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by Robert Liparulo The second installment in Robert Liparulo's Dreamhouse Kings series, Watcher in the Woods, continues the story of the King family and their mysterious house. The action begins as David, the 12-year-old, plunges into a portal leading to WW II France. The reader is then brought back an hour before David's impulsive act to find out how David got into that mess and why the family is in an uproar the day before school starts for the fall term. The three King children (David, 15-year-old Xander, and 9-year-old Tavia) are in shock because their mother has been carted off by a brute through one of the portals. They then learn that their father's own mother had also been kidnapped when he was a boy. Determined to conduct a systematic search, they soon find out that the portals don't stay in the same place, but revolve in a sort of cosmic roulette wheel. Each portal has inherent dangers, and only one seems to be a safe, restful place. When the children start school and Mr. King begins his new job as middle school / high school principal, they have to appear normal, as if nothing is stressing their family, and make excuses about why Mrs. King isn't present. Complicating their lives further is a mysterious stranger who wants to buy their house, accusations of child abuse when David ends up with a broken arm, and bullies in school who find out one of the house's secrets. There is an amazing amount of action in a few short pages! It is so intense at times it had my heart pounding. And, the ride isn't over. The story continues in the Gatekeepers, coming out in January 2009. Even then, I'm not sure the story will be completely finished. Liparulo has set up a storytelling mechanism that could be the stuff of a television series that could go on for years. Since each portal could be a vehicle to tell a more in depth story, the possibilities are endless. Even the current problem of finding their mother could be stretched out into several more books. And then there is the possibility that Mr. King might go off looking for his own mother, too. Watcher in the Woods is a creepy, exciting adventure with every indication that the Dreamhouse King stories will become classics for children. Robert Liparulo is a fresh, new storyteller for the twenty-first century and his action tales will lure young readers to the page, even those hooked on iPods, computers, and television. |
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Watcher in the Woods