REVIEWS+

The Tilting House

by Tom Llewellyn
152p. 978-1-58246-288-2.
COPY ISBN
Gr 5-7 Josh isn't happy about his family's odd new house. The floors are designed to tilt at a precise three-degree angle and the walls are covered with arcane writing. Furthermore, there are rats in the attictalking rats, led by Mr. Daga, a crusty ""rater familias"" who resents the interlopers and isn't shy about showing it. The neighbors aren't exactly normal either, and the mysterious former owner's journal hints about a body buried in the crawl space. Josh figures life in Tilton House can't get any weirderbut he's wrong. Llewellyn's decidedly nonlinear action varies widely in tone, ranging from exaggerated humor to Gothic horror to downright grotesque. Experiments with growth powder lead to a near-fatal encounter with supersized, man-eating moss, while a tiny pet dog is transformed into a 300-pound monster. Itinerant funeral salesmen force promotional materials on the doomed neighborhood residents on their "List"and the next name is Josh's little brother. Black-and-white chapter-head illustrations help set the tone for each episode. Josh is an interesting and resourceful character, determined to understand the mystery of his house. The dialogue is often amusing, particularly Mr. Daga's tough-guy dialect. However, the episodic action can be hard to follow, and a number of plot threads are left hanging. An additional choice for libraries where John Bellairs and Brad Strickland's "Lewis Barnavelt" books (Dial) are popular"-Elaine E. Knight, Lincoln Elementary Schools, IL" Copyright 2010 Media Source Inc.
Josh's family moves into the Tilton House, a dwelling containing tilted floors, talking rats, and other mysteries. As Josh digs deeper into the place's history, he begins to unravel the story behind the home's creator. Llewellyn's characters struggle with obstacles both mystical and mundane in this busy (sometimes distractingly so) story.
Tom Llewellyn effortlessly combines true-to-life and fantastic elements in a funny, inventive plot. The characters feel real despite living in such an unreal world. They have believable flaws and equally authentic positive traits. For instance, Josh and his little brother Aaron bicker a lot, but when Josh fears for Aaron’s life, he does all in his power to protect his brother. The episodic nature of the book makes it breezy and fast-paced. Two mysteries—who was Mr. Tilton, and why did he build such a crazy house?—weave throughout the novel, tying varied events into a coherent whole.

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