Customer Reviews

A House Called Awful End (Eddie Dickens Trilogy)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I read this book outloud to my children (boy 8 and girl 10). They loved it. It is just a little on the crazed side. I found that I enjoyed it almost as much as they did. The humour is quirky to say the least. I highly recomend it if you are looking for something to share.

Eddie Dickens is horrified when his beloved Mother and Father catch a disease that not only makes them turn yellow, but also makes them go a bit crinkly around the edges, and smell of old hot-water bottles. Eddie is even more horrified when he finds out that he must go away and stay with relatives - whom he's never met - at their home called Awful End. Soon Eddie finds that these strange relatives of his are indeed just that. Strange. For Mad Uncle Jack and Even Madder Aunt Maud, are absolutely crazy. However, along the way to Awful End, Eddie is plagued wih meeting even more crazy people and strange situations, for he is threatened by a bearded stranger, hypnotized by a handkerchief, and, worst of all, he's mistaken for an escaped orphan from St. Horrid's Home for Grateful Orphans. What more will Eddie have to endure before his parents are cured, and he's able to escape Mad Uncle Jack and Even Madder Aunt Maud?

When I saw the cover of A HOUSE CALLED AWFUL END, I was instantly reminded of one of my favorite series' A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS, and after reading the back cover, I realized that this book sounded a bit like those treasures by Lemony Snicket. However, while A HOUSE CALLED AWFUL END is entirely enjoyable, it's not much like A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS. Eddie, however, is a fun character who will capture the hearts of young readers the world over. Philip Ardagh, like Lemony Snicket, makes the reader sympathize with Eddie throughout all of the tragedies - no matter how funny they seem - that he must endure, helping the reader to identify with him. Overall this was a cute book, complete with nicely drawn illustrations appearing on every few pages.

Erika Sorocco

Who doesn't like humor? If you like humor, read Awful End, the first book in the Eddie Dickens Trilogy by Philip Ardagh! When Eddie was only thirteen, his parents got an awful disease that turned his parents yellow, crinkly around the edges, and smell of old hot water bottles. The disease was very catchy, so Eddie had to go with his Great Mad Uncle Jack and his Even-Madder Aunt Maud back to their house, where he would stay until his parents got better.

This book has the best characters ever! They are hilarious. One of the funniest characters was the doctors, because his prescriptions were totally ridiculous, such as sucking on ice cubes shaped like famous generals heads, and having their sheets replaced with brown paper bags glued together with the extra pieces of sticky papers you some times get at the post office if you buy more than one stamp. But my favorite character was Eddies Even-Madder Aunt Maud. She had a stuffed stoat named Malcom, and seemed to think he was real, so she was always talking to him, and Eddie thought she was talking to him, so he got in trouble with her a lot. Maud has a very interesting living life style. In the carriage they are traveling in to Awful End (their house) she makes everyone sit on one side of the carriage while the other is empty, and at the end of a story she sees a carnival float cow, and falls in love with it, and decides to live in her. I think if you like humor, you should read this book.

I really liked reading Awful End. My name is Aidan and I am (...). I really think you should read it if you like funny books that have a sort of twisted sense of humor.

I had high hopes for this book - in particular trying to find a new series to read to my kids (ages 7 and 8). The problem is that the book is written in that self-indulgent, quirky style that a number of recent British authors (esp. of children's books - e.g. Pure Dead Magic) seem to find cute. Filled with non-sequitors and long asides that don't add much to the storyline, the book did not hold my kids' interest well. I suppose other readers might this writing style interesting, but I think it's a cheap gimmick that takes away from spinning a intriguing yarn that could capture a kid's imagination. What was particularly notable was the difference in the level of interest/attention my kids had for this book in comparison with the one we had finish prior: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl - a book that they really enjoyed.

I recommend you read A House Called Awful End. It is the first book of The Eddie Dickens trilogy. This book is written by Phillip Ardagh, who also wrote The Fall of Fergal. I like this book because it is hilarious. This book is about a boy named Eddie Dickens with funny parents who become ill and yellow. Because they are sick Eddie must go live with his strange Great Uncle Jack and his crazy Great Aunt Maud. While Eddie is with them he encounters funny, strange, and crazy events. Like paying to sleep in a barn with fish as money and other hilarious things. This is the BEST book I have ever read! I enjoyed all of Eddie's strange adventures. You should read this book if you are between the ages of eight through twelve.

This story takes place sometime long ago. It is about a child named Eddie and what kind of things he runs into. His parents catch a disease which makes them turn yellow,get crinkly, and smell like old hot water bottles.His parents sent Eddie away to live with his mad uncle and aunt at a home called Awful End. On the way to Awful End, Eddie gets mistaken for a lost orphan. I would give this book four stars for all the hilarious moments. It is a exiting book and very addicting from time to time.

I was sorry to have wasted my time with this book. I thought it'd be a fun, whimsical book, something like a cross between Roald Dahl and Lemony Snicket, both of whom I adore. Unfortunately, this one is just...too random, has no apparent plot, and is just ultimately dull. There are so many storylines, each one more absurd than the next, and everything's everywhere and disjointed and Ardagh just tried too hard to be funny and failed miserably. It was a pointless book, all 2D characters with nothing to keep them or their situations interesting. There was certainly potential for a plot, but nope, nothing. Just a frustratingly pointless, plotless read. Not a fan, not a fan at all.

Rating: 1/5

With the popularity of J.K. Rowling's HARRY POTTER series and Lemony Snicket's A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS,many children's authers use similar elements as these two authers (e.g. Jenny Nemo in the CHARLIE BONE series). A HOUSE CALLED AWFUL END,I am sorry to say,falls under this catogory. As in ASOUE, the circumstances are unfortunate and yet the tone is comic. The book is light on substance(and at times plot) but this won't get in the reader's enjoyment of the story. Thanks to the delightfully wacky story and deliciously ecentric illustrations,this is a fun, fast read althogh a bit more suitable for larger libraries.

RATING:B-

This book is relly good. The book is about a boy named Eddy Dinkins. His mom and dad have a auful desese that make them smell like old hot watter bottels and make them crickly around the edges.