Question: Where can you find scary, funny, and sad all in the same story?
Answer: Friends to the End, a captivating middle-grade novel by C. L. Colyer.
Twelve-year-old Zach is grappling with some serious issues when his family moves to a new town. Zach is lucky enough to find a solid group of new friends, who tell him about a mysterious house that appears every once in a while and then disappears. Here’s the kicker: if you’re inside when the house disappears, you disappear along with it.
When Zach’s friends decide to search for the elusive house, Zach agrees to accompany them, despite his misgivings. (No spoilers here, but maybe Zach should have listened to his gut.)
I enjoyed the humor sprinkled throughout the story—for instance, Zach’s description of his parents’ “telepathic communication” is hilarious. I appreciated the well-crafted sentences: “The moon looked orange, a huge round ball that appeared to be at the height of its bounce.” “My leg hummed in pain, reminding me that nothing good came from sneaking out of the house after midnight.” I also liked the way the main plot (about the disappearing house) and subplot (about a devastating incident from Zach’s past) are woven together. Both plots are nicely wrapped up by the end of the story.
The steadily building suspense kept me turning pages. I couldn’t wait to find out what was up with that house! If I’d been part of Zach’s friend-group, I would have gone looking for it, too.
All in all, a great read for kids and adults alike.
Available at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and other book-selling sites.