The Drift House: The First Voyage

Drift House is an amazing, mysterious, historical, and fantasy like book. It revolves around three children, Susan(the eldest), Charles(the middle), and Murray(the youngest) when they go visit their Uncle Farley. They soon find themselves in the Sea of Time with mermaids, pirates, a strange parrot, and three magical keys. Now, everybody has to work together to save time itself from extinction. Can they do it? Read the book to find out!

A crooked house, a talking parrot, a temperologist (a person who literally studies time) for an uncle and even mermaids! (With very bad tempers though and an octopus disguised as a mermaid for a queen.) All of this is in this amazing book Drift House: The First Voyage by Dale Peck. It is about a girl named Susan and her two younger brothers, Charles and Murray, escaping September eleventh by getting evacuated from their city house to live with their Uncle Farley in an old house that is called Drift House next to the Bay of Eternity which leads into the Sea of Time. Pretty good spot for a temperologist huh? Wrong-o. Here is why... On the first day the children find that Drift House has drifted out into the Bay of Eternity and then out onto the Sea of Time. According to President Wilson (the parrot), Drift House is some kind of time vessel and next thing they know. Susan and her brothers end up having to save time itself from extinction. If you like Dragon Rider or any other kind of fantasy or adventure book you will LOVE Drift House. Some of it is funny, but I have to warn you. It has more than four hundred pages. One of my favorite parts, (well it is not just one part, it is actually a lot of parts though out the book) is when Susan (the eldest sister) says something British like, "I daresay" Charles (the middle brother) says, "Don't say `I daresay,' it's affected." If you think that Drift House is just about time, I daresay you are wrong. Whoops I forgot, `I daresay' is affected.

A crooked House, a talking parrot, a temperologist (a person who literally studies time) for an uncle and even mermaids! (With very bad tempers though and an octopus disguised as a mermaid for a queen) All of this is in this amazing book Drift House THE FIRST VOYAGE By Dale Peck. It is about a girl named Susan and her two younger brothers Charles and Murray escaping September eleventh by getting evacuated from their city house to live with their Uncle Farley in an old house that is called "Drift House", next to the bay of eternity which leads into the sea of time. Pretty good spot for a temperologist huh? Wrong oh. Here is why... First of all, on the first day the children find that "Drift House" has drifted out into the bay of eternity and then out onto the sea of time. According to President Wilson (the parrot) "Drift House" is some kind of "time vessel" and that Susan and her brothers end up having to save time itself from extinction. If you like Dragon Rider or any other kind of fantasy or adventure book you will LOVE Drift House. Some of it is funny, but I have to warn you. It has more than four hundred. One of my favorite parts, (well it is not just one part, it is actually a lot of parts though out the book) is when Susan (the eldest sister) says something British like, "I daresay" Charles (the middle brother) says, "Don't say `I daresay', it's affected". If you think that Drift House is just about time, I daresay you are wrong. Whoops I forgot, `I daresay' is affected.

After tragedy strikes in New York City, the Oakenfeld children --- twelve-year-old Susan, nine-year-old Charles, and five-year-old Murray --- receive news that they are going to live with their Uncle Farley in Canada for a while. When they arrive at the Bay of Eternity, the youngsters immediately find their new home odd. The appropriately named Drift House --- which was built by a Frenchman named Pierre Marin --- resembles a ship crookedly washed ashore as if from another era. Then there are the mysterious Mrs. Applethwaite and Mr. Zenubian, who seem to meet the siblings' every need, though they never get to see them. As they begin to ask their eccentric uncle questions about the unusual house, they notice his nervousness at answering them. When the Oakenfeld children later explore the house and meet a peculiar parrot named President Wilson, they find their new situation becoming very strange indeed. Then they awaken to find Drift House drifting out onto the Sea of Time, a magical and mysterious place where The Past, Present and Future converge. Susan, Charles and Murray --- along with Uncle Farley and the clever, talkative President Wilson --- embark on an extraordinary adventure into a world where they will discover evil mermaids, comical pirates, a wise whale, and the secrets of Time itself. DRIFT HOUSE is the first book in a lovely, well-crafted adventure series that is sure to be another children's classic that readers of all ages will never want to see end once they've begun reading it. --- Reviewed by Sarah Sawtelle ([email protected])

Drift House is gripping and adventure-filled, jam packed with mermaids, pirates, clever parrots and magical dumbwaiters. There is enough "action" to appeal to children of all ages, and like the previous reviewer I was so involved, I read it straight through in one sitting. But it is also wonderfully clever, and often laugh out loud funny. In the best tradition of classic children's fantasy novels (Nesbit, Eager, Lewis, etc.), Drift House is never condescending or simplistic, but instead trusts and challenges children's intelligence. Like those classic authors, Peck has created a vividly detailed imaginary world with just the right amount of "real world" connections. I can't wait for the next book!