Mad Science and Mystery- The Tilting House by Tom Llewellyn

The Tilting House, by Tom Llewellyn, was recently published by our Tricycle imprint and it’s getting the attention it deserves in the blogosphere. I really enjoyed this story about a family who moves into a house with tilted floors. It had been built, owned and lived in for many years by a man named Tilton, a brilliant inventor, whose legs were uneven. He built each floor at a 3 degree angle so it could be the one place he’d feel comfortable with his ailment. But when does a refuge become a prison? OK, maybe that’s a little deep for the intended audience. But what first time author/Tacoma artist Tom Llewellyn expertly does is weave vignettes about this house and its family together in the most satisfying way. While the children go about trying to unearth the secrets of the house, encountering talking rats and seemingly nonsensical scribblings on the wall, the adults deal with real life situations like unemployment.
His beautifully conceived website gives some clues as to the complexity of the book:
http://thetiltinghouse.com
Make sure you check out the trailer, which you can find by moving the dial to “2″. Other features are found by clicking around the dial.

Kid and adult reviews can be found at these links:
http://drowningmachine.blogspot.com/201 … ellyn.html
http://www.spinetinglermag.com/2010/06/ … n-by-kids/
http://randall120.wordpress.com/2010/06 … llewellyn/
http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/06/0 … ctive.html

And finally, a snippet from the Kirkus review:

“…a genre-blending page-turner with plenty of room in its eaves for sequels. One to watch.”

And here is a wonderful review from a bookseller:

The Tilting House by Tom Llewellyn
When brothers Josh and Aaron and their parents move into an old house with tilting floors and walls inscribed with cryptic writing, dark secrets begin to emerge. The brothers, along with their friend Lola, discover strange things: talking rats, a dimmer switch that makes the house invisible, magical powder that causes objects to grow, and some very eccentric neighbors. Then finding a hidden diary left by the deranged inventor who built the tilting house, the kids set out to solve riddles about the house before it can become a disaster for their family. Llewellyn brings an adventurous mix of magic, science, and mystery into an imaginative tale that will attract readers ages 9 to 12.

-Carol Hicks, Bookshelf at Hooligan Rocks, Truckee, CA