review of house of dark shadows

I just read book 1 in the series by Robert Liparulo called House of Dark Shadows. This is classified at juvinile fiction. This genre of mystery and time travel is not particularly my cup of tea, but I know that middle school aged children would thoroughly enjoy the edgy action packed story Liparulo tells.
The book starts out slowly with a family moving from southern to northern California. It is filled with modern references to movies, songs, books, and people. This makes it relevant and fresh for the young reader. The book centers around the house the family is considering purchasing in their new town. The 2 brothers, Xander and David, are close and begin a terrifying adventure with the bizarre house complete with false walls and mysterious massive beings that cart off their mother.
The book has a strong sense of family unity and shows the children generally caring for their parents and respecting them in both words and actions. The parents treat their children with genuine love and mutual respect. All that to say it's a refreshing presentation in this day of children and adults verbally battering one another.
Liparulo leaves the book open ended with the family determined to find their kidnapped mother and battle "the house" that took her. It has some frightening aspects, but the 12-15 year old reader would probably love the excitement of it all. I particularly appreciated the reading group guide included at the back of the book, that a classroom teacher or homeschooled student could use to aid in understanding the characters and theme of the book. There are some thought provoking questions that would be excellent conversation starters or opportunities for journal entries by the student reader.
Mr. Liparulo is a great storyteller with a vivid imagination and a descriptive vocabulary that truly draws the reader into the story.