron. Frightening and creepy things that all began with the original Tilton.

I'm not a fan of horror and while THE TILTING HOUSE is not billed directly as horror it does hold elements I would expect to see in a Dean Koontz or Stephen King novel. It is rated as 9-12 year old readers, but I'm not entirely sure I'd want my pre-teen reading some of the threads in the book simply to avoid bad dreams. The two funeral directors were disturbing to me as was the treatment of the death of one of Mr. Daga's "children". There was little reverence to what one would expect around death, even if you feel it is "just an animal."

That said, debut author Tom Llewellyn does write a fascinating story full of pre-teen adventure and inspiring a thirst for knowledge. The characters, from Mr. Daga to Purple Door Man are fascinating and the resolution at the end of the story was heartwarming. Marvelous drawings head up each chapter, showcasing the talent of Sarah Watts.

If you enjoy horror, as an adult you will enjoy THE TILTING HOUSE. It is a good entre to the genre for younger readers, but I would highly recommend an adult read it over first before turning it over to your pre-teen reader. More likely than not, the pre-teen reader will take away a sense of adventure and curiosity about the world about him or herself from this book.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.