Groosham Grange

Various plot elements that pop up in the Harry Potter books. Certain children are born with magic talent but they need to attend this school to unlock their magic. Letters of admission arrive out of the blue. Three kids pledge allegiance during the train ride to the new school. Then there is a boat to take them the last bit of the way. Spooky things happen which require some nocturnal snooping. One of the teachers is a werewolf with a French name. When you read the second book, Unholy Grail, you will very much suspect that JK Rowling read these books too.

By any means, Anthony Horowitz is a top notch writer. At least for the types of books he writes.

Really good book. Bought this for our 10 year old son. He loved it!

I really REALLY liked this book and rate it 4.5 stars. I liked the story a lot and the setting/atmosphere/vibe I got from the book. I really had a hard time putting the book down! Even the books cover art (the colors and feel to it) I think went perfectly with the book (which is something I rarely can say when a book cover matches the book feel).
The only thing that I wished was better formed was the main character. I felt a bit blank with him, but I guess that's also because it's not in first person. Sometimes I would feel some sort of personality with the main character but then it didn't seem to stick. The character wasn't bad, but there wasn't enough to him, is all. Also, I expected a little more from the ending. Not terrible but just something more. But I guess it makes sense since there is a second book to this. Really good read though, recommended even for older people not in school.

The characters in this book are stereotypical and flat--you've got the fat kid who seems like he will be a bigger secondary character but then disappears halfway through the story. Then there's the tomboy girl best friend that doesn't really do anything. I never bonded with the main character, and felt like he was just a puppet of the author, not a real person. Let's face it, we read books to escape not to follow a lifeless boy whose decisions make no sense. The ending doesn't add up, and we are never given the main character's thought process, so it just leaves you feeling like, "What the heck?" For such a short book, it kind of drags on.

It could almost be enjoyable except that every time you get interested in the plot, the author decides to throw a cheesy joke in. He also uses a couple characters at random points throughout the book to expound upon the horrors of Christianity--one character is a priest that Horowitz treats with a negative bias that completely breaks the narration. Then there is the teacher's soliloquy about how Christmas was never a Christian holiday and still isn't. They just don't fit with the book or the narration. It's like the author had a point to drive home and his treatment of it is awkward and lopsided.

Also, the father in the book is violently abusive. Horowitz tries to treat it as slapstick, but it's really kind of disturbing--for instance, in the beginning of the book the mother gets stabbed. There is also an attempted joke where the school inspector asks if a character is gay and is informed that the character certainly is queer. It's just not funny and it's inappropriate to joke with derogatory slurs like that in a kid's book.

Definitely not recommended!